The moment BYU-Idaho students had been waiting for since January finally arrived Friday night. Hit pop-rock band OneRepublic came to town, performing to a sold-out BYU-Idaho Center.

The concert kicked off at 7:30 p.m. sharp. Accompanied by smoke machines and flashing lights, OneRepublic opened with "Runaway," followed by "Feel Again." These first two songs kicked off the high energy that would stick around for the rest of the show.

OneRepublic carried that momentum into a performance of their hit 2009 song, "Good Life." Lead singer Ryan Tedder adjusted the lyrics to fit their current venue.

"My friends in L.A., they don’t know/ where I've been for the past few years or so/ Paris to Rexburg, Idaho."

Before getting into their next song, "Stop and Stare," Tedder shared the story of their first album from 2007, "Dreaming Out Loud," and how "Stop and Stare" kept the band from being a one-hit wonder.

“Honestly, we were gonna break up the band and start a new band if we didn’t connect with the second song on that first album,” Tedder said. “So the second song we put out is the reason we’re still here.”

The crowd brought out the phone lights for "Stop and Stare," clearly resonating with the lyrics. After a brief instrumental interlude, the band continued with "Secrets."

It wasn't just the music that made the concert such a high-energy affair. The lighting was also doing a lot of heavy lifting, especially the red and green flashing lights on the next song, "Rescue Me," and the amber glow on "Run."

The next song, "Life In Color," again prompted the crowd to bring out the phone lights as they sang along. Tedder switched up the lyrics, changing "today feels like no other" to "Idaho feels like no other." The crowd seemed to love it.

After "Life In Color," Tedder took some time to chat with the audience a little more. He explained that he has been writing and producing music for other artists for years, collaborating with singers like Taylor Swift, Adele, Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Rosalía, Tate McRae and most recently BTS. Tedder said they had time for one song that he helped write, so he played "Halo" by Beyoncé.

“If you hear ‘Halo,’ know this was a love song inspired by a woman, written by two dudes, who are in love with Jay-Z,” Tedder said.

Tedder joked that he could perform "Halo," "better than any white person in this room," as he played the song.

From there, the good vibes just kept going. OneRepublic continued with "Lose Somebody" and then "Apologize." Following that, they played a brand-new, yet-to-be-released song called "Need Your Love."

Tedder then gave a shout-out to Tom Cruise, playing "I Ain't Worried," their hit single from "Top Gun: Maverick." They continued with catchy hits like "I Lived" and "Sunshine." The audience sang along, clearly feeling the energy coursing through the BYU-Idaho Center.

Freshman and paramedic sciences major Layla Hall attended the concert with her brother Carter Hall. She pointed out that she remembers listening to OneRepublic songs growing up.

“We definitely grew up listening to them on the radio, and it was so, so cool to come and hear some of those songs live. It brought back a lot of awesome memories,” Layla said.

Carter Hall, a sophomore and finance major, said that he was excited to see OneRepublic live.

“Seeing them live makes me a lot bigger of a fan,” Carter said. “I didn’t realize how talented they were, even live, the way they improvised and shook things up in the variations of their songs. It was incredible.”

With time running out, OneRepublic closed with hits like "Counting Stars," "I Don't Wanna Wait" and "If I Lose Myself." The energy rose to a crescendo as confetti exploded over the audience to mark the end of the show. OneRepublic still had one more trick up their sleeve, closing by making the audience sing along to "Wonderwall" by Oasis.

Carter Hall said that he was surprised by the technical capacity at the BYU-Idaho Center, from the sparklers and confetti that accompanied the show. Layla Hall agreed.

“I’ve gone to a lot of concerts, and I don’t think I’ve been to as nice of a venue as this one before,” Layla said. “It was super awesome.”

Before OneRepublic performed "Counting Stars," someone in the crowd shouted "We love you OneRepublic!"

The sudden outburst led to cheers from the audience and laughter from Tedder.

Carter and Layla Hall both echoed that sentiment.

"We love OneRepublic," Carter said.