The band first achieved commercial success on Myspace as an unsigned act. In late 2003, after OneRepublic played shows throughout the Los Angeles area, a number of record labels approached the band with interest, but OneRepublic ultimately signed with Velvet Hammer, an imprint of Columbia Records. They made their first album with producer Greg Wells during the summer and fall of 2005 at his studio, Rocket Carousel, in Culver City, California. The album was originally scheduled for release on June 6, 2006, but the group was dropped by Columbia two months before the album ever came out. The lead single of that album, “Apologize”, was released on April 30, 2006 on Myspace and received some recognition there, becoming number one on the Myspace charts.

In 2007, OneRepublic released their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud. Its lead single, “Apologize”, was notably remixed by Timbaland, becoming a huge international success, reaching number one in sixteen countries and subsequently earning them a Grammy Award nomination. The second single, “Stop and Stare”, mirrored its predecessor’s success. The album was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The band’s second album, Waking Up (2009), produced the singles “All the Right Moves”, “Secrets”, “Marchin On”, and “Good Life”, with the latter reaching the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100.

OneRepublic’s third album, Native (2013), became the band’s first top ten album on the Billboard 200, and highest charting album to date, charting at number four. The lead single, “If I Lose Myself”, charted within the top ten in several countries, while the album’s third single, “Counting Stars”, became the band’s most successful single in recent years, obtaining top five placements in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, the U.S. and the UK. This marks their highest charting single in the United Kingdom to date. It has also peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, matching their highest peak of “Apologize” in 2007.

On October 7, 2016, OneRepublic released Oh My My, their fourth studio album, which featured a number of collaborators, including Cassius, Peter Gabriel, and Santigold. Preceded by the singles “Wherever I Go”, released on May 13, 2016, and “Kids”, released on August 12, 2016, it was recognized as a change in their sound in contrast to previous albums by both critics and the band itself