The ability to transmit the most genuine emotions and make the audience truly feel the lyrical meaning of a composition is what sets apart the best singers. It’s an earnest gift that furthers the linkage between artist and audience, endowing any performance.

In the competitive K-pop industry, few are the vocalists who boast this virtue, and one of them is — unquestionably — EXO’s D.O. He has become a paragon of excellence, a man whose irresistible voice has enthralled beyond the borders of South Korea. 

As part of EXO, one of K-pop’s most legendary groups, D.O. reached stratospheric heights and a much-anticipated career as a soloist. And though it took him nearly 10 years to strike out on his own, his July 2021 solo debut, Empathy, landed with great success – and enthusiasm for more offerings.

Now he’s back again with his second EP, Expectation. Out Sept. 18, the record is an aural treasure that lays out D.O.’s greatest strength: bending any melody to his will with an evocative tessitura with exceedingly emotional effect.

Debuting With EXO

A native of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, the artist born Doh Kyung-soo developed a musicality during his elementary school days, with singing being his creative medium of choice. Growing up, he constantly captivated with his maturing vocal abilities, and in 2010, he won a competition that prompted SM Entertainment — a K-pop label that is one of the heavyweights in the industry — to recruit him. Given his shy nature, Doh Kyung-soo kept his new reality as an idol trainee low-key from people until his subsequent debut two years later.

Amid considerable anticipation, SM Entertainment began introducing the 12 members of its new boy group (the first one since SHINee’s debut in 2008). Doh Kyung-soo — now going by the stage of D.O. — was revealed alongside power vocalist Baekhyun as part of the lineup with the sublime prelude single, "What’s Love," at the end of January 2012. 

With a larger-than-life concept including superpowers and a metaphysical storytelling, the upcoming act would be known as EXO, taking its name from the exoplanets. To broaden the expanse of possibilities and impact, the group was split into two parallel contingents: EXO-M (who were molded to promote in China) and EXO-K (a group mainly focused on South Korea).

EXO officially broke into the K-pop sphere on April 8, 2012, with "Mama" — a bold and colossal production composed by SM’s revered singer/songwriter Yoo Young-jin — the title track from their first EP, ushering a soon-to-be volcanic trajectory. D.O. impressed as one the group’s vocalists with a beautiful technique, showcasing how his versatile voice could smoothly glide across all types of genres.

EXO’s Success & D.O.’s Expanding Artistry

While many weren’t initially convinced by EXO’s premise, the group’s reputation skyrocketed in the summer of 2013 with the release of "Growl," the lead single from the repackaged version of their first studio album, XOXO. All 12 members of EXO-K and EXO-M united under the same banner to elevate the spectacularity of the production, subverting expectations and flaunting their undeniable chemistry. 

"Growl," an effortlessly magnetic hip-hop cut, received widespread acclaim and topped South Korean charts. As a result of the single’s popularity, EXO became million-sellers for the first time in their careers, and they won 14 first place trophies in the weekly music shows.

K-pop idols tend to combine their group efforts with other individual endeavors, and for D.O., acting was always a calling. In 2014, he landed his first supporting role in the film Cart, also contributing to the soundtrack with the song "Crying Out."

In the SBS-produced series, "It’s Okay, That’s Love," D.O. had a breakout portraying Han Kang-woo, a young, aspiring writer who ends up becoming a central piece to the protagonist’s narrative arc. It was a heart-wrenching interpretation, with D.O. rendering vulnerability and tenderness over a storyline that revolved around sensitive topics such as domestic abuse and mental health. The performance resulted in a nomination as Best New Actor in the category of Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards — one of the leading entertainment ceremonies in South Korea — and an accolade for Best New Actor at the APAN Star Awards.  

Meanwhile, EXO’s status continued to rise in the ranks of the K-pop industry, transforming into an example for future generations. Following the triumph of "Growl," the group released the extended plays Miracles in December, Overdose and Sing For You, and their second studio album EXODUS, along with its repackage Love Me Right. (With some lineup changes in between, the separation of EXO-K and EXO-M was unofficially blurred). They also made their Japanese debut in November 2015 with the arrival of their single album Love Me Right ~ romantic universe ~, which peaked at No. 1 on both the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts.

In 2016  D.O began to show the range of his acting abilities through leading roles. He starred in the movie Pure Love and the web-series "Be Positive," dabbling with genres like romance, drama, and comedy. Another important project for him was My Annoying Brother, a dramedy where he brought Go Doo-young to life, a judo athlete who loses his sight and has to deal with a brother that suddenly returns after disappearing for years. The movie turned out to be a success, and D.O. was recognized as Best New Actor during the Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2017. 

Though his notoriety as an actor evolved in prominence, his commitment to EXO and singing never faded away. After all, it remains his first love. In February 2016, D.O collaborated with Yoo Young-jin to release a special duet titled "Tell Me (What Is Love)," a song performed during EXO’s first tour a few years earlier and was part of SM Entertainment’s newest musical initiative, "SM Station."

At this point, his artistry stretched all-encompassing: a protean entertainer regarded as one of the finest vocalists in the world of K-pop, and a renowned idol-actor. D.O. seamlessly created a balance between his own artistic growth and EXO’s ascension.

"We always say to each other that we should really be together as a team," he said in an interview with The Korea Herald in reference to EXO’s symbiosis. "As I have continued my acting and idol career without causing trouble, I want to continue to do that for the rest of my life." 

A Temporary Farewell With "That’s Ok" 

By the end of 2018, the now nine-member act had completed four tours, sold 10 million record in their home country — making history as the first group to do so in the 2000s — and even performed at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics closing ceremony, which earned them the title of the "the Nation’s Pick." But at the same time, a period of change was quickly approaching.

For every K-pop boy group, there comes a phase where its members need to fulfill a mandatory military conscription of almost two years. EXO entered this pivotal term in 2019 with the enlistment of Xiumin, the oldest member born in 1990, and the collective focus (momentarily) slowed down to make way for different ventures like subunits and solo debuts. In turn, D.O. continued expanding his filmography with his first protagonist role on the silver screen with the historical K-drama "100 days my prince," and a major participation in the feature film Swing Kids, incarnating a North Korean soldier who gets immersed into the world of tap dancing while imprisoned in a war camp. 

Despite a string of back-to-back professional accomplishments under his belt and the public eagerly awaiting for his next project, D.O. unexpectedly announced his early enlistment in May 2019. "I hope that everyone will always be healthy and have [days] that are filled with things that make you laugh," he wrote in a message posted on EXO’s official fan website. "I will carefully serve and return to greet you all with a healthy image."

Before enlisting, D.O. recorded the gentle, self-penned ballad "That’s Ok" in an uplifting farewell. "I’ll shine on you with all the light I have / So don’t hide yourself. Will you show me you?" He sweetly croons accompanied solely by acoustic guitar strings. "Be comfortable with the way you are / That’s right. It’s okay to be okay."

The track became a source of healing and comfort for a lot of his peers in the industry. One notable example is IU, arguably the most lauded K-pop female soloist from the last decade, who offered her own rendition of it, later saying in a radio interview that "That’s Ok" is the first song that moved her to tears in 10 years. 

D.O.’s Long-Awaited Solo Debut: Empathy 

After 19 months of military service, D.O. was discharged in January 2021, just in time for the release of EXO’s seventh mini-album, Don’t Fight The Feeling. The EP was their first musical offering in two years, with Xiumin and D.O. rejoining the group. Don’t Fight The Feeling became their sixth record to surpass one million copies sold; more than a comeback, it was a celebration of EXO’s legacy in the industry. 

To say D.O.’s solo debut was highly-anticipated isn’t an exaggeration, and with his talent, it became a matter of when, not if. So, in the summer of 2021, when SM Entertainment confirmed his first EP, Empathy, many rejoiced. The eight-track album casts a soothing ambience, and it was an important opportunity for him to "make the music he wanted to do" and to etch his feelings in the skyline through his most genuine songwriting. 

"One of the thoughts that came to mind was love, an emotion that anyone can feel," D.O said in an interview with the South Korean newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo. "I also thought that it would be good to provide comfort like the previously released ‘It’s Okay’, so I took on the challenge of writing lyrics myself."

Empathy tempers D.O.’s rich vocals with minimalistic arrangements where the main components are nostalgic-laced guitar chords, a reflection of his well-known tranquil aura. He delivers solace at the length of the record, with the titular song, "Rose," collating the fragments of an endearing admission of love. But perhaps the brightest diamond is "Si Fueras Mía," the Spanish version of the B-side, "It’s Love (다시, 사랑이야)," a tune that portrays D.O. longing for a love unmet, and could only be reached in dreams. His wistful tone captured the romance ingrained in the language, and for some part, it also symbolized a throwback to EXO-K’s cover (from almost ten years ago) of the famous bolero called "Sabor a mí."

EXO’s Seventh Album & Expectation

Just as he reached his 10th debut anniversary with EXO in 2022, saw D.O. take on his second leading role on television in the series "Bad Prosecutor." But as most of his groupmates completed their military service by 2023, the prospect of a second solo release and an EXO comeback was drawing near.  

Suho, the group’s leader, confirmed EXO’s return in the last days of 2022; in June 2023, news surfaced they were gearing up their seventh full-length album, EXIST. The group dropped the pre-release singles "Let Me In" and "Hear Me Out," preparing the stage for the record’s titular song "Cream Soda." 

The July 2023 release was the first time D.O. stepped into the South Korean music shows since the release of the group’s fifth studio album, Love Shot, in 2018, and it marked EXO’s first promotional cycle since 2019’s Obsession. Seeing them together — except for Kai and Lay, who are currently inactive — enjoying a performance again was a treat for fans and K-pop artists alike.

Over the years, D. O. has come to be known as an artist in constant motion, always with a new endeavor lined up. Case in point: Before he completed his military service, he was selected as the protagonist of the sci-fi movie The Moon, the release of which nearly coincided with the end of EXO’s latest album cycle.

Simultaneously, the excitement for D.O.’s second mini-album increased, especially after he revealed in an interview with the South Korean outlet SportSeoul  that he had finished the structuring of it in May 2022. "I wanted to prepare early, so I did it in advance before I went into another shoot," D.O. said, also adding that it would contain "a lot of acoustic songs." The first teaser and the name of the record, Expectation, was unveiled in August. 

True to his title, the record’s essence derives from a contemplation about the desires and consequences of love — from professions of devotion to its contradictory nature. Lead single "Somebody" talks about the yearning for a significant other who can embrace us through our flaws and walk hand-in-hand carefree.

That sense of hope expands to the melodies of "Wonder" and "I Do," until melancholia hits on the second half of the album with "Lost," "Ordinary Days," and "The View." Throughout, D.O.’s alluring timbre draws ruminations in a sonic canvas that certainly will linger as another harbor for his ever-evolving journey. 

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When K-pop's emblematic group EXO debuted in 2012, each member was assigned a superpower as part of their overarching lore. Kim Jongin, then a fresh-faced 18-year-old, was given the ability to teleport, promptly appearing and disappearing throughout their many music videos. He also received an alias: KAI, whose Chinese character "开" means "to open."

Eleven years later, KAI has manifested his nickname; his individual success has opened doors to three solo albums, countless world tours as part of EXO and supergroup SuperM, and several luxury brand contracts (he is an ambassador for Gucci and a representative for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty). It makes sense that he sees himself as someone who can't be constrained — and that he named his third EP Rover.

As the title insinuates, embodying multiple things at once has always been KAI's specialty. He is notoriously shy off-camera, an introvert who stays silent unless spoken to, but who unravels in winding thoughts and warm laughs when comfortable. At the same time, he is also one of K-pop's most lethal performers, with a voice that is as soft as sinful, and ballet-trained movements that spellbind any audience.

Rover is KAI's latest self-actualization. In a Zoom call with GRAMMY.com, he is all smiles as he mentions that this album is the truest to his creative desires so far. Whether visually or sonically, the six-track collection (plus a second installment of his conceptual video series, FILM : KAI, to be released on March 20) fuses everything that he is known for: the teleporting, the hypnotizing dance moves, the many characters he can embody, and his versatility in approaching rhythms that go from reggaeton to R&B.

He ponders about the limitations of social media and receiving love in tracks like "Black Mirror," and "Say You Love Me," while longing for freedom in "Bomba" and the project's title track. "Here I am in your face/ Focus on every single expression/ Y'all buzzin', catch me if you can," he sings in the latter, making reference to one of his favorite movies. In the music video, he also hints at Billy Elliott, another formative movie in his life, while adopting multiple personalities and namesakes. There are no boundaries to KAI's artistry, after all.

Ahead of the release, GRAMMY.com caught up with KAI about the meaning of freedom, his relationship with social media, and how it feels to be an idol for over a decade.

You ask to be called "Mr. Rover" in the EP's title track. Who is Mr. Rover?

That's me! [Laughs.] [The song] has a story about a wanderer and a message of wanting to be free, and since I want to be free on stage, and as an artist in general, Mr. Rover is me.

What is freedom to you?

I put a lot of thought into that, but honestly, I still don't know. I do feel free, and I do feel freedom when I'm on stage, and in order to feel that true freedom, I think it's not just throwing away something that's inside of you. It's more like trying your best and putting more effort into that freedom that you're seeking.

A lot of my fans say that I seem very happy and free on stage. I really want to be like that. I realized that, in order to be free, there's a lot of things that I have to try harder behind the stage.

Indeed, one of your main characteristics is that on stage you are very confident and charismatic, while off stage you are a little more shy and warm-hearted. What's on your mind when you're on stage?

I don't think that much when I'm on stage. This is intentional, because I try not to think about anything and just do my best. Just enjoy that moment. If I think a lot, then it'd be difficult for me to concentrate. I really want to get to that level where I don't have any thoughts and I can just feel free and do the performance as it is.

On stage, you can usually see me smiling and laughing a lot, but that's because the more I get nervous, the more I start smiling and laughing, and the more I enjoy it. Once I feel a sense of pressure is when I truly start to enjoy [it]. I realized that I must be crazy to be enjoying all this nervousness. [Laughs.]

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Besides freedom, what are three main words that you associate with this album?

The first one is "SNS" [Social Networking Service, or what Koreans usually call social media], because it's actually a theme in the album. To add up, the album also has a message of loving yourself and not caring about what others think. 

As in one of my tracks, "Black Mirror," when the display screen is black, it tells you to see yourself reflected there and to love yourself more. "Say You Love Me" [is] a song about desiring love. On SNS, we care a lot about likes, followers, and what other people think or how they see us.

The second keyword is "performance." It is a very important part of this album, because I really did what I wanted to do. There are a lot of performances to see and hear altogether, so when I was preparing [them], I tried to show different aspects of myself.

And my third keyword would be "happiness," because that is the emotion I felt the most while preparing for this album. I really enjoyed it, and I felt a lot of happiness in my daily life. I think that it's going to be a very memorable period for me.

Since your first keyword is SNS, what is your personal relationship with social media?

Honestly speaking, if I wasn't a celebrity, I think I wouldn't have been using SNS at all. But since I am, I do have to [use] it, and I think of it as a way to communicate with my fans. 

In my album, tracks such as "Black Mirror" or "Rover" have a message of being free and loving yourself, and I [prepared] a lot of curated content to show to my fans. I do have a desire for [my fans] to like that, but I want to say that it doesn't matter because, as a human, it's the same for me. I watch YouTube too, I watch all those [Instagram] Reels at night before I go to sleep. So you know, after all, I'm doing the same thing [as everyone].

**Your second keyword is performance, and you seem very happy that you could do everything that you wanted for Rover. What new things were you able to show through your performances this time?**

The ["Rover"] music video is very well-made and fun, and another FILM : KAI is coming out soon. The first FILM : KAI was released before my first music video [for "Mmmh"], so the role of it was to explain the whole concept and help the listeners understand what I was trying to say.

This time, FILM : KAI is coming out after the music video [for "Rover"], so I think it could be a chance for the viewers to organize their thoughts and compare with what they have been thinking while watching the music video, so they can realize some different charms [within it].

**You talked about your first album, KAI (开), and now you're on your third album. What are some of the differences between them, and what have you improved on since your solo debut?**

For the first album, when preparing the songs, it was more about finding what I wanted to do as KAI and what I'd like to show people. For the second album, it was more about focusing on what people would like to see and what they wanted from me. I did feel a bit pressured and stressed, but it was one of the steps in the process of trying to find what I really want to do. 

For my third album, I was able to find what I want to do and start doing it. As an artist, I grew a lot, but that's why I think it was a new challenge. It's something new that I'm attempting.

If it wasn't for the first or the second albums, the third one wouldn't even exist. I even had some songs that I saved during the [previous] albums because I thought I wasn't prepared before, but now I'm ready to release them to the world. As a soloist and an artist, I'm just developing and growing. There may be a lot of lacking skills still, but this album is very special to me, and I like it a lot.

You've been an idol for more than a decade now. What is the most important thing you learned so far?

Being an idol is a job too. The line between my daily life and my life as a celebrity is very ambiguous. From time to time, I could feel more stressed out, and as it is a job where I can share emotions with the public, there's a bit of pressure on that too.

The most important thing to do is to take care of my mental [health] and mindset, and this realization was a chance for me to grow. I've been thinking deeply on how to become a better person, how to live a happy life as a human being, and I think that, as KAI, I really want to share more positive and happy thoughts with my fans and the people all around the world.

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We called Lay Zhang a musical diplomat when he was named promotion ambassador for GRAMMY Festival China last April. A Chinese founding member of the Korean-market boy band EXO, Lay's Oct. 19 release, Namanana: 03, has entered new territory for any Mandarin-pop album.

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Lay debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 with 23,000 traditional album sales boosted by another 1,000 equivalents from streaming and other digital. The album's 22 tracks are half in Mandarin Chinese and half in English, recreating each of the 11 songs as bilingual.

This success shows that K-pop helps put artists on blast but U.S. album buyers are developing an appetite to go beyond the superficial frame of boy band marketing and fame, also known as "idol groups" in Korea.

The K-pop solo mixtape Hope World by J-Hope from BTS debuted at No. 63 last March on the Billboard 200 and rose from there to No. 38, making him the best-selling K-pop solo artist earlier this year, and Lay's No. 21 is more properly M-pop because of its Mandarin Chinese. That's despite Lay's K-pop roots in EXO.

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But meanwhile on Tuesday Oct. 23, J-Hope's BTS bandmate RM delivered a mixtape of his own, titled Mono. With just three days of sales, it debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 for Nov. 3. Traditional album sales were 16,000 plus 5,000 equivalents. Some tracks recall Brian Eno's solo albums, and its subdued and enveloping emotion allows RM's poetics and raps to reach out in a different way. As usual with RM, the word play in English is unexpected and the raps artistic, while his use of Korean, English, or Korean-English together goes wherever he decides to take it.

Terms like "K-pop" or "M-pop" can seem belittling marketing categories, like the term "boy band" or "idol group," but they are useful buckets to compare sales quantities. In general, cross-Pacific pop has had its best album-sales week ever in the U.S. for solo artists, and some tracks even have a Latin feel. However big this new listening culture might grow, it's attracting commercial attention and cash. That's a good sign for any artist who wants to write future chapters in this suspenseful series.

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Lay Zhang's many talents — which include the ability to speak Chinese, English and Korean, and years of artistry as the main dancer for EXO — add up to a unique combination he's putting to work to raise awareness for GRAMMY Festival China, coming up on April 30 in Beijing. As Promotion Ambassador for the festival, Lay will stand alongside Bravo Entertainment, China Music Vision and the Recording Academy to bring the exciting event to fruition in its inaugural year.

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In addition to his role in the South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO, Lay is an actor, composer, record producer, songwriter, and author of Standing Firm At 24. Through all of his work, he has demonstrated that love is the center that motivates his personal drive.

Speaking to his solo composition "I Need You" during a Billboard interview, Lay said love "can sometimes be like a habit, but also refreshing and touching. I believe that love, from what I have felt, is being able to do even the smallest of things for your loved one thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times."

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BhdkAJ4A7CL/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BhdkAJ4A7CL/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">It’s my great honor to be the Promotion Ambassador for The GRAMMY Festival China. Thanks to GRAMMY and BRAVO entertainment for the precious invitation. Let us all look forward to the incredible live performances on April 30th. Lay Zhang</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/zyxzjs/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Zhangyixing</a> (@zyxzjs) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-04-12T07:24:49+00:00">Apr 12, 2018 at 12:24am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

As Promotion Ambassador, Lay will lend his positive message of love to GRAMMY Festival China's multicultural footprint.

"This amazing event will be a real celebration of music and live performance," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy, "and a unique opportunity to embrace the integration of many cultures. I sincerely hope more and more music lovers in China enjoy the GRAMMYs, and share the excellence and happiness that music brings."

The debut GRAMMY Festival China will feature GRAMMY winners Daya and Macy Gray; GRAMMY nominees James Bay, Carly Rae Jepsen and OneRepublic; and GRAMMY winners Phoenix and Pharrell Williams. Chinese artists Williams Chan and Nicolas Tse also join the lineup. 

Tickets are available for purchase now at www.damai.cn.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Three months after OneRepublic began promoting their sixth album, Artificial Paradise, in February 2022, the band unexpectedly had their biggest release in nearly a decade. The pop-rock band's carefree jam, "I Ain't Worried," soundtracked Top Gun: Maverick's most memeable scene and quickly became a global smash — ultimately delaying album plans in favor of promoting their latest hit.

Two years later, "I Ain't Worried" is one of 16 tracks on Artificial Paradise, which arrived July 12. It's a seamless blend of songs that will resonate with longtime and newer fans alike. From the layered production of "Hurt," to the feel-good vibes of "Serotonin," to the evocative lyrics of "Last Holiday," Artificial Paradise shows that OneRepublic's sound is as dialed-in as it is ever-evolving.

The album also marks the end of an era for OneRepublic, as it's the last in their contract with Interscope Records. But for the group's singer, Ryan Tedder, that means the future is even more exciting than it's been in their entire 15-year career.

"I've never been more motivated to write the best material of my life than this very moment," he asserts. "I'm taking it as a challenge. We've had a lot of fun, and a lot of uplifting records for the last seven or eight years, but I also want to tap back into some deeper material with the band."

As he's been prepping Artificial Paradise with his OneRepublic cohorts, Tedder has also been as busy as he's ever been working with other artists. His career as a songwriter/producer took off almost simultaneously with OneRepublic's 2007 breakthrough, "Apologize" (his first major behind-the-board hit was Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love"); to this day he's one of the go-to guys for pop's biggest names, from BLACKPINK to Tate McRae.

Tedder sat down with GRAMMY.com to share some of his most prominent memories of OneRepublic's biggest songs, as well as some of the hits he's written with Beyoncé, Adele, Taylor Swift and more.

I was producing and writing other songs for different artists on Epic and Atlantic — I was just cutting my teeth as a songwriter in L.A. This is like 2004. I was at my lowest mentally and financially. I was completely broke. Creditors chasing me, literally dodging the taxman and getting my car repoed, everything.

I had that song in my back pocket for four years. A buddy of mine just reminded me last month, a songwriter from Nashville — Ashley Gorley, actually. We had a session last month, me, him and Amy Allen, and he brought it up. He was like, "Is it true, the story about 'Apologize'? You were completely broke living in L.A. and Epic Records offered you like 100 grand or something just for the right to record the song on one of their artists?"

And that is true. It was, like, 20 [grand], then 50, then 100. And I was salivating. I was, like, I need this money so bad. And I give so many songs to other people, but with that song, I drew a line in the sand and said, "No one will sing this song but me. I will die with this song." 

It was my story, and I just didn't want anyone else to sing it. It was really that simple. It was a song about my past relationships, it was deeply personal. And it was also the song that — I spent two years trying to figure out what my sound was gonna be. I was a solo artist… and I wasn't landing on anything compelling. Then I landed on "Apologize" and a couple of other songs, and I was like, These songs make me think of a band, not solo artist material. So it was the song that led me to the sound of OneRepublic, and it also led me to the idea that I should start a band and not be a solo artist.

We do it every night. I'll never not do it. I've never gotten sick of it once. Every night that we do it, whether I'm in Houston or Hong Kong, I look out at the crowd and look at the band, and I'm like, Wow. This is the song that got us here.

We were halfway through promoting Dreaming Out Loud, our first album. I played basketball every day on tour, and I snapped my Achilles. The tour got canceled. The doctor told me not to even write. And I had this one sliver of an afternoon where my wife had to run an errand. And because I'm sadistic and crazy, I texted [songwriter] Evan Bogart, "I got a three-hour window, race over here. Beyoncé called me and asked me to write her a song. I want to do it with you." He had just come off his huge Rihanna No. 1, and we had an Ashley Tisdale single together.

When you write enough songs, not every day do the clouds part and God looks down on you and goes, "Here." But that's what happened on that day. I turn on the keyboard, the first sound that I play is the opening sound of the song. Sounds like angels singing. And we wrote the song pretty quick, as I recall. 

I didn't get a response [from Beyoncé after sending "Halo" over], which I've now learned is very, very typical of her. I did Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé "II MOST WANTED" [from COWBOY CARTER] — I didn't know that was coming out 'til five days before it came out. And when I did "XO" [from 2013's Beyoncé], I found out that "XO" was coming out 12 hours before it came out. That's how she operates.

["Good Life"] was kind of a Hail Mary. We already knew that "All the Right Moves" would be the first single [from Waking Up]. We knew that "Secrets" was the second single. And in the 11th hour, our engineer at the time — who I ended up signing as a songwriter, Noel Zancanella — had this drum loop that he had made, and he played it for Brent [Kutzle] in our band. Brent said, "You gotta hear this drum loop that Noel made. It's incredible."

He played it for me the next morning, and I was like, "Yo throw some chords to this. I'm writing to this today." They threw some chords down, and the first thing out of my mouth was, [sings] "Oh, this has gotta be the good life." 

It's the perfect example of, oftentimes, the chord I've tried to strike with this band with some of our bigger records, [which] is happy sad. Where you feel nostalgic and kind of melancholic, but at the same time, euphoric. That's what those chords and that melody did for me.

I was like, "Hey guys, would it be weird if I made the hook a whistle?" And everyone was like, "No! Do not whistle!" They're like, "Name the last hit song that had a whistle." And the only one I could think of was, like, Scorpion from like, 1988. [Laughs.] So I thought, To hell with it, man, it's been long enough, who cares? Let's try it. And the whistle kind of made the record. It became such a signature thing.

Adele — "Rumour Has It," '21' (2011)

"Rumour Has It" was the first song I did in probably a four year period, with any artist, that wasn't a ballad. All any artist ever wanted me to write with them or for them, was ballads, because of "Halo," and "Apologize" and "Bleeding Love."

I begged [Adele] to do a [song with] tempo, because we did "Turning Tables," another ballad. She was in a feisty mood [that day], so I was like, "Okay, we're doing a tempo today!"

Rick Rubin was originally producing the whole album. I was determined to produce Adele, not just write — because I wanted a shot to show her that I could, and to show myself. I stayed later after she left, and I remember thinking, What can I do in this record in this song that could be so difficult to reproduce that it might land me the gig?

So I intentionally muted the click track, changed the tempo, and [created that] whole piano bridge. I was making it up as I went. When she got in that morning. I said, "I have a crazy idea for a bridge. It's a movie." She listens and she says, "This is really different, I like this! How do we write to this?" 

I mean, it was very difficult. [But] we finished the song. She recorded the entire song that day. She recorded the whole song in one take. I've never seen anyone do that in my life — before or since.

Then I didn't hear from her for six months. Because I handed over the files, and Rick Rubin's doing it, so I don't need to check on it. I randomly check on the status of the song — and at this point, if you're a songwriter or producer, you're assuming that they're not keeping the songs. Her manager emails my manager, "Hey, good news — she's keeping both songs they did, and she wants Ryan to finish 'Rumour Has It' production and mix it." 

When I finally asked her, months later — probably at the GRAMMYs — I said, "Why didn't [Rick] do it?" She said, "Oh he did. It's that damn bridge! Nobody could figure out what the hell you were doing…It was so problematic that we just gave up on it."

I was in a Beyoncé camp in the Hamptons writing for the self-titled album. [There were] a bunch of people in the house — me, Greg Kurstin, Sia — it was a fun group of people. I had four days there, and every morning I'd get up an hour and a half before I had to leave, make a coffee, and start prepping for the day. On the third day, I got up, I'm in the basement of this house at like 7 in the morning, and I'm coming up with ideas. I stumble across that chord progression, the guitar and the melody. It was instant shivers up my spine. 

"Lately I've been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be" is the only line that I had. [My] first thought was, I should play this for Beyoncé, and then I'm listening to it and going, This is not Beyoncé, not even remotely. It'd be a waste. So I tabled it, and I texted the guys in my band, "Hey, I think I have a potentially really big record. I'm going to finish it when I get back to Denver."

I got back the next week, started recording it, did four or five versions of the chorus, bouncing all the versions off my wife, and then eventually landed it. And when I played it for the band, they were like, "This is our favorite song."

It was my second session with Taylor. The first one was [1989's] "I Know Places," and she sent me a voice memo. I was looking for a house in Venice [California], because we were spending so much time in L.A. So that whole memory is attached to me migrating back to Los Angeles. 

But I knew what she was talking about, because I lived in New York, and I remember the feeling — endless possibilities, all the different people and races and sexes and loves. That was her New York chapter. She was so excited to be there. If you never lived there, and especially if you get there and you've got a little money in the pocket, it is so exhilarating.

It was me just kind of witnessing her brilliant, fast-paced, lyrical wizardry. [Co-producer] Max [Martin] and I had a conversation nine months later at the GRAMMYs, when we had literally just won for 1989. He kind of laughed, he pointed to all the other producers on the album, and he's like, "If she had, like, three more hours in the day, she would just figure out what we do and she would do it. And she wouldn't need any of us." 

And I still think that's true. Some people are just forces of nature in and among themselves, and she's one of them. She just blew me away. She's the most talented top liner I've ever been in a room with, bar none. If you're talking lyric and melody, I've never been in a room with anyone faster, more adept, knows more what they want to say, focused, efficient, and just talented.

I had gone through a pretty dry spell mentally, emotionally. I had just burned it at both ends and tapped out, call it end of 2016. So, really, all of 2017 for me was a blur and a wash. I did a bunch of sessions in the first three months of the year, and then I just couldn't get a song out. I kept having, song after song, artists telling me it's the first single, [then] the song was not even on the album. I had never experienced that in my career.

I went six to nine months without finishing a song, which for me is unheard of. Andrew Watt kind of roped me back into working with him. We did "Easier" for 5 Seconds of Summer, and we did some Sam Smith and some Miley Cyrus, and right in that same window, I did this song "Sucker." Two [or] three months later, Wendy Goldstein from Republic [Records] heard the record, I had sent it to her. She'd said, very quietly, "We're relaunching the Jonas Brothers. They want you to be involved in a major way. Do you have anything?" 

She calls me, she goes, "Ryan, do not play this for anybody else. This is their comeback single. It's a No. 1 record. Watch what we're gonna do." And she delivered.

My memory is, being in lockdown in COVID, and just being like, Who knows when this is going to end, working out of my Airstream at my house. I had done a lot of songs for movies over the years, and [for] that particular [song] Randy Spendlove, who runs [music at] Paramount, called me.

I end up Zooming with Tom Cruise [and Top Gun: Maverick director] Jerry Bruckheimer — everybody's in lockdown during post-production. The overarching memory was, Holy cow, I'm doing the scene, I'm doing the song for Top Gun. I can't believe this is happening. But the only way I knew how to approach it, rather than to, like, overreact and s— the bed, was, It's just another day.

I do prescription songs for movies, TV, film all the time. I love a brief. It's so antithetical to most writers. I'm either uncontrollably lazy or the most productive person you've ever met. And the dividing line between the two is, if I'm chasing some directive, some motivation, some endpoint, then I can be wildly productive.

I just thought, I'm going to do the absolute best thing I can do for this scene and serve the film. OneRepublic being the performing artist was not on the menu in my mind. I just told them, "I think you need a cool indie band sounding, like, breakbeat." I used adjectives to describe what I heard when I saw the scene, and Tom got really ramped and excited. 

You could argue [it's the biggest song] since the band started. The thing about it is, it's kind of become one of those every summer [hits]. And when it blew up, that's what Tom said. He said, "Mark my words, dude. You're gonna have a hit with this every summer for, like, the next 20 years or more." 

And that's what happened. The moment Memorial Day happened, "I Ain't Worried" got defrosted and marched itself back into the top 100.

Tate McRae — "Greedy," 'THINK LATER' (2023)

We had "10:35" [with Tiësto] the previous year that had been, like, a No. 1 in the UK and across Europe and Australia. So we were coming off the back of that, and the one thing she was clear about was, "That is not the direction of what I want to do."

If my memory serves me correct, "greedy" was the next to last session we had. Everything we had done up to that point was kind of dark, midtempo, emotional. So "greedy" was the weirdo outlier. I kept pushing her to do a dance record. I was like, "Tate, there's a lot of people that have great voices, and there's a lot of people who can write, but none of those people are professional dancers like you are. Your secret weapon is the thing you're not using. In this game and this career, you've got to use every asset that you have and exploit it."

There was a lot of cajoling. On that day, we did it, and I thought it was badass, and loved it. And she was like, "Ugh, what do we just do? What is this?"

So then it was just, like, months, months and months of me constantly bringing that song back up, and playing it for her, and annoying the s— out of her. And she came around on it. 

She has very specific taste. So much of the music with Tate, it really is her steering. I'll do what I think is like a finished version of a song, and then she will push everyone for weeks, if not months, to extract every ounce of everything out of them, to push the song harder, further, edgier — 19 versions of a song, until finally she goes, "Okay, this is the one." She's a perfectionist.

I love [our latest single] "Hurt," but my favorite song on the album is called "Last Holiday." I probably started the beginning of that lyric, I'm not joking, seven, eight years ago. But I didn't finish it 'til this past year.

The verses are little maxims and words of advice that I've been given throughout the years. It's almost cynical in a way, the song. When I wrote the chorus, I was definitely in kind of a down place. So the opening line is, "So I don't believe in the stars anymore/ They never gave me what I wished for." And it's, obviously, a very not-so-slight reference to "Counting Stars." But it's also hopeful — "We've got some problems, okay, but this isn't our last holiday." 

It's very simple sentiments. Press pause. Take some moments. Find God before it all ends. All these things with this big, soaring chorus. Musically and emotionally and sonically, that song — and "Hurt," for sure — but "Last Holiday" is extremely us-sounding. 

The biggest enemy that we've had over the course of 18 years, I'll be the first to volunteer, is, this ever-evolving, undulating sound. No one's gonna accuse me of making these super complex concept albums, because that's just not how my brain's wired. I grew up listening to the radio. I didn't grow up hanging out in the Bowery in CBGBs listening to Nick Cave. So for us, the downside to that, and for me doing all these songs for all these other people, is the constant push and pull of "What is their sound? What genre is it?" 

I couldn't put a pin in exactly what the sound is, but what I would say is, if you look at the last 18 years, a song like "Last Holiday" really encompasses, sonically, what this band is about. It's very moving, and emotional, and dynamic. It takes me to a place — that's the best way for me to put it. And hopefully the listener finds the same.