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Not many can claim a spot in the Top 20 most viewed YouTube videos of all time, but OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars” has earned its place with over 4 billion views on the platform. While the world easily embraced the song as an instant hit, the journey to the band’s individual success wasn’t so straightforward.
For OneRepublic’s lead singer, Ryan Tedder, “Counting Stars” wasn’t just another single; it was a make-or-break moment for the band. Reflecting on the pressure they faced at the time, Tedder shared in Variety’s Behind the Song, “We thought that our first two singles had misfired, and this was our last shot.” Tedder had a strong intuition about the track itself: “I placed [‘Counting Stars’] as the first track on the album for a reason,” he remembers.
The journey began while Tedder was in the midst of creating music for another major pop star. “I started [‘Counting Stars’] at a camp in the Hamptons writing for Beyoncé,” he says. “It was her self-titled album, and I did the lead single on that album called ‘XO.’ A lot of times, if I’m put in a space where I’m focused on another artist, I will write my story, because that’s what I’m pulling from.”
This blend of personal inspiration and professional opportunity set the stage for what would become one of OneRepublic’s most popular songs. Despite the win, Tedder’s relationship with his own voice has been complicated. “I always had a love-hate relationship with my own voice,” he admits. “The first two albums, I didn’t like how pop it sounded; it drove me nuts.”
In an effort to make his voice sound rougher and warmer, he took a more unconventional route. “I would always try to mess up my voice,” he says. “Sometimes I’d smoke a cigar and intentionally inhale—which you’re not supposed to do—just so I’d cough and get my voice to sound rougher.”
In discussing the creative process behind “Counting Stars,” Tedder touched on a serendipitous moment that aligned with the release of another popular song. “Throughout [‘Counting Stars’], there’s some ‘Hey’ that I’ve thrown in, and some ‘Ho.’ This was before The Lumineers’ ‘Ho Hey,’ so when that song came out, I was like, ‘We’re all drinking from the same water supply,’ because it all came out around the same time.”
This experience reinforced a lesson for Tedder that he now shares with other artists: “If we stumble into a lyric or a song title that’s a 10 out of 10, and the song is a 10 out of 10, you better race to get that thing out, because someone else just came up with the same idea.”
Fast-forward to his current projects, Tedder has continued to evolve as an artist and collaborator. His 2024 summer hit, “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” created with David Guetta, is another example of his adaptive creativity. “David Guetta is constantly coming up with ideas for songs,” Tedder shares, expressing his admiration for Guetta.
Tedder will be the first to admit his path has been marked by challenges, but his ability to adapt and push the boundaries of pop music has continued to ensure OneRepublic’s place in the industry for decades.
Watch this episode of Variety‘s Behind the Song here.
English (US) ·