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Lead singer, Ryan Tedder, took a few minutes to chat with teenflare.com about his band, their sound, and how it all began… Teenflare.com: When people see your live show, they may be surprised to see a cello in your lineup. You’re a rock band, with pop appeal, an R&B sound, and classic instruments – do you ever worry about not playing one specific genre of music? Ryan Tedder: I think the industry is moving past genres. When I started performing, I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin because I worried all the time about “what are we”. Then, as I grew more okay with myself and confident in our sound, I [realized that] the songs stand by themselves. At the end of the day, listeners won’t be questioning the genre. If it connects, then it connects. For me, it was only worth [making this album] if we made no compromises about it. Teenflare.com: So where did your wide range love of music come from? RT: Growing up, I was obsessed with really good singers and really good songs. Those were my two obsessions. The American R&B singers had the best voices and the best songs were out of the UK and so, really, I bounced back and fourth a lot between those two. I just love music so much that I absorb all of it. Like right now, I’m listening to the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, but I produce R&B (psst! Ryan just worked with Ludacris, J-Lo, and American Idol’s Blake Lewis!). At the end of the day, it comes down to songs, period. And I really believe that no matter what you dress it up with, any kind of production, there’s always going to be a market for a good melody and a solid lyric. With this band, that’s what it all comes down to. All genres aside, we try to write the best lyric, with the best melody, every time. Teenflare.com: So, when you’re in the studio and you have what you feel is the best melody with the best lyric on a song like “Apologize”, do you get a feeling that it’s headed for number one? Is there a spark? RT: Absolutely. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t. I’ve had several number one hits [as a producer], with “Apologize” being the biggest so far. With each one, when I’d finish the song, I’d play it back and say: “this is a hit, I know it is”. It’s just in my gut. I’ve consumed enough music over my lifetime, and heard enough hit songs to get a sense for it. I didn’t know [“Apologize”] was going to be this big, though, I’ll say that. I had no idea. Teenflare.com: Your music is very emotionally charged and it especially comes through when you’re on stage – you often throw your arms out like wings while you’re up there. Is that a good description for how you feel on stage? Like you’re flying? RT: Yeah. It’s kind of like letting go…like a freedom, I guess. Teenflare.com: You mentioned before that years ago you would hold your voice back in concert, so what got you to a place where you felt comfortable letting go? RT: I think I stopped analyzing. Growing up I was obsessed with chess. I read chess books and would compete in tournaments, and all of that [forced] my brain to constantly [be thinking] five steps ahead. It’s hard for me to shut that off. Being on stage, it took me years to not think about how I was being perceived. Are people feeling the show? Do I look like an idiot? Am I doing the songs justice? And actually, getting dropped [from our first label] was the best thing that ever happened. The day we got dropped, we stopped worrying. The record wasn’t coming out, so there was nothing to lose and from that day forward, I had no fear on stage. Whatever I feel is what I feel, whatever I sing is what I sing and when I’m talking about freedom – maybe it is. It’s been a transition. Teenflare.com: You seem really easy-going and yet you sing very emotionally-driven music. Is that your way of balancing things out? RT: I think it is. It definitely is, because people that know me will say that I am a jokester. If a situation gets really intense, it’s like a sitcom – I’ll be the guy that makes a joke when things get too serious… Teenflare.com: You’re like Chandler, from Friends. RT: I am Chandler! I do relate to that. There’s a very serious side to Chandler, but my whole life I’ve used comedy as a way to avoid awkward silences. I hate awkward silence, so I find a way to keep things light-hearted. With the music, there’s a seriousness to it, but that’s definitely my the alter-ego. Music is what I reserve the serious side of me for. Besides, I think that if we performed the songs we do, and then in between each song, I was also very somber and melancholy, then people might wonder what’s wrong.
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