OneRepublic Explain ‘Counting Stars’ Video In New VEVO Footnotes
The new clip coincides with the release of the bands first-ever greatest-hits compilation, ‘OneRepublic: The Collection.’
OneRepublic is the latest group to release a VEVO Footnotes, focused around the making of their 2013 hit ‘Counting Stars.’ Written by OneRepublic’s lead singer, Ryan Tedder, the track appears on the band’s third studio album, Native—it’s Diamond certified by the RIAA and is one of the 100 most-streamed songs on Spotify with a total of three billion.
As Tedder explains in the video, he came up with the idea for the track while working on one of Beyoncé’s albums. Inspired by the growing prevalence of “stomp-clap” folk, he decided to pursue a similar melody—he describes the song as a “kindred spirit” to Avicii’s massive hits of the same year, ‘Hey Brother’ and ‘Wake Me Up.’
“When the ‘counting stars’ line hit me, I was just thinking about going through my 20s and being flat broke for half of them,” Tedder shared. “Desperate and nervous countless nights. Not sleeping because I was staring at the ceiling, literally wishing I was counting stars instead of dollars because I was so broke.”
The song was also accompanied by a music video, which OneRepublic filmed in New Orleans in the basement of the second-oldest African American church in the country. The video features a variety of different metaphorical images, which Tedder expanded upon in his interview.
“I wanted to do these metaphors, these vignettes: the alligator and al the people, the spiritual healer, the water with the light bulb,” he said. “These are all these dangerous elements that make you feel alive, but can also completely derail you.”
The release of the new Footnotes episode coincides with another major announcement from the band: the release of their first ever greatest-hits album, OneRepublic: The Collection. Spanning over two decades of tracks, it features ‘Counting Stars’ alongside other classic hits like ‘Apologize,’ ‘Secrets,’ ‘Good Life,’ ‘All The Right Moves,’ ‘I Lived,’ and ‘If I Lose Myself.’
The record is available digitally, as well as in multiple vinyl variants, including a 1LP black pressing, a limited-edition “Fruit Punch” colorway, and an online-exclusive Zoetrope edition.
“We never knew that ‘Counting Stars’ would go on to be the one that saved teh album and changed the course of our career,” Tedder mused in the Footnotes episode. “Thank god it did.”
