Biography:
Featuring prominent piano riffs and anthemic pop/rock melodies, OneRepublic were formed in 2002 by producer/songwriter Ryan Tedder and lead guitarist Zach Filkins. The two quickly left their home base of Colorado Springs and relocated to Los Angeles, where keyboardist Drew Brown, bassist/cellist Brent Kutzle, and drummer Eddie Fisher joined the lineup. OneRepublic then signed with Sony BMG`s Columbia label in 2003; three years later, however, the band returned from a performance at Coachella to find themselves dropped from Columbia`s roster. Nevertheless, their popularity continued to soar on MySpace, and Tedder helped raise the group`s profile through his own songwriting projects for other artists. Hip-hop producer Timbaland (with whom Tedder had already worked for several years) took notice of the group`s growing audience and signed OneRepublic to his own Mosley Music Group, a joint venture with Interscope Records. Timbaland also remixed one of the group`s most promising tracks, "Apologize," and included it on his own album, 2007`s Timbaland Presents Shock Value. The song quickly became a platinum-selling single in many countries, breaking airplay records in the U.K. and America. Later that year, OneRepublic made their official public bow with the full-length Dreaming Out Loud.
