OneRepublic's very first single, 2006's "Apologize," hinted at their hitmaking prowess. The sweeping ballad went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned the band their first GRAMMY nom, and introduced lead singer Ryan Tedder's unmistakable voice to millions. But that was just the beginning of their legacy as one of the most successful bands of the 21st century.
Over the next two decades, the Colorado-born band released smash hits like 2013's "Counting Stars" and 2022's "I Ain't Worried," racking up more than 18 billion streams on Spotify alone in the process. And now, OneRepublic is celebrating their biggest songs for the first time with OneRepublic: The Collection.
The 16-track greatest hits compilation includes their most beloved singles, including the Top 10 anthem "Good Life" and their latest, "I Don't Wanna Wait" with David Guetta. But for die-hard OneRepublic fans, the singles barely scratch the surface of what the band has created over the past two decades. Beyond the radio hits and chart-toppers is a vast and varied discography that demonstrates just how much OneRepublic, along with Tedder as their primary songwriter, has grown and proven their lasting influence.
In honor of OneRepublic: The Collection, GRAMMY.com explores 10 deep cuts and lesser-known singles that mirror the same storytelling and sonic DNA of the band's biggest hits.
It's safe to say that OneRepublic's debut single "Apologize" paved the way for everything that the band would be and become when it was released on their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud, in 2007. "It was the song that led me to the sound of OneRepublic, and it also led me to the idea that I should start a band and not be a solo artist," Tedder explained to GRAMMY.com in 2024.
Where "Apologize" orbits around a relationship breaking down and kissing off someone who wants a second chance, "It's A Shame" doubles down, trying to return ("I'm afraid it will never be the same"). Compared to its counterpart, "It's A Shame" is less about the fight and more about accepting that the relationship could never be as it was. "It's A Shame" is more soft and introspective than "Apologize" with the overall arrangement building gently throughout, mirroring the mourning that arrives with finality.
It was difficult to not hear "Good Life," the third single from OneRepublic's 2009 sophomore album, Waking Up, when it first came out. It was used in TV shows and films like "Gossip Girl" and Eat Pray Love, and in Google's own "Year In Review" likely due to its theme — an optimistic anthem that celebrates persevering. Tedder told GRAMMY.com that the song was a "Hail Mary," describing it as the epitome of the larger-than-life songs he aims to create that teeter between happy and sad.
Where the perspective of "Good Life" is through a "where are we now" lens, "Burning Bridges" focuses on deciding if you've actually gone too far to go back. A deep cut from 2013's Native, "Burning Bridges" has the same grand sound, but the production reflects a moodier and tense tone. In a track-by-track, Tedder noted how he knew immediately what he wanted to say when writing the song, and it serves as his biggest vocal moment on Native, similar to "Good Life" and Waking Up.
OneRepublic's very own call-to-arms, "I Lived" is a celebratory ode to resilience and perseverance. The last single from the band's third album, Native, "I Lived" is a pop-rock anthem with a soaring build and an even bigger chorus — a direct reflection of the themes the band explores on the track. Tedder wrote "I Lived" as his wish for his son, just in case something ever happened to him while he toured the world.
It's a sentiment that, seven years later, OneRepublic was still writing about as heard on "Take Care Of You," one of the lesser-known tracks on Human, OneRepublic's 2021 LP. Although the production behind "Take Care Of You" leans more synth-pop than "I Lived," the messaging still centers on offering support and guidance during hard times.
The throughline between "Secrets," the second single from Waking Up, and the one-off 2018 single "Connection" is the desire to find authentic relationships after dealing with surface-level acquaintances. When putting them in conversation with each other, they form a two-part arc: "Secrets" sees Tedder's vulnerability on display ("So tell me what you want to hear/ Something that'll light those ears/ I'm sick of all the insincere/ So I'm gonna give all my secrets away"), with "Connection" declaring Tedder's desire to connect on a deeper level ("Foot to the floor, man searching for the real thing/ Need somebody else, sometimes ain't no shame.")
Sonically, the pair are quintessential OneRepublic songs; both the vocals and production are sleek and share a layered, pulsing rhythm that builds throughout each and comes to a head at the choruses.
Two songs on Waking Up are two sides of the same coin: lead single "All The Right Moves" and album cut "Everybody Loves Me." With both being on the same project, they share a similar sonic palette that's equal parts theatrical and confident, but each one zeroes in on their newfound fame that the band experienced after their debut album in different ways.
The better-known "All The Right Moves" sees the band questioning whether the industry values their music enough to champion them: "Do you think I'm special? Do you think I'm nice?/ Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces?" Comparatively, the tongue-in-cheek "Everybody Loves Me" is sonically and lyrically more playful, mocking the ego and vanity that comes with celebrity culture: "Oh my!/ Feels just like I don't try/ Looks so good I might die."
While Native's "Counting Stars" is about ambition and chasing dreams, Oh My My's "Choke" is about an unshakable love for someone — a devotion so strong that you'd sacrifice anything for them even after you've separated. Narratively, "Choke" is practically a continuation of "Counting Stars," with the latter expressing the desire to move beyond material things ("counting dollars") to find fulfillment and joy in something more substantial ("counting stars").
"Choke" takes that concept and doubles down with Tedder expressing, "It's not like I was counting/ Or thought that we'd run out of days/ So I'll be holding onto something/ Breathing the air you took away." Sonically, "Counting Stars" and "Choke" are both anthemic and cinematic, but "Choke" has an extra touch of tenderness that is emboldened thanks to the gospel singers on the chorus, almost acting as a hymn about his devotion.
The second single from Dreaming Out Loud, "Stop and Stare" encapsulates Tedder's feelings of being stuck and held back by his hometown, and the overwhelming doubt over whether music was the right path for him ("You start to wonder why you're here not there/ And you'd give anything to get what's fair," he sings on the chorus). "Stop and Stare" was also burdened by the pressure of living up to the success of "Apologize" and OneRepublic becoming a one-hit wonder.
Of course, the opposite happened, and 17 years later, he channeled similar feelings on a track from 2024's Artificial Paradise, "Stargazing" — but this time, they came from a place of hope and courage. Atmospheric and expansive, the song's production uses uplifting synths and vocals, mimicking the feeling of breaking free and learning to trust oneself ("Full speed/ 'Cause I wanna know/ Eyes closed if I make it out").
According to Tedder, he broke every rule of pop math with "I Ain't Worried." After Tedder spoke with Tom Cruise about the soundtrack, Cruise informed him that this song would play over "the only moment in the film where nobody's worried about anything." Naturally, Tedder took that and ran with it, using Cruise's own words for the lyrics while writing.
Played over a beach scene (yes, that beach scene), Tedder used a whistle hook that weaves the song together, another aspect of the song that Tedder felt mimicked the carefree release the characters were experiencing ("There's nothing more lighthearted than a whistle, and if you're whistling, you're definitely not thinking about going to war, or getting shot at," he told Variety in 2022.)
It's fitting that just a few years earlier, Tedder wrote a track to help himself through a dark time. In 2017, the band released "No Vacancy," a one-off single created after Tedder took time away from OneRepublic and touring due to stress. Much like "I Ain't Worried," "No Vacancy" has a similar tropical-infused pop sonics, with Tedder noting that it's "the poppiest thing" the band has ever done — perhaps until "I Ain't Worried" came along.
There is a sense of urgency to "Wherever I Go," a song about being fixated on a path, purpose, or person. That intensity is woven into the song's overall sound — tight, moody and slightly darker than typical OneRepublic songs, due to the track's strong pulsing beats. Thematically, "Life In Color" might not seem like an equal match, but paired together, they tell a story of releasing stress and obsession and letting go ("Just when I couldn't run this race anymore/ The sun bursts, clouds break/ This is life in color.")
Sonically, "Life In Color," is the opposite of "Wherever I Go" — a production that features shimmering guitars and piano that feels like a celebratory breath of fresh air. The tightness of "Wherever I Go" makes the open-chord feel of "Life in Color" help present Tedder's vocals in two different ways: urgent vs. uplifting.
When the opening track to Human, "Run," was released, it was immediately reminiscent of OneRepublic's older hits like "Counting Stars" and "I Lived" thanks to its propelling energy. Although 2024's "Room For You," a deep cut on Artificial Paradise, doesn't have the same instant power, the song uses more atmospheric, ballad sounds that are akin to OneRepublic's more lyrically-driven hits, like "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare."
"Run" centers around the idea of being independent, chasing possibilities and jumping headfirst into the unknowns, whereas "Room For You" is about the beauty of slowing down and creating the quiet, intimate space for the person they love ("Years pass and I won't leave/ Honey, know that I always got room for you").
Together, these deep cuts offer a parallel history of OneRepublic — one that proves their lasting influence comes not just from the hits everyone knows, but from the hidden gems that show OneRepublic's diverse, one-of-a-kind artistry.