“I’m happy you’re here” — Benny Cristo’s “omaga” lyrics are about seeking connection during periods of isolation

You say “oh my god” and I say “OMG”. But Benny Cristo says “omaga”. However, the Czech Republic’s Eurovision entry is much more than a mere expression of surprise, excitement or disbelief. Read on to discover the meaning behind the text.

Scroll down for “omaga” lyrics.

Czech Republic in Eurovision 2021: Benny Cristo “omaga”

Just like many of his Eurovision 2021 contemporaries, Benny Cristo was originally due to sing at Eurovision 2020. But he never got the chance to perform as the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily for Benny, he got a second chance when Czech TV decided to keep him on for Eurovision 2021.

While completely different, “omaga” is heavily influenced by Benny’s planned entry for 2020 — “Kemama”. He explains that “the main message is me being honest about trying to have fun in these times and not overcomplicating things and overthinking things like I did with “Kemama”. With “Kemema” there were a lot of hidden messages and things I wanted to reveal about myself, but here it’s less about me and I’m just trying to tune into the viewer and trying to give you positive energy by any means necessary. I just want you to realize and not think about anything. I really just want you to smile. Nothing deeper than that.”

What do the “omaga” lyrics mean?

Just like “Kemama”, which was a portmanteau of “ok” and “mama”, Benny’s 2021 effort also sees him blend words together. This time, “oh my god” becomes “omaga”. In an interview with our William, the Czech singer explains the thought process behind the title.

“When it comes to the title, the most common thing would be to call it would be OMG. Oh My God would be too much. I really like those catchy words. OMG was the low-hanging fruit and I didn’t want to go with it”. He expands further, “Why would I go for OMG if I can come up with my own word?”.

The phrase was born of his own anxiety about writing the song. He had one year to write it and he was stressed about how to progress and evolve from last year. Eventually, he told himself to just be honest.

“Oh my god, oh my gooood. I just wanted to be honest and say ‘yo, you’re beautiful, whoever you are, whatever is happening, oh my god, don’t worry about it”, Benny explains. “It was an expression of a moment. Ohhhh my goood. It felt good. I could imagine people chanting this, I could imagine people having fun with this. That’s how it started”.

Benny’s goal is to bring “straight-up positive energy” to Eurovision. “I’m a single man in the lockdown. I just wanted to meet people. I just wanted to spend time with people. I genuinely want to have fun. That’s what the lyrics are about. It’s like, ‘you, just come over.”

Cristo illustrates the songwriting process with a real-world example. “I was on Tinder for a while. If I’m walking on the street I don’t see people because of the masks. There are more people on Tinder that I can see — new people. Somehow even these applications became the street to a certain extent. It’s not for a relationship or a one-night stand or whatever. It’s just like, ‘Yo, hi, what’s up, you look interesting, you look good, have fun!’ It’s a random match and we’re never going to see each other. And I swipe to another person. I’m like, ‘you, what’s up, you look good, bye’. I am a social person. I can be locked down for like three or four months and not see anybody but my family and close friends, I did that, but after that, you’re like, ‘what’s up? what’s happening?’ I just need to meet people.”

While most of the song is sung in English, some words in Czech also feature — “Můžeš bejt u mě klidně, Můžem dělat jakoby”. That means “we can be at my place, we can pretend”. Straight after, Benny reminds us that it’s not the end of the world “there ain’t no Apocalypse”.

omaga lyrics — Benny Cristo (Czech Republic ESC 2021)

Written and composed by: Ben Cristovao and Filip Vlček

Honestly I don’t care
I’m happy you’re here
I’m trying make you smile for a while now
I’m like, omaga, you’re so beautiful
Why don’t you come over and have it?
Why don’t you let me have it all?

I did a lot of dumb shh
A lot of things I wish I didn’t do
Baby, come back, won’t you?
Babe, come back, he-ey
Whole world’s crazy
Is it crazy to love you?
Baby, come back, won’t you?
Babe, come back

You said you’re still too mad
About them things I did
But I don’t know what I did, my baby
You said you gained a few pounds
You blame the apocalypse
There ain’t no apocalypse
Long as you’re here on my lips

Honestly I don’t care
I’m happy you’re here
I’m trying make you smilе for a while now
I’m like, omaga, you’re so bеautiful
Why don’t you come over and have it?
Why don’t you let me have it all?

You’ve been home too long
I’ve been home too long, yeah
We both need to feel love
Nothing wrong with that
Můžeš bejt u mě klidně
Můžem dělat jakoby
(English:we can be at my place, we can pretend)
There ain’t no apocalypse

Long as you’re here on my lips
Honestly I don’t care
I’m happy you’re here
I’m trying make you smile for a while now
I’m like, omaga, you’re so beautiful
Why don’t you come over and have it?
Why don’t you let me have it all?

Like omaga, omaga
You’re so beautiful
Omaga, omaga
Why don’t you let me have it?
You said you’re still too mad
About them things I did
But I don’t know what I did (what I did, what I did)
You said you gained a few pounds
You blame the apocalypse
There ain’t no apocalypse
Long as you’re here on my lips

Honestly I don’t care
I’m happy you’re here
I’m trying make you smile for a while now
I’m like, omaga, you’re so beautiful
Why don’t you come over and have it?

Why don’t you let me have it all?
Like omaga, omaga
You’re so beautiful
Omaga, omaga
Why don’t you let me have it?
Omaga, omaga
You’re so beautiful
Omaga, omaga (yeah)
Why don’t you let me?

Do you feel the “omaga” lyrics? Are you excited to see Benny perform it on stage? Let us know in the comments.

Read more Eurovision 2021 lyrics