One Republic Has "All The Right Friends In All the Right Places" - Ryan Tedder's Musical Genius

Ryan Tedder (noun) - one of the brightest songwriters on the Pop music scene in the new millennium.

     Ryan Tedder is the lead singer of Pop/Rock band OneRepublic. He is the musical equivalent of the Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" because his discography has its own Wikipedia page. He plays the piano. He is also pretty handsome. OneRepublic played the tonight show last week to drop their new catchy single, "Wherever I Go". The music video link is very amusing. This caused me to do some binge-listening to Tedder's other classics. The lyrics offer little to the imagination, as they are very honest, direct with feelings and pull at your heartstrings. Here are the 5 best OneRepublic singles.

5. Apologize (2007) Featuring Timbaland
Tedder's first big single is one of his showstoppers. It's slow building orchestration on the piano and Timbaland's faraway hey-ayy-heyy lead off with a haunting waltz. The slow beat is magnified by lyrics like  "I need you like a heart needs a beat.." but as the song clearly explains, it is too late to apologize. That is the  2007 equivalent of Taylor Swift saying "We are never getting back together. Like Ever." Country singer Luke Bryan does a great twangy cover of this on his Doin' My Thing album.

4. Come Home (2009) Featuring Sara Barielles

Sara Barielles (C) PipPepPop

     This is another OR ballad filed with pianos, strings and joined by the beautiful voice of Sara Barielles in perfect harmony.
" Right now there's a war between the vanities/
   But all I see is you and me/
   And the fight for you is all I've even known/
   Ever known.... so come home."
There is such a deep pain and longing in this song. Tedder and Barielles both plead with each other that all can be forgiven if the other one just gives in and comes home.  I can't help but get my teary eyed every time I hear it.

3. Secrets (2009)
     This ballad is reminiscent of Apologize because of the gorgeous sweeping orchestrations, but its even better. Secrets is different about Apologize because it is about hope. The previous song is about closing doors and ending ties, but this one is abut opening up to begin something honest and new. It is just the most beautiful song. This song was used in many advertisements, notably for the movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice and ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars.  Tedder's lyrical genius includes lines "Tell me what you want to hear/ something that will light those ears, sick of all the insincere, I'm gonna give all my secrets all my secrets away."


2. Counting Stars (2013)

     First of all, this song moves at a fast clip (see more about the 'Tedder beat' in #1). What may sound like verbal vomit is actually deep thoughts from Tedder about survival. I consider it to be somewhat like  Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," but with less world events. When he says "Everything that kills me, makes me feel alive," he is #winning and wiping your face in it. Tedder has dreams that are more important than dollars, and he believes hope is a 4-letter word. My first favorite line in the song comes in the building bridge back to the chorus: "Take that money / watch it burn /  sink in the river /the lessons are learnt." Life sucks, but its how you bounce back that really matters. My second favorite part of the song is in the above image.  Tedder does a superb job of rhyming his 4 pre-chorus verses.

1. Love Runs Out (2014)
     This song echoes a typical repeating bass line (on the piano) or "Tedder driving beat," as I have dubbed his sound. It's easy to see why the song became the official anthem to the recent season 2 of ABC's How to Get Away with Murder. This music video is pretty amusing for starters, and seems to have nothing to do with the song. The lyrics are simple but decisive. The song is intense, relentless, and passionate, like the accompaniment. Here is the rhyming couplet that holds this song together: "I'll be doing this /  if you ever doubt /  'til the love runs out / 'til the love runs out."

    Check back for Ryan Tedder's best productions and collaborations with other artists. He has done over 80 well-known and released songs in the last 10 years. This will blow your mind!