Feel Again

The first time Feel Again plays, the drumsticks on the drums blend with a chorus of voices that lifts the mood instantly. It’s not just the fast pace that grabs you: the track plays with layers of harmonies reminiscent of gospel hymns, but brought into a pop territory where the urgency to feel something new becomes contagious. The chorus bursts with a melody that seems designed to hum out loud, even if you don’t know the lyrics, and that contrast between the harshness of the words (“the heart keeps beating, but it doesn’t work”) and the explosion of hope that follows makes the track stand out from what usually comes out of the radios.

The song premiered in August 2012 during a segment on Good Morning America, and although it initially had a moderate impact in the United States —where it reached position 36 on the Billboard Hot 100— it resonated more strongly in Europe, especially in Germany, where it climbed to ninth place on the charts. Part of that is due to the band using it in the trailers for The Spectacular Now, a film that gave it extra visibility. But the most interesting part isn’t in the numbers: Ryan Tedder, the frontman of OneRepublic, revealed that the lyrics were born from real recordings of children’s heartbeats in remote areas, a detail that gave the song that air of urgency and humanity. Additionally, a portion of the single’s earnings was donated to Every Beat Matters, a Save the Children campaign to train health workers in communities with little access to medical care. The production was handled by Tedder alongside Brent Kutzle, Drew Brown, and Noel Zancanella, and although the track lasts only three minutes and five seconds, the final mix —overseen by Ryan Lipman, Matthew Tryba, and Joe Zook— ensures every instrument shines clearly, from the violins to the drum hits that close the song with applause.