Ryan Tedder is one of the world’s prolific pop songwriters, but he struggled to finish the chorus to “Love Runs Out.” Without a chorus, the song didn’t make OneRepublic’s third studio album, Native.
Videos by American Songwriter
Tedder planned on releasing “Love Runs Out” as the album’s first single, but as he told Capital FM, “… I could not finish the chorus. And you can’t have a song without a chorus.”
Eventually, he found the missing hook, and the song appeared on Native’s 2014 rerelease version. “Love Runs Out” mirrors Tedder’s stubborn grit.
Never Give Up
OneRepublic’s motivational song is built for the arena, but it also lives in the adrenaline-filled spaces of football games and car commercials.
I’ll be your light, your match, your burning sun
I’ll be the bright and black that’s making you run
And I feel all right, and we’ll feel all right
’Cause we’ll work it out, yeah, we’ll work it out
I’ll be doin’ this if you ever doubt
Till the love runs out, till the love runs out
The singer pleads with vague positivity, and the rosy chorus speaks universally to willpower.
I got my mind made up, man, I can’t let go
I’m killing every second till it sees my soul
I’ll be running, I’ll be running
Till the love runs out, till the love runs out
And we’ll start a fire, and we’ll shut it down
Till the love runs out, till the love runs out
A Modern Hitman
Tedder’s extraordinary writing and production career began with a competition show on MTV. Selected by NSYNC’s Lance Bass as a finalist, Tedder won the competition, though a recording contract never materialized.
But he caught the attention of acclaimed hip-hop producer Timbaland. The mentorship led to Tedder writing and producing for other artists while he developed his own recording career.
His production and writing credits are the landscape of modern pop music: Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Adele, Jennifer Lopez, and Demi Lovato.
However, the itch to be his own man as an artist persisted.
Colorado
As a teenager, he transferred to Colorado Springs Christian School for his senior year, where he met future OneRepublic guitarist Zach Filkins.
They formed a band in high school called This Beautiful Mess—named after a Sixpence None the Richer album. The short-lived group ended when the two friends moved to separate cities for college.
By 2002, Tedder worked in Los Angeles as an established producer and songwriter. He convinced Filkins to join him in L.A., and with the move, the beginnings of OneRepublic began taking shape.
Columbia Records Missed a Hit, Buy MySpace Didn’t
Columbia Records signed the band, and Greg Wells produced their first album. Two months before the album’s release date, Columbia dropped the group and shelved their debut.
It’s shocking to hear stories of major record labels missing obvious talent, but that’s what happened here. Soon, “Apologize” went viral on MySpace, and OneRepublic, according to Tedder, became the site’s No. 1 unsigned band.
They weren’t unsigned for long. Timbaland signed his protégé to his imprint, Mosley Music Group.
“Apologize” became a colossal hit, and Tedder finally succeeded as an artist after years of writing hits for others. The song first appeared on Timbaland’s studio album Shock Value. Months later, it appeared on OneRepublic’s 2007 debut album Dreaming Out Loud.
Native
By the group’s third studio album Native (2013), OneRepublic had established a string of hit singles adopting the sounds of U2. Mixing U2’s church-inspired hymns with Tedder’s pop and hip-hop instincts, they continued the tradition of post-Joshua Tree bands like Coldplay and Snow Patrol.
Completing the circle, Tedder worked with U2 on their 13th and 14th studio albums, Songs of Innocence (2014) and Songs of Experience (2017).
The Chorus Finally Arrived
Persevering to eventually find the elusive chorus for “Love Runs Out,” Tedder—one of the planet’s most reliable hit songwriters—lived his song’s message.
But there’s a curious moment where Tedder references Mephistopheles, the Faustian demon.
There’s a maniac out in front of me
Got an angel on my shoulder, and Mestopheles
Running out of syllables and needing a soft “e” rhyme, Tedder amputates a syllable from the devil’s name. Pop music is famous for bending grammar to its will, so why not literature, too?
Sade and Surrealism
The music video for “Love Runs Out” was inspired by Sade’s “Soldier of Love.” Both videos, directed by Sophie Muller, use surrealism to combine dreamscapes with reality.
It’s a helpful visual for Tedder’s hopeful anthem. Humans make plans, and those plans need dreams. The quickest way to kill a dream is to give up. Tedder’s life and career have been one giant lesson in determination.
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Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
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