"Oh My God" is the breakout single of English indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs. It was initially released by the Drowned in Sound label on 17 May 2004 as their first major label fourth overall single,reaching number 66 on the UK Singles Chart,their first under the Kaiser Cheifs moniker after releasing a studio album on the now-defunct Mantra Recordings label and three singles in promotion as Parva between 2001 and 2002 and the album in 2003,all of which failed to chart,where the band was dropped after Beggars Banquet Records subsequently closed the label. It was re-released on 21 February 2005,two weeks before the release of their breakout and second overall album,Employment. This time,it peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart,which earned the band their first top-10 hit as well as their highest-charting single at the time until it was succeeded by UK chart-topper "Ruby" on 25 February 2007. The song also appeared on the soundtrack for the 2006 video game Driver:Parallel Lines.
The original single release,now a rarity due to its limited run of 500 copies,features artwork by frontman Ricky Wilson,and its B-sides were earlier versions of "Born to Be a Dancer" and "Caroline,Yes",both of which would also appear on Employment.
Background
Singer Ricky Wilson said,"The verses are about the fact that we've been playing together for such a long time and people think,'What's he doing? He's still trying to make a career out of music? It'll never work. One in a million people do it.' But we still had the opinion that we were five of the people in a million,so we carried on."[2]
Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian wrote that the Kaiser Chiefs had been labeled as has-beens by 2003-2004,and they were desperate to build a fanbase to impress record labels:"The need to make an impression while bottom of the bill in a tiny venue explains all the ohhhhhhs and nanananas and oft-repeated choruses that set up shop in the listener's brain after the first listen."[2]
Music videos
Two music videos were released for "Oh My God":one for its initial 2004 release and one for its 2005 reissue,both directed by Charlie Paul,[3][4][5] in between having also worked with the Kaiser Chiefs for the original music video for their follow-up single "I Predict a Riot".[6][7]
The first video for "Oh My God",in promotion of its original 2004 release,with 3D Animations by the English animation company Unanico Studios,[8] depicts 3D avatars of the Kaiser Chiefs traveling on a ferry in a sea where they encounter various objects floating within it,including a chair,a Publicity stunt with the band's original logo,a coffee cup with Brown eyeballs,and a Tyrannosaurus rex,before a swarm of butterflies fly towards them,causing hardness to see for the band members,causing the ferry to spin and to teleport into the sky as the song reaches its chorus. After this ends,the ferry lands back on the water and the band members regain control,arriving in a snowy,Artic area where they encounter a Pac-Man-like character,in reference to the lyric "Come back stronger than a powered-up Pac-Man",before the ferry teleports to the sky again,with the band then arriving in Outer space,followed by drummer Nick Hodgson's avatar miming the chorus,before fading out and ending.
The second,more widely-circulated video for "Oh My God",in promotion of the 2005 reissue,depicts the Kaiser Chiefs miming to the song with toy instruments in an abandoned toy store,intercut with footage of the band performing the song in a room with their actual instruments,an Arctic iceberg,setting up a communication device and trying to stay warm,hanging out with a harem in a Bedouin tent,visiting a vintage library in Paris,and a martial arts retreat,before line animations overlay the footage in the final scenes of the video.[9]
In 2006,"Oh My God" was covered by Lily Allen on her second mixtape.[28] She later re-recorded the track with Mark Ronson (having previously co-produced her debut album Alright,Still the year prior and subsequently returned to co-produce her fourth studio album No Shame in 2018) for his second studio album,Version (2007). This version was released as the second single from the album on 16 July 2007. The single was a success,reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Ronson later went on to co-produce the Kaiser Chiefs’2008 studio album Off with Their Heads, while Allen,alongside members of NYPC,would perform backing vocals on its lead single "Never Miss a Beat",a track on the aforementioned album that Ronson co-produced alongside Eliot James. Allen also appeared as a backing vocalist on the Off with Their Heads track "Always Happens Like That",also produced by Ronson and James.[29] The Kaiser Cheifs' then-drummer Nick Hodgson would also go on to co-write and perform backing vocals on Ronson's 2010 single "Bang Bang Bang".[30] The single is backed by a cover of the Kings of Leon deep cut "Pistol of Fire" from their 2004 studio album Aha Shake Heartbreak,featuring vocals by singer D. Smith,which also appears as one of three bonus tracks on the digital deluxe edition of Version.[31][32] Ronson later remixed the Kings of Leon's original version of "Pistol of Fire" as the B-side to their 2009 single "Revelry".[33]
Music video
The music video for Ronson and Allen's version was directed by Nima Nourizadeh[28] (having previously worked with Allen on her second music video for "LDN"[34] and the video for "Littlest Things"[35]),and features a toon version of Allen[28] (designed by French illustator Fafi[28],a reference to Jessica Rabbit in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit[36][37]) performing the song and flirting in the Ink and Paint Club. The Kaiser Chiefs themselves make a cameo.[28] Australian singer and frequent collaborator of Ronson's,Daniel Merriweather,who appears on Ronson's previous single "Stop Me" (and appears in the accompanying video),also has a cameo in this video. Of notice is that,in the video,"Lily Allen" is the only toon present. Most of the toons that worked at the club (the octopus bartender,the penguin waiters,Bongo the Gorilla and Betty Boop) have been replaced by real people.
Live performances
When Ronson performed at the BBC Electric Proms in 2007,Allen had been the intended singer of the song but cancelled at the last minute. Rather than not perform the song,Ricky Wilson,who was performing with the Kaiser Chiefs the next day,stepped in.[38] Ronson and Wilson performed the song again on the last Friday Night with Jonathan Ross of 2007[39],which also featured Candie Payne.[39] Ronson's band,Mark Ronson &The Business Intl continued to play the song,including in 2011,at Positivus Festival,Latvia,with singer-songwriter Rose Elinor Dougall taking Allen's place.[40] This performance was more akin to the original.
The band,influenced by the current coronavirus pandemic,unveiled a reworked "Stay Home" edition with new,lockdown-inspired lyrics. The idea came about as a joke,when a fan of The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X texted in to suggest alternative lyrics,prompting Chris to message Ricky with the idea. Ricky then rewrote the song,notably changing the chorus from "Oh,my God,I can't believe it,I've never been this far away from home" to "Oh,my God,I can't believe it,I've never spent this much time at home" and re-recorded it from home,on call with the other band members.[51][52] It also mentions the Clap for our Carers appreciation gesture. The song was posted on Twitter[53] and uploaded to YouTube[54] on 14 April.
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