OneRepublic: Human

It has been a few years since One Republic released a new album. In an interview with Apple Music, Ryan Tedder (the lead vocalist) wanted the listeners to enjoy an album that mixes all the styles the band has used since 2007, like bowed strings and an emphasis on background singers in
the new album, “Human.”

“Better Days” might be familiar to some listeners.
The band released two other versions of this song last year; one with Mejores Dias then Giorni Migliori. However, this version doesn’t include either artist, and it is all in English. One of the major focuses of this song is looking towards the future. It is okay to cry during difficult times, but optimism may help:
“Oh, I know that there’ll be better days / Oh that sunshine ‘bout to come my way / May we never ever shed
another tear for today / ‘Cause oh I know that there’ll
be better days.”
Another popular song listeners gravitate to is “Didn’t I.” In this song, the singer is looking back at their past relationship. Since their memory is not perfect, the singer is questioning why their partner left them. All they know is that they still care for the person who left. One thing that stands out in this song is in the chorus. The lyrics repeat the first few words of a line before going onto the next:

“Didn’t I, didn’t
I, didn’t I love you? Didn’t we, didn’t we, didn’t we fly?
Know that I, know that I, still care for you…”This simple technique allows the song to become an earworm. Overall, OneRepublic created a strong album that focuses on the complicated emotions of being a human. The answers to a problem may not be clear, and emotions may not always make sense.