"Since we're in a legendary music venue ... "
With those seven words at the end of Wednesday's Apple event, CEO Tim Cook teased countless viewers, who were holding their collective breath in anticipation that the tech giant would unleash a surprise album -- much like it executed its U2 stunt in 2014.
Spectators spent the morning guessing which artist might drop an album alongside Cook. Would it be Drake's Views from the 6? Frank Ocean's Boys Don't Cry? Another Apple friend like Pharrell, Metallica or Coldplay? Instead, here's how Cook ended his dramatic intro:
" ... please join me in welcoming One Republic."
Cook fanboyed over the platinum pop-rockers, who played three hits from 2013 and 2009 ("Counting Stars," "I Lived" and "Good Life") inside Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Frontman Ryan Tedder even joked about gadgets ("by the way, iPhone 6S is gluten free") and took a selfie with Cook, presumably with one of the new iPhone models.
Apple also shined the spotlight on a few other artists, either by placing their music in ads played during the event (Beck and 20syl) or giving them blatant shoutouts (Sevendust):.
.@Sevendust's upcoming album "Kill The Flaw" got a shoutout at the end of the Apple TV presentation. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/pL8ZmXAJ5a— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) September 9, 2015
Dope. Apple gave @Beck's "Dreams" some love in this Apple TV ad. That song was one of my summer jams https://t.co/u0Z7e0wtLU #AppleEvent— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) September 9, 2015
Nice! Apple played @mr20syl's "Back & Forth" for that Apple Watch/Hermes ad. Listen again here: https://t.co/qgwRu5vCU3 #AppleEvent— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) September 9, 2015
This One Republic performance follows last year's stunt, in which Apple released a
"It’s a gift from Apple," Oseary said at the time. "If someone doesn’t like the gift, they should delete it. ... There are people who are going to be thrilled to get a gift. There are people who are not going to care to have this gift. We knew all of that going in. No surprises here."
Despite the snark, 26 U2 titles charted simultaneously on iTunes' top 200 albums rankings immediately following the stunt. U2 had zero albums on the iTunes chart the day before the Apple event. Apple and U2 have had an ongoing relationship since 2004, the same year that a U2-emblazoned iPod came out and Apple used U2's "Vertigo" in a global TV ad for the iPod. That promotion was paired with U2's box set on iTunes. Apple, of course, is also a partner company of Bono's Product Red charity.