If you didn't already know this, your favorite song is likely due to hitmaker Ryan Tedder. The singer and songwriter — who is behind nearly every hit from Taylor Swift, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, and Beyonce just to name a few — joined Ryan Seacrest on-air on Wednesday, July 13, and shared everything from what makes a hit artist to how he created OneRepublic's new track "I Ain't Worried" with Tom Cruise for Top Gun: Maverick.
"It was the beginning of Covid and I was locked down in my airstream recording studio and I get a call from a buddy of mine, Randy, from Paramount Pictures … and he says, 'I’m having a problem with Top Gun,'" Tedder recalled. "… 'It's the beach scene … we’ve tried 30 songs in this scene and Tom isn’t happy with any of them. … Will you jump on a Zoom with Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer?'"
Tedder continued he Zoomed with Cruise and Bruckheimer and they discussed the vibe they wanted for the track, which plays during the beach volleyball scene.
"It's the only time in the movie in two hours where they let off the gas and you can actually relax," Tedder explained. …"I wrote it not even thinking it was a OneRepublic song … Tom actually said, 'These guys, for the only time in the movie, they’re not worried about anything.' So that's where that came from."
The track is just one of thousands Tedder's created and made a hit. The producer also shared with Seacrest the secret to working with artists like Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift "100%" is like "therapy."
"A lot of it is therapy and I say I don’t care how talented you are as a writer-producer, if you put out weird energy or you don’t put out the right energy in a room, you're not going to get anywhere," he said. "Bedside manner in a studio is everything. ... Every artist is different. My dream artists come in hot meaning they just went through something yesterday. ... Adele when she’s going through something is unbridled; Taylor is unbridled she just comes in hot. Miley probably would be No. 1."
"Miley will text me 9 am on a Sunday, 'What are you doing?' … What's great about Miley is the best artists can do two things, historically. Number 1, they have an untapped access to their emotions and they’re completely vulnerable at all times. Miley is one of those artists. Taylor is one of those artists. … Number 2 is they can write their own hit, but they can recognize when a hit walks into the room and they don’t let it leave the room.”
Watch back the full interview for more, including to hear how Taylor "would historically send voice memos" and how "Beyoncé knows exactly what she wants; it's completely mapped out in her mind" and more from the legend.