OneRepublic

OneRepublic's Colorado connection is mighty tangential. Tulsa-born lead singer Ryan Tedder and guitarist Zach Filkins met while attending high school in Colorado Springs, and guitarist Drew Brown is from Boulder. But local fans had little to do with their rise to prominence. Indeed, the band's been based in Los Angeles...

By Michael Roberts

January 17, 2008

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OneRepublic's Colorado connection is mighty tangential. Tulsa-born lead singer Ryan Tedder and guitarist Zach Filkins met while attending high school in Colorado Springs, and guitarist Drew Brown is from Boulder. But local fans had little to do with their rise to prominence. Indeed, the band's been based in Los Angeles since the early days and got signed thanks to executive producer Timbaland, who first saw Tedder when he competed in a Total Request Live talent contest judged by (gulp) *NSYNC's Lance Bass. But Colorado shouldn't mourn these facts, because Dreaming Out Loud isn't capable of stirring much home-state pride. The main attraction here is the mega-smash "Apologize," which finds the OneRepublicans blending sonics borrowed from half a dozen other housewife-pop purveyors into a sort of adult-contemporary smoothie. "Mercy," "Come Home," and the rest pretty much follow the same formula, but less effectively. Most tracks are so hazy and amorphous that even the band's members probably have a tough time paying attention to them from start to finish. That sounds a lot more like L.A. than Colorado.

Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently oversees Westword's news blog.

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