Six years since their last concert in the Kingdom, world-renowned American pop group OneRepublic are set to perform live in Bangkok again tomorrow at IMPACT Arena Muang Thong Thani. Tickets are still available for 1,500 to 5,000 baht.
This show is part of OneRepublic's ongoing Live In Concert tour in support of their latest album Human. They kicked off with a 40-city US tour that began last year. Bangkok is one of seven cities on their Asia tour including previous stops in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. After our city, OneRepublic will be on their way to Taipei, Tokyo and then some more dates in Australia and New Zealand later this month. Due to the pandemic that paused live music worldwide, this will be the first time Thai fans will get to hear songs from Human live despite the album being released in 2021. Human breaks from the static style the group is known for and presents a flashy electronic production consisting of drum machines and synthesisers. Most of the lyrics on the record also deal with themes surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.
The band's frontman Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote most of the tracks on Human, is also well-known as an independent songwriter and producer for various artists from Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran and Maroon 5 to Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Blackpink. OneRepublic's single I Ain't Worried appeared on the soundtrack for Top Gun: Maverick. Life recently had the opportunity to chat with Tedder on a Zoom interview as the 43-year-old singer was on a holiday break in Phuket. He told us about his plan to surprise Thai fans by bringing two different shows together in one concert.
Welcome to Thailand, Ryan. How have you enjoyed your vacation in the country so far?
Thanks, I mean, Bangkok's probably tied with my top two favourite cities in all of Southeast Asia. And it's one of my top five favourite cities in the world. I think it's one of the most vibrant, beautiful and eclectic places in the world. I love the energy and I love the chaos. I love all of it. Like it's paradise. It really is paradise here.
According to your recent Instagram post, is it true that you said that you've been writing and recording some music while in Phuket too?
Yeah, we're finishing our next single that we're going to release at the end of March. It's our first single since the Top Gun song I Ain't Worried. We've been working for three days here in Phuket. You probably can't see the room, but we've turned the whole room into a studio. And we're just recording while we're here and it's incredible.
It's been over a year since Human came out. Are you guys still feeling excited to play these songs live?
Absolutely. Because of the pandemic, it's only been less than a year since we've been touring. So it still feels new to us. Four or five years from now might be a different story. But right now it still feels fresh to us. So we're definitely very excited to do this in Thailand, for the Thai fans.
I hear you're planning a special show for Thai fans tomorrow?
Absolutely! We're going to put on the best concert that anyone has seen in years. I promise you that's just me being honest. We're going to play more hits than you can imagine. You know, we do OneRepublic hits. But then in the middle of the concert, I'm going to play seven or eight No.1 songs that I wrote for other artists, like Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, and Ed Sheeran. So you get like two concerts for the price of one.
Besides being the frontman of OneRepublic, you've had the chance to work with many big stars like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande and others. What's it like working with those artists and what do you think they all have in common that makes them so famous around the world?
All the biggest artists have an extremely defined sense of who they are. They know who they are, and you cannot make them question who they are. It doesn't mean they're not insecure, but they have a point of view, and they stick to it. And as they evolved as humans, their art and their music reflect their evolution as human beings. The common trait of all of those artists is they all have an obsession.
What about you? What is your personal obsession?
I think it's to connect with culture, global culture. The biggest artists don't just want to have a song that works in America or England. For example, we're in Phuket right now. If I drive into Phuket Town or Patong beach or wherever, you want to hear your song playing in one of those bars, right? Like in the taxi cab from the airport to here, they were listening to Radio Phuket and OneRepublic's song Love Runs Out came on the radio. They're playing our music. That's what you want. And that's my obsession. More than anything it is feeling like I'm connecting with global culture at all times. That's the thing that I'm the most obsessed with.
Top Gun: Maverick is nominated for the Best Picture category at this year's Oscars. Are you rooting for the movie to win, or do you have another personal favourite?
For sure, Top Gun is the only movie I care about this year [laughs]. I think Tom [Cruise] deserves it. He's been doing this for so long and he's such a talented actor. The movie is incredible. It would be so amazing to actually have a box office smash like that movie actually win an award like an Oscar, because so frequently those movies don't win. So I really hope it wins. I'm rooting for them, big time.
