Omen III (song)

"Omen III" is a song recorded by the German eurodance band Magic Affair, which consists of vocalist Franca Morgano and rapper A.K. Swift. It was released in January 1994, as the lead single from the debut album, Omen (The Story Continues...). The song is their most successful song. It peaked at number-one in Germany, and number 2 in Austria and Finland. It has sold 750,000 copies in Germany alone and Gold status on the single were achieved within just eight weeks of release. In the official UK Singles charts it reached number 17 and sold under 180,000 copies, missing the silver certification just barely. Magic Affair won the 1994 Echo award in Germany, for the best German dance single with "Omen III".

"Omen III"
Single by Magic Affair
from the album Omen (The Story Continues...)
B-side"Remix"
ReleasedJanuary 14, 1994
Recorded1993
GenreEurodance
Length3:56
LabelEMI Records
Songwriter(s)
  • Mike Staab
  • Rainer Kempf
  • A.K. S.W.I.F.T.
  • B. Waldstädt
Producer(s)Mike Staab
Magic Affair singles chronology
"Omen III"
(1994)		 "Give Me All Your Love"
(1994)
Music video
"Omen III" on YouTube

Background

Magic Affair have only performed the third in the 'Omen' series, produced and created by Frankfurt DJ Michael Staab. The previous two Omen singles released back in '89 by Sony were sung by German dance floor house act Mysterious Art founded in 1988. The first went to number-one, the second climbed to number 9, while the debut album Omen - The Story was slow to take off, selling just 70.000 units and failing to make it into the charts.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that Magic Affair "exerts tremendous energy in its effort to be rousing and ominous at the same time, with jarring and amusing results. Track rolls into the States on the power of massive European club and sales success, and is ripe for similar acceptance here. The swirling layers of glossy synths are positively hypnotic, driven home by a pounding hi-NRG beat."[1] Music & Media noted that "back in 1989 Mike Staab along with a band named Mysterious Art first hit paydirt with Omen I, which sold over half-a-million units in the GSA territories alone, and also did well elsewhere in Europe and the US. Part II, which was released later that year, did almost equally well. Now he figures the time is right for a new lineup and Part III. At 138 bpm, it's maybe even harder hitting than its predecessors."[2]

Chart performance

"Omen III" was very successful on the charts in Europe, and remains the band's biggest hit to date. It peaked at number-one in Germany, and reached number 2 in Austria and Finland. Additionally, the single peaked within the Top 10 also in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it climbed to a very respectable number 5. In the United Kingdom, it reached the Top 20, peaking at number 17 in its first week on the UK Singles Chart, on May 29, 1994.[3] Outside Europe, "Omen III" was a huge hit in Israel, where it went to number 5. It earned a gold record in Austria, with a sale of 15,000 singles, and a platinum record in Germany, after 500,000 units were sold. Magic Affair was also awarded the German 1994 Echo award for the best German dance single with "Omen III".

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song. It features the band performing in a haunted house. Singer Franca Morgano appears as a witch, while rapper A.K. Swift raps among vampire-like females. The video was uploaded to YouTube in July 2014. As of September 2020, it has got over 9,5 million views.[4]

Track listings
CD maxi-single (Germany, 1993)
  1. "Omen III" (Single Version) - 3:56
  2. "Omen III" (Maxi Version) - 6:10
  3. "Omen III" (Instrumental Version) - 4:40
CD maxi-single (Europe, 1994)
  1. "Omen III" (Cyber-Remix) - 5:10
  2. "Omen III" (Cyber-Hyper-Remix) - 7:29
  3. "Omen III" (Single Version) - 3:56

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "Billboard: NEW & NOTEWORTHY" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  2. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. February 12, 1994. p. 6. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 29 May 1994 - 04 June 1994". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  4. "Magic Affair - Omen III". YouTube. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  5. "Omen III", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 10, 2008)
  6. Belgian peak Archived 2012-04-09 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Danish peak
  8. "Music & Media: Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  9. Finnish peak
  10. "Culture Beat singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  11. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved August 6, 2008)
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Magic Affair – Omen III" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. "Omen III", UK Singles Chart Official Charts Company (Retrieved August 6, 2008)
  14. "JAHRESHITPARADE 1994" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. "jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  16. "1994 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  17. "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  18. "Jaarlijsten 1994" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  19. "JAAROVERZICHTEN - Single 1994" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  20. "Årslista Singlar, 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  21. "SCHWEIZER JAHRESHITPARADE 1994". hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  22. Austrian certifications, database ifpi.at (Retrieved August 31, 2008)
  23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Omen III')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
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