Oah
{{For|the organization|OAH}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Oah
| cover = oahalexander.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Alexander Rybak
| album = No Boundaries
| released = 8 June 2010
| recorded = 2010
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Pop
| length = 4:19
| label = EMI
| writer = Alexander Rybak (lyrics & music), Markus Eriksen (music), Sebastian Dankel (music), Asmund Begre Jenssen (music)
| producer = Eirik Heldal
| prev_title = Roll with the Wind
| prev_year = 2009
| next_title = Resan till dig
| next_year = 2011
}}
"Oah" is a song by Belarusian-Norwegian singer–songwriter Alexander Rybak. It is the first single released from his second album No Boundaries. It was released on 8 June 2010.
Background
Rybak wrote the song as an ode to one of his female backing singers, called Moa, as he wrote an ode to each of his three backing singers on his second album No Boundaries.{{cite web |last1=Pettersen |first1=Hugo Bjørn |title=Rybak frykter rakjor |url=http://www.tb.no/kultur/rybak-frykter-rakjor/s/2-2.516-1.5391771#am-commentArea |website=TB.no|date=17 June 2010 }} Rybak started dating her in early 2010. The two broke off shortly after the release of the song. In 2014, Rybak stated that he did not regret the song, but would not do such a thing again necessarily.{{cite web |title=Elg – "Oah" by Alexander Rybak – HGVM 15.03.14 – (Subs) |website = YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzNMPMFIPjY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/ZzNMPMFIPjY |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}
Critical reception
"Oah" was met with mostly unfavourable reviews in Norway. Dagbladet gave it a "die throw" of 1, stating it did "not surprise, have the exotic x-factor or, under any circumstances, be funny. It is just a hopeless, clumsy and plump affair that does not communicate in any direction."{{cite web |last1=Øyre |first1=Torgrim |title=Tafatt, banal og full av nødrim |url=https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/tafatt-banal-og-full-av-nodrim/65100451 |website=Dagbladet|date=11 May 2010 }} VG also gave the song a "die throw" of 1.{{cite web |last1=Haugen |first1=Ida Anna |title="Jeg kunne laget en plate som fikk terningkast 6 hvis jeg ville" |url=https://www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/i/XKRko/jeg-kunne-laget-en-plate-som-fikk-terningkast-6-hvis-jeg-ville |website=VG.no}}
Music video
In 2010, A music video was made for the single. It was directed by Lars Kristian Flemmen, produced by Eirik Heldal and shot by Martin J. Edelsteen.
At the start of the music video Alexander asks a girl named Moa to go out with him. However, Moa tells him that she does not want to go out with him and walks away from him, She goes to her locker opens it and teddy bears fall on her with a note attached saying "So, lets start by being friends". She throws it away and goes to class, where Alexander sits beside her and starts singing to her again. For the remainder of the video, he closely follows her in a daily activities, while declaring her his love.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211209/o4sfh2u8cgU Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110810074911/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4sfh2u8cgU&gl=US&hl=en&has_verified=1 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4sfh2u8cgU| title = Alexander Rybak – "OAH" (Official Music Video) | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/video/id/o4sfh2u8cgU/search/Alexander%20Rybak|title=Alexander Rybak – "OAH"|work=NME}}
The music video has accustomed over 19 million views per July 2020 on YouTube, making it Rybak's third most popular music video after "Kotik" and "Europe's Skies".{{cite web |last1=AlexanderRybakVideo |title=Alexander Rybak – "OAH" (Official Music Video) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4sfh2u8cgU |website=YouTube}}
Track listing
{{tracklist
| headline = Digital download{{cite web | url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/oah-single/id376990897 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111135336/https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/oah-single/id376990897 | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 November 2012 | title=Oah – Single by Alexander Rybak | website=iTunes | date=8 June 2010 }}
| title1 = Oah
| note1 =
| writer1 = {{hlist|Rybak|Eriksen|Dankel|Jenssen}}
| length1 = 4:19
}}
Personnel
Lead vocals
Recording and production staff
- Sergio Raminez – Editor
- Eirik Heldal – Producer
Costumes
- Jeanette Hoff
Art department
- Patrik Svaningen
- Ann-Kristin Olson
Make-up
- Katharina Sørensen
- Tormod Hauge
Release history
| class="wikitable"
! Region ! Date ! Format |
| Norway
|rowspan="2"| CD single, Digital download |
| Worldwide |
Other versions
Rybak also recorded and released a Russian version of this song called "Strela Amura" ({{langx|ru|link=no|Стрела Амура}}, Cupid's arrow) with lyrics by Anna Nikolaichuk. A music video was shot by Oleksandr Filatovych in Kyiv and released in June 2012 by both Rybak's own music channel and ELLO. By July 2020, the music video had reached to over 10 million views.{{cite web |last1=AlexanderRybakVideo |title=Александр Рыбак "Стрела Амура" (Strela Amura) Official Music Video |url=https://youtube.com/48guzkzehPg |website=YouTube}}
In 2014, Norwegian musician Øivind Elgenes made a cover of the song as part of Alexander Rybak's day on the musical programme Hver gang vi møtes.