OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud
Mar 25, 2008 1:53:07 GMT -5
Post by Late Winter on Mar 25, 2008 1:53:07 GMT -5
Found an interesting article about Ryan and some of the songs he wrote...
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Jan. 16, 2008, 1:28PM
Ryan Tedder's back-up plan
By JOEY GUERRA
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
TOOLS
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Ryan Tedder seems to have found his footing as a performer with OneRepublic. But even if the band can't follow the smash success of recent single Apologize, Tedder shouldn't worry. He's become one of the industry's most in-demand producers and songwriters.
Tedder is mulling over future projects for Kelly Clarkson, Chris Cornell, Paula DeAnda, Baby Bash and MTV's regenerated Menudo. Here, he breaks down a few of his most notable clients:
Do It Well, Jennifer Lopez: Tedder expected this song to re-establish Lopez as a pop presence. It peaked at No. 31, her biggest hit in two years, but didn't make the intended impact.
"I love that song. It's a lot of fun. I'd never done a song like it at that point," said Tedder, who co-wrote and produced the tune. "I took it as a challenge. I just looked at some of the top pop female artists at the time: JLo, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Britney before she went off the reservation. I thought, `I know I can write just as well as (their songwriters).'
"She heard it, flipped out, and it became the first single (from recent disc Brave). I had all these radio stations tell me, `It is a hit, but JLo's relevance right now ... is just not really there anymore.' If Beyoncé had cut it, it would have been a No. 1."
Love Like This, Natasha Bedingfield (featuring Sean Kingston): The buoyant tune was originally intended for Mary J. Blige, but Tedder wanted a guarantee that it would be the first single from her new album. It went to Bedingfield instead, who Tedder calls a "fantastic" singer. He co-wrote and produced.
"We have a production team called the Runaways. We said, 'Let's just do a feel-good anthem,' " Tedder said. "The Sean Kingston thing came a little later. Initially, we were trying to get Andre 3000 (of OutKast).
"My voice is actually in that track. There's this high, chipmunky-sounding sample at the beginning of the song. It's actually my voice pitched up half an octave."
Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis: Lewis was the Season 3 winner of The X Factor, a UK riff on American Idol. Her debut album, Spirit, is a massive overseas hit, and Bleeding Love was the UK's best-selling single of 2007. Spirit is released March 18 in the U.S., and Tedder says he's "probably more excited" about this project than anything he's ever done.
"There hasn't been an artist like her, vocally and presence-wise. She kind of brings back the feelings people got when they first heard Mariah Carey, when they first heard Celine," said Tedder, who co-wrote and produced the UK smash.
"I really hope America embraces her. I just saw the new music video for the U.S. I actually wrote the treatment for it."
Audio Day Dream, Blake Lewis: Tedder was originally asked to produce all of Idol runner-up Lewis' vibrant debut disc, but wound up handling two-thirds. He co-wrote seven songs, including first single, Break Anotha.
"I got to step outside the box. There were no rules whatsoever. It's all over the map, but it's pop. It's kind of unpredictable," Tedder said. "I'm really proud of that record, the label's really proud of it, and Blake's proud of it. I'm excited for his future.
"I got to be really good friends with him. We hit it off because we were both huge Nikka Costa fans and fans of the first Robin Thicke album. He came on the tour bus and played the Xbox with us. He is a super-funny, high-energy, very honest, sincere person. What you saw on-camera is who he is."
Jennifer Hudson: Tedder says there's "a very strong possibility" he'll contribute something to the debut disc from the big-voiced Oscar winner and Idol castoff — now that Clive Davis is taking the album in a new direction. Tedder envisions "high-energy, beat-driven material with soulful hooks."
"They made half an album and ended up scrapping it. Clive — wisely, I think — said, 'No one's going to buy this. We're trying to turn her into Aretha Franklin, and that's not realistic,' " Tedder said. "They scrapped a bunch of songs and started fresh.
"I heard a Timbland song that was by far the best song she's done. I do wish, and I know the label wishes, that this album had come out six months ago. But Clive's smart. He didn't want to just put out a crap album just because of the momentum."
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Jan. 16, 2008, 1:28PM
Ryan Tedder's back-up plan
By JOEY GUERRA
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
TOOLS
Ryan Tedder seems to have found his footing as a performer with OneRepublic. But even if the band can't follow the smash success of recent single Apologize, Tedder shouldn't worry. He's become one of the industry's most in-demand producers and songwriters.
Tedder is mulling over future projects for Kelly Clarkson, Chris Cornell, Paula DeAnda, Baby Bash and MTV's regenerated Menudo. Here, he breaks down a few of his most notable clients:
Do It Well, Jennifer Lopez: Tedder expected this song to re-establish Lopez as a pop presence. It peaked at No. 31, her biggest hit in two years, but didn't make the intended impact.
"I love that song. It's a lot of fun. I'd never done a song like it at that point," said Tedder, who co-wrote and produced the tune. "I took it as a challenge. I just looked at some of the top pop female artists at the time: JLo, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Britney before she went off the reservation. I thought, `I know I can write just as well as (their songwriters).'
"She heard it, flipped out, and it became the first single (from recent disc Brave). I had all these radio stations tell me, `It is a hit, but JLo's relevance right now ... is just not really there anymore.' If Beyoncé had cut it, it would have been a No. 1."
Love Like This, Natasha Bedingfield (featuring Sean Kingston): The buoyant tune was originally intended for Mary J. Blige, but Tedder wanted a guarantee that it would be the first single from her new album. It went to Bedingfield instead, who Tedder calls a "fantastic" singer. He co-wrote and produced.
"We have a production team called the Runaways. We said, 'Let's just do a feel-good anthem,' " Tedder said. "The Sean Kingston thing came a little later. Initially, we were trying to get Andre 3000 (of OutKast).
"My voice is actually in that track. There's this high, chipmunky-sounding sample at the beginning of the song. It's actually my voice pitched up half an octave."
Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis: Lewis was the Season 3 winner of The X Factor, a UK riff on American Idol. Her debut album, Spirit, is a massive overseas hit, and Bleeding Love was the UK's best-selling single of 2007. Spirit is released March 18 in the U.S., and Tedder says he's "probably more excited" about this project than anything he's ever done.
"There hasn't been an artist like her, vocally and presence-wise. She kind of brings back the feelings people got when they first heard Mariah Carey, when they first heard Celine," said Tedder, who co-wrote and produced the UK smash.
"I really hope America embraces her. I just saw the new music video for the U.S. I actually wrote the treatment for it."
Audio Day Dream, Blake Lewis: Tedder was originally asked to produce all of Idol runner-up Lewis' vibrant debut disc, but wound up handling two-thirds. He co-wrote seven songs, including first single, Break Anotha.
"I got to step outside the box. There were no rules whatsoever. It's all over the map, but it's pop. It's kind of unpredictable," Tedder said. "I'm really proud of that record, the label's really proud of it, and Blake's proud of it. I'm excited for his future.
"I got to be really good friends with him. We hit it off because we were both huge Nikka Costa fans and fans of the first Robin Thicke album. He came on the tour bus and played the Xbox with us. He is a super-funny, high-energy, very honest, sincere person. What you saw on-camera is who he is."
Jennifer Hudson: Tedder says there's "a very strong possibility" he'll contribute something to the debut disc from the big-voiced Oscar winner and Idol castoff — now that Clive Davis is taking the album in a new direction. Tedder envisions "high-energy, beat-driven material with soulful hooks."
"They made half an album and ended up scrapping it. Clive — wisely, I think — said, 'No one's going to buy this. We're trying to turn her into Aretha Franklin, and that's not realistic,' " Tedder said. "They scrapped a bunch of songs and started fresh.
"I heard a Timbland song that was by far the best song she's done. I do wish, and I know the label wishes, that this album had come out six months ago. But Clive's smart. He didn't want to just put out a crap album just because of the momentum."