Behind the Facade: Oscar Chomby

*cue for crowd to cheer*

Tonight we will be looking at Oscar Chomby, the infamous lead singer of Chomby and the Fungus Balls. We will be joined by guests who have all at one point, taken part in the star’s rise to fame and fortune.

*cue documentary*

As a young Chomby, Oscar had a gift for music and also trouble. While most of his Neoschool teachers agreed that Oscar was a good boy, they all claimed that he would be destined for greater things; how right they were. He got his first taste of stardom at the tender age of 13, when he was cast for the lead role of the hit musical, “Edna: The Other Story”. The controversial decision to hire such a young boy to play Edna paid off when the musical received raving reviews.

“I have never seen such heartfelt acting before,” Alexa Ixi said while sobbing into her lap. “I watched the musical twelve times just to see Oscar sing the main theme, ‘I weep with the sky’. I remember thinking how clever it was to use the water faerie to create fake rain for the musical but then the lonesome voice of Oscar met my ears and I...” Alexa was overcome with emotion and unable to continue.

Even at a young age it seemed that Oscar touched people’s hearts and souls with his music. After the season of “Edna: The Other Story” finished, he was offered a record contract with NeoRecords. Oscar promptly accepted. Soon after he released a hit single called “I dun care bout grammar”. The fast response by the public made NeoRecords wonder if he was going to be another one hit wonder. Oscar, now twenty years of age, played down the concerns, but when his next single failed to capture the public eye, he was shunned by NeoRecords and subsequently dropped. It made him NeoRecords's fourteenth one hit wonder in a row.

Jorgan the Chia joins us to talk about how hard it was for him to fire Oscar.

“Being CEO of NeoRecords isn’t easy, lemme tell you. In fact, I often loathed it. Constantly having only one hit wonders! But Oscar, he was something special. The first song he released was of his own making, but the next song, “I just wanna play gormball” was a flop. I think it was because he didn’t write it or compose it. It was forced onto him. I sincerely regret that decision now and letting him go was one of the hardest things ever. He and I had become very close, you see.” Jorgan pauses and takes out a small red handkerchief and wipes the tears from his eyes. Another person who Oscar touched with his music.

Oscar disappeared from the music industry for several years. In fact it seemed that he was missing from Neopia altogether. No one knew of his whereabouts, but soon he was discovered to be hiding and writing music in Mystery Island. There was an uproar by the media when he was discovered. He had grown into a native, it seemed. Oscar had gone from wearing a leather jacket and aviator sunglasses to wearing shark-tooth necklaces and face-paint. While on the island, he had also become close friends with another dropped band, The Fungus Balls. They formed what we now know as Chomby and the Fungus Balls. Their electro-island vibes soon became popular amongst Neopians and they were picked up by Fyora Beats. Their meaningful lyrics were soon applauded for helping bring a period of peace between Illusen and Jhudora during Fyora’s 500th birthday bash (yes, she’s that old!). They were the fourth band to ever play in the acclaimed Tyrannian Concert Hall and tickets to their concerts sold like hot socks (who eats hot cakes anymore... pfft!). It seemed like life was finally going in the right direction for the now thirty years old Chomby, but all good things come to an end, it seems.

The next part of Oscar’s life was perhaps the most turbulent period of his life. Aldron, one of the Fungus Balls, was threatening to leave the band.

“I just didn’t agree with where the band was going. I wanted to rock ‘n’ roll, not soothe the elderly!” Aldron exclaims from his seat. His resignation was met with much outrage from the band, but no one could stop him. The band went from six to five.

“Do you regret it?” I ask Aldron and he shakes his head.

“I was free to rock ‘n’ roll for the rest of my life. That’s one decision that left me happy,” he confesses to me.

The rest of the band pulled through, but Oscar was hit with another disaster soon after. His pet Meowclops had been kidnapped from his house. Oscar secluded himself from the world once more after this incident. He only saw his band members during this period of isolation. But he recovered from this personal loss with the love and support of his family and friends and continued to write excellent music with the Fungus Balls.

Chomby and the Fungus Balls became legends in their own right. Oscar reached his dreams after much grief, but he claims that it has made him a stronger Neopian, and I can’t help but agree to this statement. They now perform frequently at Chomby Day parades, carnivals, special birthdays, Fyora’s parties, and at the Tyrannian Concert Hall. Reaching number one was only ever a dream for Oscar, but it became a reality through hard work and perseverance.

Well, that’s it for tonight’s episode. We hope you enjoyed it and we also hope to be given more funding, so we can actually televise our episodes.

Next Week: Fyora- Faerie Queen or Ice Queen?

We reveal the life and times of our beloved Fyora. Her climb to the top and how she stayed there and also how she is ever present in all the lives of Neopians. Tune in for this special event (and I mean special, Fyora doesn’t just let anyone cover her life story!)

I’m Cathy and this is Behind the Facade.