Human (OneRepublic album)
Human is the fifth studio album by American pop rock band OneRepublic. It was released through Mosley Music Group and Interscope Records on August 27, 2021, nearly five years after their fourth album Oh My My (2016). After the health issues that affected the band's lead singer, songwriter and producer Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic decided to work on a standalone singles strategy to promote the album. With that, Human deals with lyrical themes surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as life and the connectivity between humanity and nature.
Human
August 27, 2021
2019–2021
34:51
- Ryan Tedder
- Brent Kutzle
- Tyler Spry
- Steve Wilmot
- John Nathaniel
- Zach Skelton
Human includes electronic production consisting of drum machines, synthesizers and manipulated vocals. In addition to the band's own Tedder and Brent Kutzle, OneRepublic recruited producers Steve Wilmot and Zach Skelton, who worked on the band's previous album, as well as producers Tyler Spry and John Nathaniel.
Six singles supported the album: "Rescue Me", "Wanted", "Didn't I", "Better Days", "Run", "Someday" also including the singles "Lose Somebody" and "Wild Life", released as bonus tracks on the Digital Deluxe edition of the album. "Somebody to Love" preceded the album as a promotional single. The album polarised music critics, who admired the lyricism and composition of some tracks, but were divided over the overproduced vocals, opaque production, and the excess of rap-trap verses and melodies in much of the songs.
After a period of delays, Human peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in its debut week, falling below the debut weeks of Native (2013) and Oh My My (2016) but surpassing Dreaming Out Loud (2007) and Waking Up (2009). The album also reached the top twenty in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, and Switzerland.
Background[edit]
The album was announced by frontman Ryan Tedder in September 2019, with a planned release in "late November" of that year. Tedder stated that he wanted to put out an album with eight or nine songs and then continue releasing new music in 2020. Tedder later revealed that the album had been delayed until the second quarter of 2020 because it was "physically impossible to finish an album in the timeframe that we thought we needed it", and he believed the album would not be successful if released between Thanksgiving and Christmas.[1] Tedder also said the band had "two years worth of songs just scattered on hard drives" and were trying to find and finish "the best ones" to make "a coherent album out of the last two years".[1] Tedder stated that the May 8 release date was delayed because of it being a "weird time", amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The band also stated, "due to the current circumstances requiring us to distance ourselves from each other and you, the release has been postponed."[3] On July 1, 2021, the band announced via their Instagram account that the official release date for Human would be August 27, 2021.[4]
Notes