About Apologize

"Apologize" (also spelled "Apologise" internationally) is the debut single written by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder for OneRepublic's debut album Dreaming Out Loud. It was released as the lead single of that album. Timbaland remixed the song for his second studio album, Shock Value (2007). This version, also produced by Greg Wells, included an extra line of percussion, new backing vocals, and added sound samples, in addition to sound mixing and a few other minor changes. The guitar solo after the second verse was omitted. The song was the biggest radio airplay hit in the history of the Mainstream Top 40 chart in North America, with 10,394 plays in one week, until its record was broken by Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love", which was also co-written by Tedder. The song was a major hit internationally, reaching number one in 16 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Turkey, and the Netherlands, as well as staying at number one for eight consecutive weeks on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, staying in the top-10 for 25 weeks, and spent 13 weeks at number one in Canada.

"Apologize" earned the band a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and was ranked number 50 on the list of the Billboard Hot 100's All-Time Top Songs list from the chart's first 50 years. It spent 25 consecutive weeks in the top 10, the longest stay there for any song since "Smooth" by Santana, which spent 30 weeks in 1999. It was also ranked number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.