If the term ‘hit factory’ had a human face, it’d probably be Ryan Tedder’s.
You might not know his name, but over the last twenty years, the Tulsa-born multi-hyphenate has crafted classic pop smashes for the likes of Adele, Jennifer Lopez, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, James Blunt, Kelly Clarkson, Kygo, Lil Nas X, and more.
You know a little song called Halo, by Beyoncé? Yeah, that was him. As was Turning Tables by Adele, Happier by Ed Sheeran, Sucker by the Jonas Brothers, Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, and Maps by Maroon 5. And that’s definitely not a definitive list.
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But all of that gets even more impressive when you remember that he’s also the creative force behind one of the biggest pop-rock bands on the planet.
As OneRepublic, Tedder – alongside Zach Filkins, Drew Brown, Brent Kutzle, Eddie Fisher, and Brian Willett – has carefully crafted the kind of career that most bands could only dream of. They’ve had number-one singles across the globe, sold countless albums, and performed in every venue that’s worth its salt.
Like London’s Wembley Arena, for example. And last night, when they took to the stage at one of the capital’s grandest enormodomes, it only took a moment for them to show each and every member of the sold-out crowd why they’ve hit those lofty heights.
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Here at One on One, we’ve seen a lot of live bands over the years.
Some have been good. Some have been bad. Some have been so bad we’ve wanted to gouge our ears off with a rusty spoon before the end of the second song. (No, we’re not naming names.)
But out of all of them, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that OneRepublic are one of the best.
For a start, you’ve got the setlist. A twenty-song Now That’s What I Call Music-worthy compilation of some of the best pop-rock songs that have hit our ears over the last couple of decades. From the minimalist pop of Run to the stadium-worthy chorus of Stop and Stare via the ever-enormous Counting Stars and a surprisingly soulful rendition of Love Runs Out, there’s barely a moment wasted throughout the show.
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And then, there’s Ryan Tedder.
Not only is he one of the best songwriters on the planet, but it turns out that he’s also a ridiculously good frontman. How unfair is that?
Seriously, though – the man is good. When he’s not darting across every corner of the stage like a man possessed, he’s hitting the kind of high notes that Celine Dion would be proud of; and when he’s not doing that, he’s seeming genuinely grateful for the fact that they’re able to come over to London and play to a crowd of this size. Oh, and that’s without even mentioning the 15-minute ‘number one hits that I wrote for other people’ medley that he casually plonks in the middle of the set.
They came, they saw, and they conquered Wembley with a barrage of hits so ferocious, it threatened to bring the roof down. So, the next time that OneRepublic roll through your town, make sure you head down to the show – we can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.