OneRepublic’s Return to Manila is a One Big Sing-Along — and More

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Taking over Araneta Coliseum, the pop band performed hit after hit and reminded the audience that it’s a good life after all.

Time can be such a tricky thing.

Between the time the cello- and viola-soaked “Apologize” hit radio airwaves in 2007 and One Republic’s Manila comeback on February 23 this year, a lot has happened. The most recent and most impactful: That pandemic that sent the world into quiet turbulence.

Sixteen years is a long time. The past three years rife with Covid-related woes, in one sense, is a long time, too.

For concert-goers, years of social distancing meant not being able to enjoy the euphoria that live music brings — the kind that no digital screen can replicate. And so when the world opened up and an influx of OPM and foreign acts’ gigs arrived, the air in event venues quickly became thick with the yearning to experience that once again.

Last Thursday’s One Republic concert was a testament to that visceral excitement.

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As soon as the Bach-sampled intro of “Secrets” was heard across the Araneta Coliseum, the crowd knew that they were in for a great time. Many jumped out of their seats, as if the song was already the show’s peak performance. They were singing while holding their phones to record one of the most beautiful moments of the show, which was something that they’d do throughout the one-and-a-half-hour-long gig.

Vocalist Ryan Tedder, coolly clad in a blue jacket and a pair of jeans, led his bandmates and touring members as they gave their Manila audience a concert to remember.

Carrying on the nostalgia-anchored elation that “Secrets” brought out, the Colorado-based band performed “Good Life” and “Stop and Stare.” The latter was their sophomore release, which Ryan introduced as “the song that kept [them] together as a band.”

Stop and stare, you start to wonder why you're here not there 🎶#OneRepublic #OneRepublicInManila #OneRepublicAtTheBigDome pic.twitter.com/7xe1raNGGR

— SmartAranetaColiseum (@TheBigDome) February 23, 2023

During a sweep of releases from the 2010s (“Rescue Me,” “Wherever I Go,” and “Love Runs Out”), the band masterfully showcased their command of their instruments. Ryan switching from the piano and the acoustic guitar to the tambourine displayed his deftness as a musician. However, it was his most important instrument, his voice, that truly shone — whether he was crooning, hitting those oh-so-good falsettos, or engaging with the crowd and throwing sweet Tagalog statements.

In their second act, Ryan (now wearing a polo shirt) delighted the audience with renditions of hits he co-penned with other global stars.

His cover of “Halo” sounded vulnerably romantic. “Rumor Has It” had its own cheeky appeal. “THATS WHAT I WANT,” a hit for Lil Nas X, was only a snippet, but it was more than enough to get a rousing reaction from the crowd.

As if a recognition of his band’s fans’ warm welcome and sing-along chops, he went down the stage to be in the midst of the audience at one point in their performance of Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker.”

Raise your hand 🙋‍♀️ if you're a sucker for this song!

📸 Bruce Casanova#OneRepublic #OneRepublicInManila #OneRepublicAtTheBigDome pic.twitter.com/7vn9fWYD1u

— SmartAranetaColiseum (@TheBigDome) February 23, 2023

This part ended with their Kygo collab, “Lose Somebody,” which they released in the early months of the pandemic.

“It felt weird putting out music in, like, spring of 2020, because everyone was watching the news and freaking out, and it wasn’t a good time,” he recounted. But that was until the Norwegian DJ reached out for them to do a song. Upon the invitation, “What else do we need to do? Let’s do music,” they worked together and released the poignant pop anthem.

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Throughout the show, Ryan’s ability to assemble incredibly infectious songs was evident as OneRepublic fans sang along to all of the tracks performed.

“When you write songs, you have no idea what songs are going to be a hit song,” he said about the craft of being a musician. Citing “Apologize” as an example  — a song they would later perform for and with the crowd — he remarked: “I had no idea that people are going to connect with it. That’s what’s incredible about music. You just do it, it comes out, and it does what it does.”

And now, this is how it feels to sing with @RyanTedder ✨️

📸 Bruce Casanova#OneRepublic #OneRepublicInManila #OneRepublicAtTheBigDome pic.twitter.com/VLYqxDgpRG

— SmartAranetaColiseum (@TheBigDome) February 23, 2023

Equal parts fun and retrospective, the concert featured a solid setlist of hits. But what captured one laudable aspect of OneRepublic’s music was the last few minutes of the show. It saw the band shower the Big Dome with uplifting energy as they performed “Sunshine,” the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack “I Ain’t Worried,” and the folksy and legacy-affirming “I Lived.”

When the instantly recognizable riff of the penultimate number “Counting Stars” was played, the already lit-up phones sparkled like the titular cosmic wonders. Ryan and the audience’s singing created yet another concert highlight, with the charismatic vocalist once again going down the stage as the climax.

OneRepublic closed the show with “If I Lose Myself.” Fans who came in droves to see the award-winning band in the flesh chanted with Ryan and the rest of the gang one last time: “If I lose myself tonight/ It’ll be by your side.”

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Vowing to return again to the Philippines, OneRepublic took a bow and left attendees with a memory worth vividly remembering.

Indeed, time is a tricky thing. The past three years felt too long. But witnessing concerts like OneRepublic’s will make you feel that the pandemic was a brief season from a distant past.

But, as Ryan said, “[music] does what it does.” And, as attested by their recent return to Manila, music — among other things — is an ever-so-potent reminder that after all the things that happened, it’s still a good, good life.

Setlist

• Secrets
• Good Life
• Stop and Stare
• Rescue Me
• Wherever I Go
• Love Runs Out
• Halo
• Rumor Has It
• THATS WHAT I WANT
• Sucker
• Lose Somebody
• Sunshine
• I Ain’t Worried
• Apologize
• I Lived
• Counting Stars
• If I Lose Myself

One Republic Live in Concert was presented by Wilbros Live.

Written by Emmy Borromeo

Editing by Pauline Bolaños

Photos from Wilbros Live