Popular music listening activity: “Cheerleader” by OMI

The number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week is “Cheerleader” by OMI. It’s a pretty straightforward song with the lyrics so go ahead and listen to it with your students. Here’s my breakdown:

Form	Letter	Time	Description
Intro		0:00 – 0:24	Trumpet performs a repetitive melody over piano chord progression.
Verse	A	0:24 – 0:42	“When I need motivation…” Singer enters accompanied by a conga drum and continued piano chord progression. No trumpet.
Pre-chorus	B	0:42 – 0:49	“Do you need me?” Piano accompaniment changes to arpeggiated chords. More drums enter toward end of section in preparation of chorus.
Chorus	C	0:49 – 1:05	“Oh, I think I’ve found myself a cheerleader…” Steady synthetic bass and keyboard underscore the new singable melody.
Verse	A	1:05 – 1:23	“She walks like a model…” Same piano and conga drum as first verse but more drums added.
Pre-chorus		1:23 – 1:29	Same as before. Adds crescendoing single trumpet notes to accentuate strong beats.
Chorus	C	1:29 – 1:46	Same as before but trumpet continues to play a counter-melody above singer.
Break	D	1:46 – 2:18	Instrumental break continues the instrumental counter-melody on trumpet and same accompaniment. A new trumpet melody enters at the 2:05 mark over the original piano chord progression.
Bridge	E	2:18 – 2:35	“She gives me love and affection…” Conga, piano chord progression, and new melody on the trumpet
Chorus	C	2:35 – 2:52	Same as before.
Coda		2:52 – 3:09	Similar to intro

There are several fascinating parts of the song to elaborate on if you would like.

OMI is Jamaican but the sound of the song has more to do with the producer, who was given the song in 2011. The producer, Felix Jaehn, is German.
The song was recorded in 2011, released in May of 2014, and hit number on in the summer of 2015. Weird.

There are multiple ways I have students analyze a song like this. If this is their first time listening critically like this, fill it in on the SMART board or chalk board for them, replaying the sections several times to let them hear what you are pulling apart. Then go back and listen to the whole thing to show them the overall form.

Once students get the hang of it, let them pick their own song to analyze. It’s how they build skills for their own compositions and analysis, by listening to what others have done.