It’s always a tricky situation when a band decides to debut new material in a live setting. They run the risk of performing it poorly and then having interest lost when the studio version comes along, or the performance is so good that there’s just no possible way of the album cut measuring up to it. For OneRepublic, debuting new material live is something that they’re used to, and they know when to perform which song when – with a new album just weeks away, that’s probably the reason behind their recent performance of the new track, “Let’s Hurt Tonight.”
It doesn’t take long to come to the conclusion that when the song was written, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder had a big arena setting in mind for it, as the track was performed for the first time last night during the band’s headlining performance at the Apple Music Festival. It’s a ballad, but a heavy hitting, intense ballad at that, featuring pounding drums and an anthemic sounding chorus. “Let’s Hurt Tonight” is the lead off song from OneRepublic’s new album, Oh My My, and it’s clear now that the record is going to start off with a bang.
With already-released songs like “Kids” and “Wherever I Go,” “Let’s Hurt Tonight” is helping Oh My My’s case for potentially being one of OneRepublic’s best, and also one of the best pop albums of the year when it becomes available for mass consumption next month on October 7th.
