Popular American pop-rock band OneRepublic headed by lead singer Ryan Tedder will be returning to Israel on November 8 at Live Park, in Rishon Lezion.
Their last performance in Israel was in 2015 at Yarkon Park, in Tel Aviv.
Local pop music maven Netta Barzilai, the winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, will open the show.
Stating “there’s no place in the world that’s like Israel,” Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic’s frontman, told Ynet last week that he and the band are excited to return.
“We had the absolute best time the last time we were there. I will never forget that show: 22,000 people there - it was crazy. We’re so pumped to do it again. We can’t wait to see you there.”
“We had the absolute best time the last time we were there. I will never forget that show: 22,000 people there - it was crazy. We’re so pumped to do it again. We can’t wait to see you there.”
Ryan Tedder
Following their show here (which surprisingly doesn’t appear on the Live Nation web page for the band’s tour - a representative called it an oversight), they jet off to Saudi Arabia and then Dubai to continue their international tour.
OneRepublic's road to stardom
It’s a far cry from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the band formed, consisting of Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellist Brent Kutzle, drummer Eddie Fisher, and keyboardist and violinist Brian Willett.
They gained attention as an unsigned band on the old MySpace platform. By 2007, they became an international success with their debut album Dreaming Out Loud and its lead single, “Apologize”, which earned them a Grammy Award nomination. Their 2013 album Native cemented their world popularity along with its biggest single, “Counting Stars”.
There have been changes to the band’s lineup over the years, as well as attempts to broaden their sound with electronic dance and pop flourishes but their meat and potatoes remain mainstream contemporary pop and Tedder’s anthemic songwriting.
Tedder is also a prolific songwriter, having worked on music with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez and Adele.
The band is likely to perform their biggest hits from “Counting Stars,” “Sunshine,” “Secrets,” “Run,” “I Lived,” “Apologize” to “West Coast”, as well as A“I Ain’t Worried”, a song that was recently written for this year’s box office hit Top Gun: Maverick.
Tedder said that his last visit to Israel in 2015 reminded him of his home in California due to the similar weather both places have. He also said that Israel has some of the tastiest food he’s eaten in his life.
Tedder also told Ynet that he has a lot of Israeli friends in Los Angeles who “always tell [him] when they return from a visit how popular the band is there, which is always fun to hear.”
He noted his Christian upbringing and that his parents love Israel in an unusual way, and because of that, he read Biblical stories and texts related to Israel.
Tedder also said that he will not call for a boycott of Israel just because other artists are doing it, noting his preference to stay out of political agendas because he believes that music is above politics.
Although OneRepublic may have peaked a while ago in terms of popularity, their professionalism, general likeability, enthusiasm and a slew of good songs should make next week’s show more than worthwhile.
The show, presented by Live Nation Israel and BluestoneGroup, will take place according to the Health Ministry’s instructions. General admission tickets as of Tuesday were still available on the Ticketmaster website for NIS 295 at this link: https://www.tmisrael.co.il/event/MRL17/ALL/en.
