Will vocals appreciation thread with all of his major vocal perfomances

[Magic_2000]

So today we got a new live track in the form of Don't Panic(Live from Paris) (which you can hear in this thread thanks to @coldplaykb ) where Will takes the role of main vocals. While discusing about Will's great perfomance in the track I thought why not making a thread were we give the much deserved credit to his vocal abilites.Obviously there's a reason why Chris is the front runner of the band and that Will is mainly known for his (also great) drumming, but when he gets the chance to do some singing he never fails to impress!

So, I dicided to do some digging up and get as many perfomances as possible (in chronological order) of his singing in one thread. I can't wait to read your thoughts and if I forgot any other perfomances, please tell me so!

 

[spoiler=Death Will Never Conquer]Sang by Will most of time when it was played live.

 

 

[spoiler=Viva La Vida chant]Although not a full vocal perfomance, what would Viva La Vida be without the iconic chant suported by Will?

 

 

[spoiler=Us Against The World]This isn't just Will singing but after the first chours, Will's vocals are predominant through out the rest of the song with him finishing it off at the last verses!

 

 

[spoiler=In My Place (Live in São Paulo 2017)]I can't wait to hear this on in HQ on the butterfly package! In My Place with Will vocals only! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=uarulCwDE4M;t=172

 

 

[spoiler=Bonus: Hymn For The Weekend (Live at The BRIT Awards 2016)]Even though when this song was played with Beyoncé back vocals, this specific perfomance actually used Will's instead! Beyoncé obviously has a great range and voice and is a good addition to the song, but Will's vocals aren't to far behind, biggest proof around(2:35).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jgIMEk19JM

 

[Captain Crieff]

good thread.

[Magic_2000]

good thread.

Thank you very much! I known that the AHFOD film and the LP8 rumors are all the rage at the moment but I just felt doing this now after so much time of thinking about doing it, even if people aren't that much into it. If anything, it will be a way to show my appreciation for Will :D

[MyloXylobro]

Will came in clutch during that BRIT Awards performance. I remember being blown away by his taking over Beyonce's vocal track.

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

I love Will vocals and have many many things to say about them. Here's something I found just now when I looked up to see if there are any stripped versions of Fix You (that aren't Chris and Jonny only). This appears to be one of those files of extra bits to songs (see also in the "what does Jonny do on Viva la Vida" thread for all the little guitar bits he does). Some great Will vocals, and a bit of Jonny/Guy too!

 

 

Also here's a nice version of Fix You where thanks to Chris's shenanigans, we can hear everyone else's vocals really well:

[Magic_2000]

Will came in clutch during that BRIT Awards performance. I remember being blown away by his taking over Beyonce's vocal track.

You bet! I think that performance was the turning point to my appreciation for Will.I started being a fan of Coldplay arround that time and I remember being like "wow this guy has range! Who knew the drummer for Coldplay would not only play so well but also sing this well?"

I love Will vocals and have many many things to say about them. Here's something I found just now when I looked up to see if there are any stripped versions of Fix You (that aren't Chris and Jonny only). This appears to be one of those files of extra bits to songs (see also in the "what does Jonny do on Viva la Vida" thread for all the little guitar bits he does). Some great Will vocals, and a bit of Jonny/Guy too!

 

 

Also here's a nice version of Fix You where thanks to Chris's shenanigans, we can hear everyone else's vocals really well:

Thank so much for sharing this! Never heard the rest of the band's vocals so clearly. They sound great! That performance of Fix You is so iconic. The fact that Chris had the balls to get in the middle of the crowd is not only amazing,but let the guys to have their own moment on stage.

[vico xt]

Finally a thread that represents me. Thank you very much.

[Magic_2000]

Finally a thread that represents me. Thank you very much.

Haha, you have no idea how happy I am to see someone who also loves Will's vocals! Also, great signature. ;)

 

Everybody, I just remembered another great Will vocal perfomance: Someone Special Live in Milan!

Around 3:23 Will busts out some great vocals that unfortunately were toned down for the studio version. :( There's a interesting moment at 3:31 pointed by a user in the comments of the video-"Will sings "I see heaven inside," while Chris starts to sing the incorrect "when you realize" line from the earlier chorus before getting himself back on track. Chris then looks over at Will and laughs, I guess as if to say "You saved me there" " :joy:

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

^The band has a bad habit of toning down Will's vocals on album versions. :( UATW is particularly the case for that.

 

Here's an obscure find - the 2010 version of A Message with some excellent Will vocals (also extremely crunchy Jonny guitar lines)

[Magic_2000]

^The band has a bad habit of toning down Will's vocals on album versions. :( UATW is particularly the case for that.

Yeah that's very true unfortunally. Altough I don't think is that bad in UATW. Someone Special is still the biggest offender for me. Not only was Will's vocals almost not hearable, but also Jonny's great guitar lines! But to be honest the Kaleidoscope EP had bad mixing overall.

 

Here's an obscure find - the 2010 version of A Message with some excellent Will vocals (also extremely crunchy Jonny guitar lines)

Good find! That perfomance is incredible on all parts.The boys did a fantastic job, they really seemed to really be into it! Too bad the sound quality isn't very good. :( If anyone has a clear recording of the perfomance and wouldn't mind share it would be very much appreciated :innocent:

[coldplaykb]

Haha, you have no idea how happy I am to see someone who also loves Will's vocals! Also, great signature. ;)

 

Everybody, I just remembered another great Will vocal perfomance: Someon Special Live in Milan!

Around 3:23 Will busts out some great vocals that unfortunately were toned down for the studio version. :( There's a interesting moment at 3:31 pointed by a user in the comments of the video-"Will sings "I see heaven inside," while Chris starts to sing the incorrect "when you realize" line from the earlier chorus before getting himself back on track. Chris then looks over at Will and laughs, I guess as if to say "You saved me there" " :joy:

I love Will's vocals in this! Wish they kept them louder for the studio version. You can still hear him, but not nearly as good as you can in the live version.

[Magic_2000]

So guys thoughs on the In My Place versions from the Butterfly Package? I already talked about it on another thread but it's so great to have high quality vocals from Will! Also I loved the way it was shot and hearing the crowd singing with him just warms my heart :heart:

 

Here's the audio from the Buenos Aires for those who haven't heard it!

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

Will has some great vocals on all of Ghost Stories...

 

Ink "ft Rihanna"

 

 

While I LOVE Will's backing vocals on Magic (the cool layering in the choruses is just so CLEVER), it's also one of FEW examples out there where you can hear him make some singing mistakes.

 

 

Oh and remember when he played lead guitar whilst singing beautiful vocals?!

 

 

Also I remembered there was this version of Fix You out there, which is a true testament to Will's outrageous ability to sound exactly like the studio versions of things (and this is a stripped down performance so 0% chance that it's on a backing track). Also note how Jonny sings and lazy ol' Guy doesn't. :p

[Magic_2000]

It's funny that you talk about Rihanna, reminds me of something that I read somewhere and it said that originally, Princess Of China was supossed to be a duet between Chris and Will before Rihanna came in. Imagine what it could be! Although since the song is about a straight couple it was probably a good call to get a female singer. However it be pretty cool to see an actual duet with Chris and Will in the next LP(or EP for that matter)!

 

I had NO IDEA that it was Will doing back vocals in Magic! :eek: I though it was just Chris's voice layering. What an awsome idea on their part!

 

Fly On...the perfect way to end Ghost Story all around. It pretty cool seeing Will using his guitar skills on a full song!

 

Wow it's so refreshing listenning to Fix You on a normal piano. Great accoustic version, although I can't hear Jonny's vocals on that recording :oops:

[Carolina*]

His vocals in Yes add a lot to the song also

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

Indeed it's hard to hear Jonny when Will sings so powerfully, oops. And Jonny is singing the octave below Chris so it's way harder to pick out. You can hear him clearly on this recording though:

 

 

Parachutes era:

Will is carrying the whole second half of Everything's Not Lost

 

 

Will also has some nice vocals in this version of Yellow (as well as all versions) but particularly listen during the second chorus. :)

[Gideon_Mx]

Great thread! I love Will's vocals to be honest, he always picks the exact perfect moments, for example in Everglow: if you go to 2:37 and 2:44 you hear Will's amazing backing vocals, his voice fits so well!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=P8jOQUsTU9o;t=155

[Gideon_Mx]

I wondered if there isn't any recording of Will singing backing vocals in several songs.

Like sometime ago, someone on the forum posted a recording of Guy and Jonny's click-track during a performance. It was from the Viva tour if I'm not mistaking.

I would love to have Will's as he's the best singer of the three of them. I think Guy and Jonny can sing too but not as good as Will can. That's probably the main reason that Will gets all the headache of doing backing vocals ;(

[Gideon_Mx]

I find it a shame that they don't often sing along together, because if they do, it sounds so great all together. Like in Fix You or Violet Hill, or even Every Teardrop where Jonny sings the lines ''Every tear, every tear, every teardrop is a waaaterfaaall'' together with Will. I love it :D

[Gideon_Mx]

I wondered if there isn't any recording of Will singing backing vocals in several songs.

Like sometime ago, someone on the forum posted a recording of Guy and Jonny's click-track during a performance. It was from the Viva tour if I'm not mistaking.

I would love to have Will's as he's the best singer of the three of them. I think Guy and Jonny can sing too but not as good as Will can. That's probably the main reason that Will gets all the headache of doing backing vocals ;(

Here's it is:

 

Jonny:

 

Guy:

[Magic_2000]

Indeed it's hard to hear Jonny when Will sings so powerfully, oops. And Jonny is singing the octave below Chris so it's way harder to pick out. You can hear him clearly on this recording though:

 

 

Parachutes era:

Will is carrying the whole second half of Everything's Not Lost

 

 

Will also has some nice vocals in this version of Yellow (as well as all versions) but particularly listen during the second chorus. :)

That Everything's Not Lost is everything. Hearing people singing along with Will and the great climatic part at the end with the instrumentation is just perfect.

 

Great thread! I love Will's vocals to be honest, he always picks the exact perfect moments, for example in Everglow: if you go to 2:37 and 2:44 you hear Will's amazing backing vocals, his voice fits so well!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=P8jOQUsTU9o;t=155

 

It's simple but effective like it should be!

 

Here's it is:

 

Jonny:

 

Guy:

 

Those were found by I Ran Away I believe. I remember asking her if she had Will's vocals but unfortunely she didn't have them :(

[Magic_2000]

Okay so I was missing this thread and reminded of two other great instances of Will's vocals.

 

The Hardest Part (live LRLRL version): I absolutely adore all versions of this song (it's one of my favourtie Coldplay tracks). Unfortunely, Jonny and Guy don't seem to think the same so when it came to the Viva La Vida tour Chris did a beautiful piano rendition of it with PFFA and thankfully, we can hear Will's vocals a lot clearer than in the studio version.

 

Birds: I honestly don't know how I forgot to put this one on the original post because Will is doing a lot of vocal work trough out the whole song. You have the "oh-oh" on the first half, some verses in the chorus and, to end things of on a great note (see what I did there? ;)) Will keeps up amazingly well with Chris's final long notes. :eek:

[Gideon_Mx]

Absolutely, those are amazing!

Of all his backing vocals on A Head Full Of Dreams I think this is one of his most powerful things he has done on the album. They fit so well, indeed :grinning:

[Magic_2000]

Absolutely, those are amazing!

Of all his backing vocals on A Head Full Of Dreams I think this is one of his most powerful things he has done on the album. They fit so well, indeed :grinning:

I agree! Again, I love the emotion he puts when he sings, it never fails to make me smile. :)

 

Here's another gem I found: lead vocals on Till Kingdom Come! Now the gem metaphor isn't for nothing because I had to do quite the digging since this perfomance is very hard to find anywhere! For how obscure it is, it's suprising that it got a mention on Will's Wikipedia page (which is what made me search this in the first place). Even though in the recording you can't see the band peform, the audio is very clear! Also as a bonus, in the same video the band covers Michael Jackson's Billie Jean! :D

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dObd-ujN2Kw

[merril]

I would very much like all the four of them sing together a capella (or with just one or two guitars) as they did on their trip to Barcelona with Brian Eno. Their voices go very well together, especially those of Chris and Will, but also Guy and Jonny can sing well. I am sure among their many unreleased songs there are some which they could sing.