Grammy-nominated pop-rock band OneRepublic took over the Araneta Coliseum stage last Thursday, February 23, and showed their unmatched connection with Filipino fans! 

“We absolutely love it here in the Philippines… This building has a lot of history; it’s a sacred place that I don’t think exists anywhere else in the world,” frontman Ryan Tedder gushed in between songs during the first part of the concert. “We’ve played in about 90 countries, and if people ask me in interviews what country loves music the most, I always say ‘The Philippines.’ You can sing better than anyone.”

It was undeniable that their fans reciprocated this love as the whole venue erupted into cheers as soon as the Bach-sampled intro of their opener ‘Secrets’ blasted through the speakers, followed by ‘Good Life, ‘Stop and Stare,’ ‘Rescue Me,’ Wherever I Go,’ and ‘Love Runs Out.’ The palpable buzz was consistent throughout the night, with everyone loudly singing along to the entire set list, even jumping out of their seats to dance at times!

The second act of the show was what Tedder described as a “concert within a concert.” Aside from playing the six-member band’s greatest hits, the audience was treated to a special performance of songs that the frontman penned for and with other global stars, such as Beyonce’s ‘Halo,’ Adele’s ‘Rumour Has It,’ Lil Nas X’s ‘That’s What I Want,’ the Jonas Brothers’ ‘Sucker,’ and Kygo’s ‘Lose Somebody.’ OneRepublic then closed out this section with their more recent hits ‘Sunshine’ and ‘I Ain’t Worried,’ a track off the official soundtrack of Hollywood blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Another highlight of the night was when OneRepublic turned the Big Dome crowd into a choir for ‘Apologize.’ The audience did not let the band down as they easily followed the melodies orchestrated by Tedder and sang in perfect harmony,  “This is by far the best choir we had out of 45 countries,” they declared – and we have no choice but to agree! We had chills the entire time!

With everyone’s cell phone lights turned on and up in the air, the band then capped off the memorable night by performing ‘I Lived,’ ‘Counting Stars,’ and ‘Lose Myself.’ 

“It’d be a dream to perform here two to three nights in a row, even better," Tedder said. "But until then, we’ll keep putting out the music and you keep listening.” We got you, Ryan! That we will!

We’ll also watch out for more releases from Canadian singer Jessia, who performed some of her songs including ‘Nobody Hates You,’ ‘Next Time,’ and unreleased single ‘Without You’ as the concert’s opening act.

We “lost ourselves” to the music that night, and we can’t wait to do it again. Special thanks to Wilbros Live for making “OneRepublic: Live in Concert” possible!