Producer Timbaland can spot talent a mile away – and in Ryan Tedder’s case, five miles. The gifted singer-songwriter behind One-
Republic’s modern rock sound was recruited by Timbaland several years ago to pen lyrics for artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Paul Oakenfold, as well as develop his own solo career. Tedder eventually formed One-Republic, which became a smash on MySpace.
A reunion took place earlier this year when Timbaland signed the LA-based quintet to his Mosley Music Group, a division of Interscope. Timbaland fell in love with the song “Apologize” and remixed it. The love has spread, as the track currently sits at No. 1 on three Billboard charts (Pop 100, Top 40 Radio, Digital Songs). And, oh yeah, it just shattered the record for most radio spins in a week with 10,665 plays. The group’s debut album, “Dreaming Out Loud,” arrived in stores last week.
How did you deal with all the label headaches before Timbaland?
We almost broke up. But then the whole MySpace thing happened. And one day we got an e-mail from a young girl on the site who said “Apologize” is the reason she didn’t take her own life. We knew we needed to stay together.
Wow! That song is very tender, yet powerful. What’s it about?
Self respect. Sometimes “I’m sorry” isn’t acceptable and you have to put your foot down. It’s about people who won’t allow themselves to be abused anymore.
Did Timbaland produce the entire album?
He’s the executive producer. We mostly worked with producer Greg Wells [Pink, Deftones].
Besides OneRepublic, you’re still doing production work with others, right?
Yeah, I’m working with Chris Cornell on some new stuff and I just worked with Natasha Bedingfield.