OneRepublic

When “Apologize” surged into the popular consciousness in 2007 (thanks to its inclusion on Timbaland’s Shock Value), few had heard of album-less pop group OneRepublic—even though frontman Ryan Tedder has written for and produced everyone from Hilary Duff to Jennifer Lopez. Of course, most of that pop fluff is crap, which made OneRepublic’s Dreaming Out Loud such a surprise; turns out the guy can put some genuinely decent songs together. Tedder can’t seem to decide if his piano-riff ’n’ whine band should be Coldplay or Maroon 5, but the 2009 follow-up, Waking Up, kept up the respectable craftsmanship and added such production flourishes as strings and children’s choirs. Only time will tell if that restraint continues on the band’s third record, though, due out sometime next year.

Updated 06/15/2011