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Carson Powell

Professor Hellmers

Eng Composition 2 Sec 1201

November 3, 2020

“Cheerleader”-OMI

Two videos, one song, one artist, different meanings. It’s crazy how two songs that are

almost exactly the same, can be interpreted in multiple different ways based off of the visuals

provided. The song “Cheerleader” by OMI has two different music videos with very minimal

changes in the actual song itself. In one video, the visuals portray how lust and infatuation play

major roles in relationships nowadays. Meanwhile, the second video shows a couple enjoying

life by spending time with one another, singing, dancing, walking along a beach, and living and

laughing with each other. This portrays how living in the moment without a worry in the world

with each other and being in love can feel in a relationship, as the audience gets a positive vibe

from watching the video.

The original song was released in 2012. However, the remix, which would eventually

blow up and top the Billboard chart, was released in 2014. The lyrics represent the artist

referencing his love as a cheerleader due to how supportive she is of him. The lyrics “She is

always right there when I need her”, back up that statement. The only real difference in the two

songs is a slight change in the beat, as well as obviously a different music video. Both songs

contain a pop/reggae vibe to them and a relatively positive feeling given to the audience.

In the first video, the real story takes place inside a back. OMI, the artist, is speaking with

a female employee at the bank who appears to be flirting with him. However, he turns his

shoulder and sings the lyrics to the song, ignoring the woman as well as the temptation.
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Meanwhile, his girlfriend who is the “cheerleader”, is doing the exact opposite. She’s speaking

with a male employee, flirting with him and attracting his attention. She then is able to somehow

finesse a key to a vault from the employee. This is where the tables turn, and she locks the

employee inside the vault, and a scene shows the man and his girlfriend walking out of the back

carrying duffel bags, which leads the audience to assume they hold a lot of money. The man

ignores the bank employee flirting with him, and stays loyal to his girlfriend. Meanwhile, his

girlfriend uses lust and infatuation to fool the male bank employee for the benefit of herself and

her boyfriend. These two examples, used by a man and his girlfriend in different ways, just go to

show how lust and infatuation can play roles in a relationship. The main appeal from this video is

logos, as the female uses logic and reasoning in order to make her way into the bank and

ultimately take the money. The audience for this video includes younger people, male or female,

who listen to mainstream music as this song was played on the radio plenty of times during its

prime, as well as those who are in a relationship.

In the remixed version of the song, there is a completely different music video. We see

the artist, OMI, and a different female, or “cheerleader” you could say, singing and dancing,

playing volleyball, and walking along the beach together. The overall feeling and vibe that the

audience receives from the video shows us how happy and in love the couple is in their

relationship. This shows how spending time and having fun with your love is a crucial part of a

relationship, much different from the claim made in the first video. There is a significant pathos

appeal in watching this video, as like I mentioned before, the audience gets a very positive and

happy feeling when watching the video. Although this video lacks a real “story”, unlike the first

video, I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it again, the visuals along with the overall

feeling we get from watching the video, speaks enough for itself. The audience for this video,
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much like the first, includes a younger audience, male or female, mainstream music fans, and

couples.

We see many similarities and many differences from the two music videos. They’re

almost the exact same song, almost the same lyrics, almost the same beat, and even made by the

same artist. Both videos also show factors that take place in a relationship. However, due to the

visuals, the two songs carry two much different meanings. One shows the feelings of lust and

infatuation and how those feelings are involved in a relationship, while the other shows

happiness and spending time with your loved one, and why that’s important in a relationship.

Nonetheless, both videos portray different claims that are significant messages to the audience.
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Works Cited

Omishangrecords. “OMI - CHEERLEADER 2012 (Official Video).” ​Youtube, ​31 August 2012.

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NVUZNsh2E​ Accessed 2 November 2020.

UltraRecords. “OMI - Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) [Official Video].” ​Youtube,​ 8 April

2015.

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGflUbPQfW8​ Accessed 2 November 2020.