OneRepublic
photo: keenman76 · cc by-sa 4.0 ↗OneRepublic formed in Colorado Springs in 2002 around singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder and guitarist Zach Filkins, and broke through in 2007 when a Timbaland remix of their piano ballad 'Apologize' became a worldwide hit. Tedder built a parallel career as one of pop's most sought-after songwriters and producers, writing and producing for artists including Leona Lewis, Beyoncé, and Adele, while steering the band toward increasingly anthemic, radio-built singles like 'Counting Stars' and 'I Ain't Worried.' Their sound fuses arena-rock uplift with polished pop craft, a blend the band traces to heroes like U2, The Beatles, and Peter Gabriel.
The band names U2 among its heaviest influences, and Tedder has spoken about wanting to move an audience live the way U2 does; the debt turns up in OneRepublic's reach for the big, communal arena chorus and its bright, ringing guitar textures.
listen forCue up U2's 'Beautiful Day' and wait for the chorus to open skyward, then drop into 'Counting Stars' at the 'everything that kills me makes me feel alive' hook. Both take a driving acoustic strum and blow it up into a hands-in-the-air singalong built to fill a stadium.
Tedder has said he taught himself to sing as a preteen by imitating favorites including The Beatles, and the band lists them among its heavier influences; the mark is a melody-first instinct and a taste for plain, hymnlike piano balladry.
listen forPlay 'Let It Be' and notice how the whole song leans on a spare, churchy piano figure and a slowly rising vocal line. Then put on 'Apologize' and hear the same instinct: a bare piano refrain carrying a simple, aching melody straight into the hook.
Gabriel is one of the artists Tedder singled out from childhood, after an uncle mailed him records by British acts including Gabriel, and Tedder and Filkins have said they settled on starting a band during a drive spent talking up Gabriel and U2; the influence surfaces in OneRepublic's rhythm-forward, percussive art-pop and its taste for gospel-tinged groove.
listen forThrow on Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' for its stomping, horn-and-percussion funk, then 'Love Runs Out.' Both ride a hard, foot-stomping backbeat and a strutting soul-revue swagger rather than a straight four-on-the-floor rock beat.