Artificial Paradise (OneRepublic album)

Artificial Paradise
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
Recorded2016-2024
GenrePop
Length38:25
Label
ProducerOneRepublic
OneRepublic studio album chronology
Human
(2021)
Artificial Paradise
(2024)
Singles from Artificial Paradise
  1. "Sunshine"
    Released: November 10, 2021
  2. "West Coast"
    Released: February 25, 2022
  3. "I Ain't Worried"
    Released: May 13, 2022
  4. "Runaway"
    Released: May 26, 2023
  5. "Mirage"
    Released: September 22, 2023
  6. "I Don't Wanna Wait"
    Released: April 5, 2024
  7. "Nobody"
    Released: April 12, 2024
  8. "Fire"
    Released: May 10, 2024
  9. "Hurt"
    Released: July 5, 2024
  10. "Sink or Swim"
    Released: August 29, 2024

Artificial Paradise is the sixth studio album by American pop rock band OneRepublic, released on July 12, 2024, through Mosley Music Group and Interscope Records.[1] It follows their fifth studio album Human (2021), and includes the singles "Sunshine", "West Coast", "I Ain't Worried", "Runaway", "Mirage" with Mishaal Tamer (for Assassin's Creed Mirage), "I Don't Wanna Wait" with David Guetta, "Nobody", and "Fire (Official UEFA Euro 2024 Song)" with Meduza and Leony. The latter three were only included on the deluxe edition of the album. "Hurt" was released following the album's announcement. The album is the last of the band's contract with Interscope.[2]

Background and composition

[edit]

In a social media post announcing Artificial Paradise, lead singer Ryan Tedder explained that the album began with their single "West Coast", which was written in 2016 in a New Orleans hotel room, and followed by further standalone singles in the subsequent eight years that the band felt "didn't quite make sense together" but were kept as more songs were written and recorded "in different hotel rooms and studios dotted around the world".[3][4] Tedder said the rest of the album was then completed "in the last couple years" as they "navigated a world, full of artificial stories and constructs". He described the album title as "all too resonant with the world we currently live in, and the aspiration of so many people, for better or worse".[1][5] The announcement was accompanied by a clip of the album's title track.[1]

The tracklist for the digital version of the album was changed by Tedder two weeks before its release because it didn't "flow" and would not "feel new" for fans of the band. The digital tracklist is arranged in that all new songs, except "I Ain't Worried", would be at the front of the album while all the previously released standalone singles would be at the back. The physical editions of the album reflect the original tracklist.[6]

Singles

[edit]

Eight singles released from 2021 to 2024 are included on the album: "Sunshine", "West Coast", "I Ain't Worried", "Runaway", "Mirage" with Mishaal Tamer (for Assassin's Creed Mirage), "I Don't Wanna Wait" with David Guetta, "Nobody", and "Fire (Official UEFA Euro 2024 Song)" with Meduza and Leony. The latter three were only included on the deluxe edition of the album. "Hurt" followed as the ninth single on July 5, 2024, making it the first to be released after the album's announcement.[7] A remix of the song with Jelly Roll was released on November 22.[8] "Sink or Swim" was released as the tenth single on August 29 alongside a music video.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Independent7/10[10]

Carla Feric of The Independent wrote that the album has a "selection of catchy anthems" and "lively, light and summery tracks", and felt that OneRepublic "have created a musically progressive blend which is easy-listening, and has enough tracks for anyone to find at least one song they'll enjoy".[10] Writing for Grammy.com, Taylor Weatherby called it "a seamless blend of songs that will resonate with longtime and newer fans alike. From the layered production of 'Hurt,' to the feel-good vibes of 'Serotonin,' to the evocative lyrics of 'Last Holiday,' Artificial Paradise shows that OneRepublic's sound is as dialed-in as it is ever-evolving."[2] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic concluded that "Tedder knows what he's doing and, like contemporary output by Imagine Dragons and Coldplay, can pump out crowd-pleasing optimism as if he was on autopilot...for better or worse."[9]

Track listing

[edit]
Standard digital edition track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Artificial Paradise"
  • John Nathaniel
  • Josh Varnadore
  • Nathaniel
  • Joe Henderson[v]
1:38
2."Hurt"
2:41
3."Sink or Swim"
  • Kutzle
  • Nathaniel
  • Oscroft
2:34
4."Last Holiday"
  • Kutzle
  • Zancanella[a]
  • Henderson[v]
3:16
5."I Ain't Worried"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Oscroft
  • Spry
  • Nathaniel[c]
2:28
6."Red Light Green Light"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Nathaniel
  • Kutzle
  • Nathaniel
2:15
7."Serotonin"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Spry
  • Varndore
3:28
8."Singapore"
  • Nathaniel
  • Willett
3:28
9."Room for You"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Spry
  • Zancanella
  • Kutzle
  • Spry
  • Henderson[v]
2:47
10."Stargazing"
  • Kutzle
  • Stockman
  • Eddie Fisher
  • Henderson
2:40
11."Entr'acte"Brandon Collins
  • Kutzle
  • Collins
1:12
12."West Coast"
3:14
13."Runaway"
  • Kutzle
  • Nathaniel
  • Samama
2:25
14."Sunshine"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Zach Skelton
  • Casey Smith
  • Spry
  • Zancanella
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Oscroft
  • Spry
  • Henderson[v]
2:43
15."Mirage" (for Assassin's Creed Mirage; with Mishaal Tamer)
  • Boutin
  • Tedder
2:13
Total length:38:25
Deluxe digital edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Nobody" (from Kaiju No. 8)
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Henderson
  • Spry
  • Varandore
  • Kutzle
  • Henderson
  • Nathaniel
  • Spry
2:33
17."I Don't Wanna Wait" (with David Guetta)
  • Guetta
  • Kutzle
  • Erixson
  • Reznikov
  • Spry
2:29
18."Fire (Official UEFA Euro 2024 Song)" (with Meduza and Leony)
Meduza2:48
Total length:46:15
Standard physical edition track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Artificial Paradise"  1:38
2."Hurt"  2:41
3."Sink or Swim"  2:34
4."Mirage" (for Assassin's Creed Mirage; with Mishaal Tamer)
  • Ryan Tedder
  • Mishaal Tamer
  • Brendan Angelides
  • Grant Boutin
  • Will Jay
  • Coleton Rubin
  • Boutin
  • Tedder
2:13
5."Sunshine"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Zach Skelton
  • Casey Smith
  • Spry
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Oscroft
  • Spry
2:43
6."I Don't Wanna Wait" (with David Guetta)
  • David Guetta
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Jakke Erixson
  • Gregory Hein
  • Michael Pollack
  • Timofey Reznikov
  • Spry
  • Josh Varnadore
  • Guetta
  • Kutzle
  • Erixson
  • Reznikov
  • Spry
2:29
7."I Ain't Worried"
  • Tedder
  • Brent Kutzle
  • John Eriksson
  • Peter Morén
  • Tyler Spry
  • Björn Yttling
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Simon Oscroft
  • John Nathaniel
  • Spry
2:28
8."Entr'acte"  1:12
9."West Coast"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Robin Fredriksson
  • Mattias Larsson
  • Justin Tranter
  • Noel Zancanella
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Mattman & Robin
  • Nathaniel
  • Zancanella
3:14
10."Nobody" (from Kaiju No. 8)
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Joe Henderson
  • Spry
  • Varandore
  • Kutzle
  • Henderson
  • Nathaniel
  • Spry
2:33
11."Serotonin"  3:28
12."Red Light Green Light"  2:15
13."Runaway"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Ben Samama
  • Johnny Simpson
  • Nolan Sipe
  • Varnadore
  • Kutzle
  • Loren Ferard
  • Nathaniel
  • Samama
2:25
14."Last Holiday"  3:16
15."Singapore"  3:28
Total length:38:37
Target physical edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Stargazing"
  • Tedder
  • Brandyn Burnette
  • Henderson
  • Kutzle
  • Chase Stockman
  • Kutzle
  • Stockman
  • Eddie Fisher
  • Henderson
2:40
17."Room for You"
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Spry
  • Zancanella
  • Kutzle
  • Spry
  • Henderson[v]
2:47
18."Fire (Official UEFA Euro 2024 Song)" (with Meduza and Leony)
  • Luca de Gregorio
  • Mattia Vitale
  • Simone Giani
  • Tedder
  • Kutzle
  • Leonie Burger
  • Spry
  • Varnadore
  • Vitali Zestovskih
Meduza2:48
Total length:46:15

Notes

  • ^[p] signifies a primary producer
  • ^[c] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[v] signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

[edit]

OneRepublic

Additional musicians

  • John Nathaniel – programming (tracks 1, 3, 6, 13, 16), background vocals (3, 4, 6, 8–10, 13, 16), guitar (3), theremin (6), additional vocals (12)
  • Jelly Roll – vocals (track 1)
  • Tyler Spry – guitar (tracks 2, 5–7, 9, 14), background vocals (2, 9, 16), additional keyboards (7, 9), bass (7), programming (9)
  • Loren Ferard – guitar (tracks 2, 7, 14), programming (2, 7), acoustic guitar (9)
  • Alisa Xayalith – background vocals (track 2)
  • Simon Oscroft – guitar (tracks 5, 14)
  • Brandon Collins – programming (track 5), strings (11)
  • Harry Charles – additional keyboards, programming (track 7)
  • Brent Kutzle – background vocals (tracks 9, 15), programming (9)
  • Joe Henderson – background vocals (tracks 10, 16), percussion (13)
  • Brandyn Burnette – background vocals (track 10)
  • Chase Stockman – background vocals (track 10)
  • Devonne Fowlkes – additional vocals (track 12)
  • Emoni Wilkins – additional vocals (track 12)
  • Wil Merrell – additional vocals (track 12)
  • Paul Nelson – cello (track 12)
  • Craig Nelsonupright bass (track 12)
  • Seanad Chang – viola (track 12)
  • David Angell – violin (track 12)
  • David Davidson – violin (track 12)
  • Ben Samama – background vocals (track 13)
  • Will Vaughan – guitar (track 13)
  • Josh Varnadore – background vocals (track 16)
  • Luca De Gregorio – drum programming, keyboards, percussion, synthesizer (track 18)
  • Mattia Vitalie – drum programming, keyboards, percussion, synthesizer (track 18)
  • Simone Giani – drum programming, keyboards, percussion, synthesizer (track 18)
  • Leony – vocals (track 18)

Design

  • Brody Harper – creative direction
  • Douglas Hale – original collage art
  • Kristin Weidemann – design and layout
  • Jeremy Cowart – band photography
  • Ryan Slaughter and Taylor Lowe (for TwoSevenTwo) – album art animation

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Artificial Paradise
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 61
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 80
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 127
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] 24
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 23
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 90
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 36
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] 46
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[21] 19
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[22] 40
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[23] 54
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 25
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[25] 35
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[26] 77
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 38
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 46
US Billboard 200[31] 50

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Just like Paradise: New OneRepublic album coming in July". KS95 94.5. June 6, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Weatherby, Taylor (July 16, 2024). "Behind Ryan Tedder's Hits: Stories From The Studio With OneRepublic, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift & More". Grammy.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Cao, Katie (August 2, 2024). "OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder on Artificial Paradise, Working With Tate McRae & More | Billboard News". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder on Artificial Paradise: Podcast". Consequence. July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Havens, Lyndsey (August 2, 2024). "Ryan Tedder Talks OneRepublic Album, Working With Tate McRae & Why Taylor Swift Could 'Sweep' the Presidential Election". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  6. ^ Kyle Meredith With... (Subscribe!) (July 31, 2024). Kyle Meredith with... Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic). Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "OneRepublic Unveils New Album Artificial Paradise: A Melodic Masterpiece". Hit Channel. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  8. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (November 22, 2024). "Jelly Roll Teams With OneRepublic for New Version of 'Hurt': Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Yeung, Neil Z. "Artificial Paradise – OneRepublic | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Feric, Carla (July 10, 2024). "One Republic, Travis and Marc Almond offer up new releases". The Independent. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 22 July 2024". The ARIA Report. No. 1794. Australian Recording Industry Association. July 22, 2024. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "OneRepublic Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Top Albums (Week 29, 2024)". SNEP. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 19 July 2024". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 29 (dal 12.07.2024 al 18.07.2024)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-08-12/p/5" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  21. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: July 22, 2024" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  22. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of August 7, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  23. ^ "2024 29-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  24. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 12.07.2024–18.07.2024 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  28. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – OneRepublic – Artificial Paradise". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  30. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  31. ^ "OneRepublic Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2024.