The 5-minute Interview: Ryan Tedder, Musician

'In another life I'd be travelling and doing odd jobs to survive'

'I'm terribly forgetful. I've lost laptops, cell-phones' (Getty Images)

Tedder, 29, is the Grammy-nominated lead singer in the American rock band One Republic. They have just finished touring in the US and are to release their second album next week

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be...

Sleeping. I haven't slept for 48 hours. After coming back from the States I've had a busy couple of days.

A phrase I use far too often is...

"I'll be honest". I say it to make a point, but because I use it all the time it has the opposite effect.

I wish people would take more notice of...

Global warming. I live in Los Angeles, which is the second most polluted city in the world and I wake up in the morning to dirt all over my window. I wish people would spend their money on hybrid cars.

The most surprising thing that has happened to me...

Probably getting dropped from Columbia which was our first record deal.

A common misperception of me is...

That I'm outgoing. I'm actually introverted and shy.

I am not a politician but...

I would pull the troops out of Iraq immediately.

I'm good at...

Skiing and soccer. I must have been one of the only people to walk around the US in a Man United shirt.

I'm very bad at...

I'm terribly forgetful. I've lost laptops, cell-phones.

The ideal night out is...

Sushi, followed by a great movie, and three or four hours of Texas Hold'Em.

In moments of weakness I...

I get quite profane.

You know me as a singer but in a truer life I'd have been...

I'd be travelling, learning different languages and doing odd jobs to survive.

The best age to be...

Nineteen. If you screw up you can say, "I'm just a kid,". You're old enough to do what you want.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:

Life is too short not to do absolutely what you want to do.

Ben Wilkinson