Adele's frustration at false speculation about her love life gave singer/songwriter Ryan Tedder the inspiration he needed to coin the title for her hit song Rumour Has It.
Tedder recalls the British superstar storming into the studio during their recording sessions for her 2011 album 21 and venting about her friends believing the tabloid gossip following a break-up with a former boyfriend.
"When I'm not doing the OneRepublic thing (as a performer), I flip modes into support mode, so I'm there to glean (information from artists he's writing with)...," he shared on U.S. breakfast show Today. "My goal is to get you talking and... nine times out of 10, you're gonna come out with a phrase. I'm taking mental notes."
It was one such interaction with a "really upset" Adele which took place as she bounced back from a love split.
Tedder recalled, "For instance, with Rumour Has It, Adele walks in and she's like, 'I'm so p**sed off, I don't even wanna talk about it. People in London, my friends are saying, 'Rumour has it that Adele has gone off and done this with this guy and she's done this with another guy,' and I didn't do any of it, it's a rumour!'"
"And I was like, 'There it is. We're gonna write a song called Rumour Has It...' It started with that and I pulled up a guitar riff, a bluesy guitar riff, and just started stomping on the ground..."
The organic nature of the session is what Tedder aims to show viewers on his new U.S. talent competition Songland, which features a group of aspiring songwriters performing their own tracks each week in front of a panel of music experts and a different celebrity artist, who will select their favourite contestants to further develop their tunes with top producers, before recording the winning single for release.
Among the special guests will be Charlie Puth, the Jonas Brothers, John Legend, Meghan Trainor, Macklemore, and Kelsea Ballerini, and Tedder is excited to have fans witness how truly talented the stars are.
"You're gonna freak out when you see John Legend just sit down and start playing a song in whatever key he wants; Charlie Puth calling out the key to a record because he's a savant; Nick Jonas picking up a guitar, writing a new verse and then going into the chorus on piano," he gushed. "It's all happening in real time."
Songland, which Tedder created with Adam Levine, premiered on Tuesday night (28May19).
