Ryan Tedder facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ryan Tedder
Tedder in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Ryan Benjamin Tedder
Also known as	Alias
Born	(1979-06-26) June 26, 1979 (age 46) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Origin	Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Alma mater	Oral Roberts University (BA)
Genres	Rock pop rock pop alternative rock
Occupations	Singer songwriter multi-instrumentalist record producer
Instruments	Vocals piano keyboards guitar bass drums
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Columbia Interscope Patriot

Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the pop rock band OneRepublic. Ryan also has a very successful career writing and producing songs for many other famous musical artists.

His work has led to many hit songs. "Apologize" by OneRepublic, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, and "Halo" by Beyoncé are just a few examples. These songs are among the best-selling singles ever! In 2014, Billboard magazine called him "The Undercover King of Pop." Ryan has won three Grammy Awards for his work on Adele's albums 21 and 25, and Taylor Swift's 1989. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reported that songs he wrote have sold 450 million copies around the world. He also helped produce the TV show Songland in 2018.

Early Life and Music Start

Ryan Benjamin Tedder was born to Gary Tedder, a musician, and Marlene Watrous, a teacher. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a large family of missionaries and pastors. Ryan started learning piano at age three using the Suzuki method, which teaches music like learning a language. His dad would give him candy corn as a reward for practicing!

Ryan began singing at age seven. He taught himself by secretly copying his favorite artists like The Beatles and U2. He once said, "I sang for two hours a day every day of my life until I was eighteen." He kept performing in church, school, and with his own music groups as he grew up.

He went to schools in Oklahoma and then moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for his last year of high school. There, he met Zach Filkins, who would later become his bandmate in OneRepublic, on their soccer team. Ryan went to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa and finished college in 2001.

Music Career Journey

Starting Out in Music

Before becoming famous, Ryan worked as a waiter and a shop assistant. He got an internship at DreamWorks SKG in Nashville, Tennessee, where he sang on many demo recordings. He also produced demos for other songwriters, charging a few hundred dollars for each song.

When he was 21, Ryan entered a singing and songwriting contest. NSYNC artist Lance Bass chose him as one of five finalists to perform on MTV. Ryan sang his own song, "The Look," and won the competition! The prize was supposed to be a music contract, but Ryan later found out the deal "wasn't real."

Writing and Producing Hits

About a year after the MTV contest, Ryan got the attention of famous hip hop producer Timbaland. Ryan worked with Timbaland from 2002 to 2004, learning how to be an artist and producing for others. Ryan has worked in many music styles, like hip hop, R&B, rock, pop, and dance. He has had many hit songs in both America and the United Kingdom.

Tedder performing in Commerce City, Colorado, November 2009

Ryan wrote the song "Apologize" for his band OneRepublic. This song broke a record in the US for being played on the radio over 10,000 times in one week! It was the most played song for five months. Then, in 2008, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, which Ryan also helped write and produce, broke that record. "Bleeding Love" was the best-selling single in the UK in 2007 and reached number one in over 35 countries.

Ryan has written and produced songs for many top artists, including Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Adele, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood.

He worked with Jennifer Lopez on her 2007 song "Do It Well." He also worked with Kelly Clarkson on her 2009 album, writing several songs like "Already Gone." Ryan's work with Beyoncé on her song "Halo" earned him two Grammy nominations. He also worked a lot on Leona Lewis's second album, Echo, writing and producing songs like "Happy."

In late 2009, Ryan started his own record company, Patriot Records, and his own publishing company, Patriot Games Publishing. He has a team of writers and producers, including Brent Kutzle, the cellist and bassist from OneRepublic. This team has worked on songs like "I Was Here" by Beyoncé and "Good Life" by OneRepublic. In 2010, Ryan was featured on Far East Movement's hit song "Rocketeer".

Ryan was very interested in working with Adele after they met at the 2009 Grammy Awards. He arrived early to their first studio session and started writing the piano part for what became the song "Turning Tables." They met again and wrote "Rumour Has It." Ryan was amazed when Adele sang the main vocals for the song perfectly in just 10 minutes! His work with Adele helped him win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2012.

In 2011, Ryan worked with Demi Lovato on their album Unbroken. Demi said Ryan was "a really funny and cool guy" and that they loved working with him. Ryan was very impressed with Demi's singing, saying they were "one of the best singers I've ever worked with." He worked with Demi again in 2013 and 2015, co-writing songs like "Neon Lights" and "Wildfire."

Ryan also wrote a song for Vanness Wu in Taiwan and worked with the group Big Time Rush on their song "Music Sounds Better with U." He produced a song for K'naan called "Better" and worked on songs for Jennifer Lopez's 2011 album.

In 2012, Ryan co-wrote "Good in Goodbye" for Carrie Underwood's album Blown Away. He also produced songs for Maroon 5's album Overexposed and co-wrote "Satellite" for the British band The Wanted. He worked on B.o.B's album Strange Clouds, producing and co-writing "So Good" and singing on "Never Let You Go." Ryan also sang on the dance music track "Calling" by Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso. He was featured on Gym Class Heroes' song "The Fighter."

Ryan was a judge for the Independent Music Awards to help new artists. In 2013, he was a mentor on The Voice (Australia) and The Voice (U.S.). He also co-wrote and co-produced "XO" by Beyoncé for her 2013 album.

In 2014, Ryan wrote and produced "Ghost" by Ella Henderson. He also worked with Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift on their albums. He produced for Ariana Grande's album My Everything and worked on U2's album Songs of Innocence. He also worked with One Direction on their song "Got Away" and sang on David Guetta's song "S.T.O.P."

In 2015, Ryan co-wrote "I Want You To Know" with Zedd and Selena Gomez. He also wrote "Flares" for The Script. He co-wrote "Remedy" with Adele for her album 25 and "Wildfire" for Demi Lovato. Ryan also sang on the song "Scars" by Swedish DJ Alesso.

In 2016, Ryan was featured on Cassius's song "The Missing." He also worked with Ed Sheeran on the song "Happier" for his 2017 album. In 2017, Ryan started working with Camila Cabello for her first album, Camila. He said working with her was amazing because she is "not only an incredible singer, but she's also the most talented young artist I think I've worked with songwriting in the longest time." In 2020, Ryan co-wrote "Bet You Wanna" for the K-pop group Blackpink featuring Cardi B.

In January 2021, Ryan sold most of the rights to his music catalog for about $200 million to an investment company.

OneRepublic Band

Besides producing, Ryan is the lead singer of the band OneRepublic. The band started in Colorado Springs in 2002 with Ryan and his high school friend Zach Filkins. The band also includes Eddie Fisher, Drew Brown, Brent Kutzle, and Brian Willett.

OneRepublic became very popular when their 2007 song, "Apologize", was remixed by Timbaland. This remix became a huge hit around the world. "Apologize" broke records and was one of the most downloaded songs in US digital history. OneRepublic's first album, Dreaming Out Loud, came out in 2007.

The band released their second album, Waking Up, in 2009. It included popular songs like "All the Right Moves" and "Good Life".

In 2013, their third album, Native, was released. It was their highest-charting album, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 chart. Part of the money from their song "Feel Again" was given to Save the Children to help health workers. On October 7, 2016, OneRepublic's fourth album, Oh My My, was released.

On May 17, 2019, the band released the song "Rescue Me". They also performed with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks. Ryan announced that their new album, Human, would be released. It was eventually released on August 27, 2021, along with the song "Someday".

Ryan is a multi-instrumentalist. During OneRepublic's shows, he sings, plays guitar, bass guitar, glockenspiel, tambourine, or piano. Sometimes, he even plays drums with the band's main drummer, Eddie Fisher.

Solo Work and TV Shows

In 2019, Ryan wrote and produced his first solo song, "Right Where I'm Supposed to Be." This was the official song for the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, where he worked with artists like Avril Lavigne and Luis Fonsi.

Songland TV Show

From 2019 to 2020, Ryan was a mentor and producer on the TV show NBC's Songland. On the show, songwriters present their original songs to famous artists and producers. Ryan helped develop and produce many of the songs that were chosen on the show.

Personal Life

Ryan Tedder is married to Genevieve, whom he met in college. They have two sons. Ryan's cousins, Adam, Ashley, and Austin Clark, are in the band Sons of Sylvia. Ryan helped write their song "Love Left to Lose." Even though he is a Christian, Ryan has said he doesn't want to be known only as a Christian artist.

Ryan enjoys cooking and loves the TV show Iron Chef. He also became involved with a restaurant in Manhattan called Southern Hospitality, which was co-created by Justin Timberlake.

Music Albums with OneRepublic

• Dreaming Out Loud (2007)
• Waking Up (2009)
• Native (2013)
• Oh My My (2016)
• Human (2021)
• Artificial Paradise (2024)

TV Appearances

Awards and Nominations

Ryan Tedder has won three Grammy Awards and an Asian Pop Music Award. He has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Images for kids

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  Tedder performing in Commerce City, Colorado, November 2009

See also

In Spanish: Ryan Tedder para niños