"Counting Stars" by OneRepublic, Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Three and a half years after releasing Waking Up, OneRepublic returned with their third album, Native. The opening track, today's song, "Counting Stars" picks up where Waking Up left off--rhythmic pop-rock--but adds more elements of gospel otherwise absent on the first two OneRepublic records. The album quickly veers into electronic and anthemic '10s pop but continues to make some interesting twists and turns along its course to the end, on a bonus track even recording with Aaron Sprinkle. Native may not be the most interesting album of 2013 and may sound like the equivalent of white toast in the morning, but there's a reason why we sometimes like to have white toast and dare I say, Iced Americano.

TAKE THAT MONEY, WATCH IT BURN. It's interesting to watch Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic navigate the world of pop music for several reasons. The band is talented, mixing genres, albeit in a very subtle/commercially viable way. Tedder is a go-to songwriter and producer for other artists and won Grammy's for his contributions to Adele's 21 and 25 and Taylor Swift's 1989. But before the pop stardom, the respect of the music business, and the money that goes with production and songwriting massive pop hits, Tedder was raised by his grandfather, a "Preacher," whom Tedder sings about on Native. Playing music in church and faith was very important to Tedder growing up, and he even graduated from Oral Roberts University, an Evangelical college. Tedder, however, decided not to sign a record deal and become a Christian recording artist. He talks about how he knew many Christian artists in Nashville who were "miserable with the fact that they were 'Christian' recording artists," he told the Houston Chronicle in 2008, between promoting Dreaming Out Loud and recording Waking Up.

EVERYTHING THAT KILLS ME MAKES ME FEEL ALIVE. But coming into OneRepublic's third album, Tedder again digs into his religious roots. He told Billboard when talking about the success of "Counting Stars" that he has been a fan of U2, particularly for their positivity throughout their career. Tedder says, "If everyone else sings about sex and love and lust and money, then somebody's gotta be singing about life and faith and hope and things of that nature. I have to say that 2013, was a bit of a low spot for me musically. I was in Korea, turning a bit too conservative--missionary-style. I was exposed to a lot of new Korean music, but really had no care about a new OneRepublic album, despite it being their biggest record. American pop was turning into ImagineColdplayRepublic, Anberlin's career was slowing down. I'm only now just going back and discovering things weren't that bad. In fact, Native is quite listenable. And while Tedder may have not signed a CCM record deal, his music has certainly influenced worship music in the '10s and '20s. So many of the worship songs today sound like cheap pop knockoffs. So, thanks?

Read “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic on Genius