You remember the huge 2007/2008 hit “Apologize” by OneRepublic and Timbaland? A lot of people believe that the song was originally written by Timbaland and that it was OneRepublic’s first song. Both assumptions aren’t true. ”Apoligize” was originally written by Ryan Tedder and produced by Greg Wells. The Timbaland-version was a remix of the song for Timbaland’s own album. Ryan Tedder has also co-written and produced Leona Lewis’ big winter hit “Bleeding Love” and has collaborated with other artists like Beyoncé, Ashley Tisdale, Hillary Duff, James Morrison, Jennifer Lopez and even German casting-girlband “Monrose” (in one year you won’t remember this name anymore). You may wonder now, who Ryan Tedder actually is: He is OneRepublic’s frontman. Yep, he’s far more than just the Band’s good-looking figurehead.

Instead of quoting his Wikipedia-article I’ll cite his MySpace-page this time:

There are many sides to Ryan Alias Tedder – Artist, Producer and Songwriter, all of which encompass a multitude of musical styles. Tedder is no stranger to success, having broken records and making chart history in 2007 & 2008. However, he has also, like so many other success stories the music business, experienced his shares of peaks and valleys along the way.
Tedder started playing the piano at age 3, and then later taught himself the guitar, drums, bass, and clarinet. Aside from his accomplished musicianship, he is also a pristine vocalist. Having grown up in Tulsa, Denver then Nashville, Ryan eventually moved west to Los Angeles. Along the way via an MTV talent contest, the young musician caught the attention of one of the utmost respected names in the music world – TIMBALAND. It was in Los Angeles where Ryan resides now, that Timbaland, formally took him under his wing. “When I moved to L.A., I was penniless, absolutely beyond broke and in debt up to my eyeballs. I promised myself I had to make a living doing music or I’d be homeless.” It seemed Tedder’s determination had finally begun to take root. He worked for the next two years with Timbaland as his mentor. “I was already producing for other artists at the time, but being with him for two years stepped up my game a thousand-fold.”
With the ability to cross many musical genres including Pop, R&B, Hip/Hop and Rock, Tedder has already worked with artists such as, Timbaland, Jennifer Lopez, Lil’ Jon, Baby Bash, Natasha Bedingfield, Chris Cornell, Leona Lewis and Bubba Sparxxx. In 2006, Tedder also collaborated on Paul Oakenfold’s Grammy Nominated album, A Lively Mind, on which he co-wrote 3 songs and also appeared as a guest artist on all 3 songs.
Ryan recently re-joined his production home with Timbaland and constantly works on several projects at any given time. His youth, vision and passion for music, combined with his innovative sounds and drive, make him one of the most diverse and successful producers today. Timbaland’s record label, Mosley Music/Interscope is also home to Tedder’s hugely successful melodic, pop-rock band, OneRepublic, of which Tedder is a founding member and front man. In November, 2007 Tedder had 3 simultaneous No. 1 records: “Bleeding Love” with Leona Lewis in the UK, “Apologize” with OneRepublic/Timbaland in the U.S. and “Do It Well Featuring Ludacris” with Jennifer Lopez in Japan. “Bleeding Love”, the song Ryan wrote and produced for Simon Cowell’s X-Factor winner and vocalist extraordinaire, Leona Lewis, held the No. 1 position in the UK for 7 straight weeks. It also broke the record for the fastest selling record in UK history. In late February, 2008, the song reached yet another milestone when it became the most played song on radio worldwide and in April it topped the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at No 1*.The mega-hit, “Apologize,” performed by his band OneRepublic, broke the US Top 40′s Radio Airplay Record with 10,331 spins in one week. It was the number-one most played song for five months until May 7, 2008 when Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love” (a song that Tedder ironically also co-wrote and produced), broke the record previously set by “Apologize,” with 10,665 spins in one week.
Says Tedder of both OneRepublic and his writing and production careers propelling simultaneously, “They say when it rains it pours, and that’s how it’s been. I was writing and having decent successes here and there, and then all of a sudden all this material that I’ve worked on for the past year has come out at once – Leona, Natasha Bedingfield, J-Lo, OneRepublic. It’s just been non-stop.”
CURRENT PROJECTS: Tedder is currently putting finishing touches on multiple songs for Kelly Clarkson‘s forthcoming 2009 RCA records release. Tedder also co-wrote and produced Beyonce’s second Global single, “Halo” from her much anticipated number one new album, I Am…Sasha Fierce. Ryan also co-wrote “Enemy” with Chris Cornell from Cornell’s forthcoming Interscope records release, Scream. Ryan also co-wrote and produced 8 songs with Blake Lewis of American Idol fame for his debut album, A.D.D. released 12/4/07 including his the lead single, “Break Anotha”. He also co-wrote & co-produced Natasha Bedingfield’s 1st single, “Love Like This feat. Sean Kingston” from Pocketful Of Sunshine, and wrote and produced Jennifer Lopez’s 1st single, “Do It Well” from Brave, which reached No. 1 in Japan. As the front man for the globally successful rock band OneRepublic, Tedder also penned their No. 1 song “Apologize” of which the remix is featured on Timbaland’s Shock Value album and the original version is featured on the band’s own debut CD, Dreaming Out Loud released 11/20/07. The song recently broke the record for the most played song on radio in history in a single week as well as reaching No. 1. You can find 2 of Tedder’s songs on Baby Bash’s album Cyclone, and the hit single “He Said, She Said” on High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale’s debut album. Tedder is also credited with co-writing the James Morrison song, “Please Don’t Stop the Rain,” out on Morisson’s latest album, Songs For You, Truths For Me. Look for Tedder songs & productions on Geffen’s new male group ensemble NLT, Varsity Fanclub and Shayne Ward. Notably, Tedder has 3 songs on Paul Oakenfold’s Grammy Nominated album A Lively Mind plus he also appeared as a guest artist on that album.
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Tedder recently ventured into a joint venture record label with Interscope Records. Upcoming projects include Kelly Clarkson, Paula Deanda, Nikki Flores, and Paul Oakenfold.

So, this is Ryan Tedder. Hm, but I’ll quote his Wikipedia-introduction nontheless:

Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American singer and Grammy nominated songwriter and record producer. He has written and produced for various artists and has been reported to be a sought after songwriter in the industry, as well as being the frontman for the band OneRepublic.

I don’t think that I have to add anything more. Oh, here’s a photo of this nice guy (also from his MySpace-page):

Ryan Tedder - Photo from his MySpace-Page; I don't own this picture; no copyright infringement

He’s quite internet-active. His MySpace-page for example isn’t just a pseudo-thing (as Britney Spear’s twitter profile is). On YouTube OneRepublic made an “Apologize Cover Contest” in which Tamar won (she was also featured on crazedhits.com).

Oh, btw: Ryan learned to play the piano via the suzuki method – “by ear rather than reading notes”. I think this is the better and more creative method because you get a feeling for the instrument and can “use it” instead of simply try to play note by note…