Ryan Tedder

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Ryan Tedder


Img_capt = Ryan Tedder performing with his band, OneRepublic.
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Ryan Benjamin Tedder
Alias = Alias Ryan "Alias" Tedder
Born = June 26, 1979 (age 29)
Origin = Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Colorado Springs, Colorado
Genre = Pop rock, Dance-pop, Techno, R&B, hip hop, Alternative rock, Adult contemporary,
Occupation = Singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist
Instrument = Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, drums, clarinet, glockenspiel
Voice_type = tenor
Years_active = 2000 – present
Label =Columbia Records Interscope Records (2007 – present)
Associated_acts =OneRepublic Leona Lewis Timbaland
URL = [http://www.myspace.com/aliastheproducer Ryan "Alias" Tedder]

Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, and Grammy nominated songwriter and record producer born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.cite news|url= http://www.zmonline.co.nz/WhosOn/MorningCrew/Highlights/Detail.aspx?id=7548|title=Ryan Tedder Interview |publisher="ZM (New Zealand)"|accessdate=2007-10-31] cite news|url= http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageartist.cfm?bandID=125148|title=Ryan Tedder |publisher="soundclick"|accessdate=2007-10-21] He has written and produced for various artists but, as of 2007, he is best known as the frontman for the "MySpace US rock phenomenon," OneRepublic. He is responsible for major hits like Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love," his band's "Apologize," Natasha Bedingfield's "Love Like This" and many others. At one point, three of his songs were number-one simultaneously worldwide, with "Apologize" in the United States, "Bleeding Love" in the United Kingdom and "Do It Well" in Japan. He is currently working with Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Daughtry, T.I., Chris Cornell, Mario, James Morrison, DJ Tiesto, Beyoncé, Hilary Duff, and the Pussycat Dolls with their albums all due later this year. [ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23175217-5006024,00.html Ryan Tedder on the coming of OneRepublic | Herald Sun ] ] [ [http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/bleeding%20love%20duo%20plans%20hits%20for%20idol%20winner_1069594 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love Duo Plans Hits For Idol Winner ] ] cite news|url= http://www.myspace.com/aliastheproducer|title=Ryan “Alias” Tedder|publisher="Tedder official myspace"|accessdate=2007-10-21]

Biography

Early life

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma Tedder was raised by an extended family of missionaries and pastors.cite news|url= http://www.onerepublicfans.com/bio.html|title=Bio|publisher="oru"|accessdate=2007-10-21] Tedder began learning to play the piano at the age of three via the suzuki method, whereby young children learn to play an instrument "by ear rather than reading notes". His early interest in music was prompted by his musician father and school-teacher mother, who coaxed their young son into practicing piano in exchange for candy corn. Tedder started singing at the age of seven. A self-taught vocalist, Tedder began honing this skill at the age of twelve by imitating his favorite artists, which ranged from The Beatles to acts as diverse as Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder and Sting. He has commented, "I sang for two hours a day every day of my life until I was eighteen." He continued to perform musically during his adolescence through church, school, and personally formed groups.

Education

In his senior year he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado.cite news|url= http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3492145.ece|title=OneRepublic's Ryan 'Alias' Tedder |publisher="The Times"|date=9 March 2008|accessdate=2008-07-17] There he met and became friends with guitarist Zach Filkins on their high school soccer team, at Colorado Springs Christian High School (Tedder and Filkins would later go on to form the band OneRepublic). During this time and through college Tedder taught himself to play a variety of instruments, including guitar, drums and bass. He attended Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, majoring in PR and advertising and minoring in business. It was as a freshman that Tedder began to showcase his own material.cite news|url=http://www.oru.edu/alumni/excell/spring01/spring2001.pdf|title=ExcellenceORU|publisher="oru"|accessdate=2007-10-21] Tedder lost his scholarship in his sophomore year, because he "kept skipping classes to write songs". He has since stated that he took this as a sign that he was meant to pursue a career in music. He did, however, complete his college education and graduated from ORU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations and Advertising. [ [http://articles.latimes.com/2007/11/20/calendar/et-onerepublic20 Rocky road to the top - Los Angeles Times ] ] [ [http://www.oru.edu/news/view_news.php?id=741 ORU alumnus returns to roots - OneRepublic to play at Cain's Ballroom - News - Oral Roberts University ] ]

Personal life

Ryan Tedder is married. He openly acknowledged and thanked his wife, Genevieve, in the liner notes of OneRepublic's album "Dreaming Out Loud". Tedder and his bandmates rarely speak about their personal lives.

On April 25, 2008 Tedder tore his Achilles Tendon while playing basketball before a show at Central Michigan University. He was rushed to the University of Michigan hospital for emergency surgery, and the show was canceled. The band promised (as stated in a blog on the band's MySpace) to come back for a rescheduled show and that the tickets would remain valid til then. [http://www.universalmusic.com/artist-news/onerepublic-forced-to-cancel-tour-dates]

Career

Early musical career

For several years Tedder worked as a waiter, and also a shop assistant at Pottery Barn, before securing an internship at DreamWorks SKG in Nashville, singing on demos to break into the music scene. He produced demos for songwriters and labels, charging $300 to $400 a track. Tedder claims that Dreamworks offered him his first publishing deal shortly after his arrival; however, he was intent on pursuing a career as an artist and his first venture in that arena came via a different route all together.

At the age of twenty-one, Tedder competed in a singer-songwriter competition and was selected by 'N Sync singer Lance Bass as one of five finalists to perform on a one hour special on MTV, performing original material in front of millions of viewers.cite news|url=http://www.kiwibox.com/article.asp?a=4560|title=FreeLance Entertainment|publisher="kiwibox"|accessdate=2007-10-21] The prize for the winner was a music contract with Bass's now-defunct management company, Free Lance Entertainment. The contestants performed live and were then rated by judges and the audience, the highest scoring artist winning the contract. Tedder’s performance of one of his own songs, "The Look," received the most votes from the judges and fans, and he won the competition; however, a contract with a recording label was not finalized and no album was released. Tedder later revealed the record and publishing deal he was offered, "...wasn't real. It was just a bunch of hype that didn't turn into anything."cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7079683.stm|title=Talking Shop: Ryan Tedder |publisher="BBC"|accessdate=2007-10-21] Matt Clizbe of the music website, [http://www.clizbeats.com/ clizbeats.com] , has since commented, "While the concept was tried and true and continues to be used today, the Freelance show and contest did not last. Unfortunately, the public seemed to fall out of love with the Lance Bass fronted project before Ryan's potential could be realized…As the show faded so did the public's knowledge of Tedder and their eagerness to hear his music."cite news|url=http://www.clizbeats.com/beatsheat/archive/2007/04/02/index.html|title=Rock Freelancer Builds OneRepublic|publisher="/www.clizbeats.com"|accessdate=2007-10-21] However, Clizbe adds that this "may have been the best thing that ever happened to [Tedder] . While the loss of TV support is often the end for most artists, Tedder's talent shown through and his career was just beginning…"

Producing and writing

After college Tedder moved to New York, then Nashville, continuing to write and produce songs wherever and for whomever he could, hoping for his big break. Before his eventual move to Los Angeles to start OneRepublic, Tedder’s talents caught the attention of the successful hip hop singer and record producer, Timbaland, who "formally took him under his wing".cite news|url= http://www.myspace.com/aliastheproducer|title=Ryan “Alias” Tedder|publisher="Tedder official myspace"|accessdate=2007-10-21] Tedder has commented: :"I was with Timbaland from 2002-2004 to develop as an artist, but it turned out to be more like going to school for producing. I was already producing for other artists at the time, but being with him for two years stepped up my game a thousand-fold".Tedder’s work has crossed many musical genres (ranging from hip-hop, R&B, rock, pop to dance/techno) and he has had many chart successes both in America and the UK with a number of renowned artists. [cite news|url= http://www.oru.edu/alumni/excell/fall04/fall2004.pdf|title=Excellence|publisher="oru.edu"|accessdate=2007-10-21] In June of 2007, Tedder signed a worldwide publishing administration deal with Kobalt Music Publishing. The deal with Kobalt includes Tedder's new works and all songs not performed by OneRepublic.

Tedder is the writer of the mega-hit song, "Apologize," performed by his band OneRepublic, which as of 2008 is the best-selling and charting single of the decade. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/chart_beat/bonus_display.jsp] The song broke the US Top 40's Radio Airplay Record with 10,331 spins in one week. It was the number-one most played song for five months until May 7, 2008 when Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love" (a song that Tedder co-wrote and produced), broke the record previously set by "Apologize," with 10,665 spins in one week. [ [http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=40278 RCA Music Group Dominates The Billboard Top 10 Album Chart @ Top40-Charts.com - 40 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 25 Countries] ] "Bleeding Love" is the best-selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom, topping the UK charts for seven weeks and was the fastest selling CD of 2007 receiving the most radio airplay worldwide prior to its US debut. The song also earned Tedder and Lewis a "Best British single" award nomination at the Brit Awards in February 2008 and has reached number-one in over twenty-eight countries. Tedder and co-writer Jesse McCartney received an ASCAP award for writing the song. Tedder is also credited for writing the treatment for the second music video that was filmed for the US release of "Bleeding Love". [ [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/music/5460153.html Ryan Tedder's back-up plan | Houston Music on Chron.com] ]

Tedder wrote and produced:
*Jennifer Lopez's top 40 hit "Do It Well"
*co-produced and wrote Natasha Bedingfield's hit single "Love Like This" featuring Sean Kingston
*co-wrote with Jonathan "JR" Rotem and Evan "Kidd" Bogart on Ashley Tisdale's single "He Said She Said"
*co-wrote and produced Leona Lewis's first international single "Bleeding Love" (which is the fastest selling single of 2007 in the UK as well as the biggest UK radio debut, reaching number-one in October 2007)
*produced and co-wrote Blake Lewis' first studio album "A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)," including first single "Break Anotha"

Tedder has also written/produced for these European artists:
* Ida on her hit single "Never Gonna Die"
* German girl group Monrose on their latest single "Strike The Match" (a top ten hit in Germany)
* Paul Oakenfold's album "A Lively Mind" (for which Tedder received a Grammy nomination)

Tedder has written and produced singles with artists such as Baby Bash, Backstreet Boys, AJ McLean, Teairra Mari, Chris Cornell, Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco, Letoya Luckett, Paula DeAnda, Hilary Duff, This World Fair, Timbaland, Frankie J, NLT, Christina Millian, Bubba Sparxxx, Shayne Ward, Tupac, Lemar, Esmee Denters, Marie Digby, Clay Aiken, YoungbloodZ, Jamie Scott, Alsou, Dima Bilan, t.A.T.u., Jennifer Hudson, Ashanti and a number of songs with various rock acts in the US and abroad. [ [http://concreteloop.com/2008/01/music-news-jennifer-hudson-reworks-album-kelly-rowland-updates-lil-kim-leaves-atlantic-records Jennifer Hudson Reworks Album] ]

Tedder's frequent songwriting collaborators are Sam Watters, Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Savan Kotecha, Evan "Kidd" Bogart, Jesse McCartney and Steph Jones. He is currently working with Kelly Clarkson on her upcoming album, due in February 2009, as well as Beyonce's upcoming album. Other projects include Rihanna, Mario, James Morrison, the Pussycat Dolls, and Jennifer Hudson's albums due later this year.

In addition, Tedder's songs have been featured on these major motion picture soundtracks:
* Touchstone Pictures' " Step Up"
* 20th Century Fox's " Aquamarine" and "Cheaper By The Dozen 2"'s end title
* Paramount Pictures's "Without A Paddle"

OneRepublic

As well as producing, Tedder also sings lead vocals and plays guitar and piano for rock band, OneRepublic. The five member band consisting of Tedder, Filkins, Eddie Fisher, Drew Brown, and Brent Kutzle was formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002 by Tedder and high school classmate Zach Filkins. [cite news|url= http://www.myspace.com/onerepublic|title=OneRepublic|publisher=myspace.com/onerepublic|accessdate=2007-10-21] Tedder has since revealed that the band was formed at a "crossroads" in his life: "I was offered two publishing deals within two months of being in Nashville…I could have just written songs and lived a carefree life, but I knew that I had to be an artist. I wanted to form a rock band and create my own sound." Based in Los Angeles, OneRepublic started out as an unsigned act on the social networking website, MySpace. Since June 2004, they have accumulated over thirty million plays for their music on the site. As of 2007 they are the number one band on MySpace and have been in the MySpace Music's Top Artists since summer 2006. [cite news|url= http://www.ilikemusic.com/pop/Timbaland_Apologize_single-4185|title=Timbaland - Apologize|publisher=’’ilikemusic.com’’|accessdate=2007-10-21]

The band gained further exposure when their 2007 single, "Apologize", was re-mixed and re-released on Timbaland's compilation album, "Timbaland Presents Shock Value". The remix became an international chart hit in the fall of 2007. The song broke records after gaining 10,331 spins in one week. According to SoundScan, "Apologize" is the most legally downloaded song in US digital history with sales of over 4.3 million digital downloads in the US alone. [http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20080904/LATH03704092008-1.html] It is also the second best-selling song of the decade. [ [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/11-12-2007/0004703510&EDATE= Timbaland/OneRepublic Shatter Top 40 Radio Airplay Record ] ] OneRepublic's debut album, "Dreaming Out Loud", includes both the song's original version and version with Timbaland, and was released on November 20, 2007 on Timbaland's Mosley Music Group imprint via Interscope Records.cite news|url= http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2007/Oct/EEN47209a759e621.html|title=Who Is OneRepublic?|publisher="www.elitestv.com"|accessdate=2007-10-21] The band had previously been signed to Columbia Records, and their album was due to be released in 2006, but this did not occur. Tedder explained, "Crap happened. People got fired. Labels merged and politics abounded".cite news|url= http://www.onerepublicfans.com/news.html|title=News|publisher="onerepublicfans.com"|accessdate=2007-10-21] Subsequently, the band was released from their deal with Columbia, and they were signed by Timbaland in the summer of 2006 becoming the first rock band released on Interscope Records. Tedder has commented on the success of his band's hit single, "Apologize": "The toughest thing to do is write a hit song, but we [had] a hit song before we [had] an album… What has happened has been really strange and really great."

Artistry

Vocal type and range

Tedder is classified as a tenor but he occasionally sings falsetto, allowing him to slip into higher ranges. [cite news|url= http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=118513&in_page_id=11|title=Ryan Tedder reveals his Oasis dreams|publisher="Metro"|date=14 March 2008|accessdate=2008-10-06] The highest note he sings on the album "Dreaming Out Loud " is an A5 note on the song "Someone To Save You".Fact|date=October 2008

Instruments

Tedder plays a diverse number of instruments proficiently. During OneRepublic's performances, he switches from singing lead vocals while playing an instrument (guitar, bass guitar, glockenspiel or piano) to solely singing. On rare occasions he plays drums alongside the band's main percussionist, Eddie Fisher. For writing and composing songs, the piano is his instrument of choice.

ongwriting, producing and composition

Tedder has been hailed as one of the most sought after songwriters in the music industry. [http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv-entertainment/music/2008/05/29/producer-songwriter-ryan-tedder-has-the-golden-touch-115875-20588033/ ] He has won the favor of Clive Davis, working with numerous artists under Davis's label (Kelly Clarkson,Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson). [http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2653&Itemid=9]

Tedder's method in songwriting prioritizes melody. [http://www.ilikemusic.com/interviews/OneRepublic_interview-4293/5] He says, "Paul McCartney had it right: as long as the melody and the lyric is simple, the music can go where you want it to go." In an interview, Tedder said of the process in writing his songs: "When I write a song I write the music first and then the music will tell me that lyrics are necessary...Phonetics – the consonants and vowels that come out of my mouth the first time I sing along to something – are absolutely critical to the final product of the song. It's like an energy thing...When I'm writing the lyrics afterwards, I'll try and match the words to the sounds of what my subconscious was trying to say." [http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2653&Itemid=9]

Works and writing credits

"Note: This chart only features Tedder's work according to the ASCAP database. Some songs, names of the performers and complete info on Tedder's work on the song may be missing." [ [http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1586757&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1 ASCAP ACE - Search Results ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/aliastheproducer Ryan 'Alias' Tedder official MySpace]
*imdb name|id=2783860
* [http://ryan.intensevibe.net/ Ryan Tedder For the Sound]
* [http://www.onerepublic.net The official site of OneRepublic]