WordPress Posts: Articles

9 years of X&Y - The 9 things we love about X&Y! (in videos)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

9 years of X&Y

On June 6th 2005, Coldplay released their third studio album, X&Y and it instantly resulted in world domination for the band, with X&Y becoming the highest selling album of 2005 and expanding their fan base of Coldplayers across the globe in the process!

Happy 9th birthday…. A pic.twitter.com/R4kjH5MWBj
— Coldplay (@coldplay) June 6, 2014

We will take a look a the 9 things that we love about X&Y, a special era of music for Coldplay that will always live in our memories, in video form! There are a million things really to love about X&Y so choosing a selection of this truly amazing album is very hard! The big 10th birthday happens next year to which we will do something special for! Until then, lets reminiscence over the fantastically energetic X&Y....

1) The countdown

The famous Square One countdown at the start of each live show. Perfect live show opener in every way and when that countdown reached zero, you know it was time for Coldplay to rock! The video below is from the 2006 Brit Awards which has been re-uploaded by the Brit Awards in full 1080p. To play the album track, Square One in favour of a more popular single was a brave move that night by Coldplay but one that we can applaud still and its always great to see Chris jumping around the stage, the energy in the performance was something else and there wasn't any floor space left untouched!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-PlOVq15sE

2) MTV Live Leak

The marvelous MTV live leak aired a few days before the release of X&Y and was filmed in New York. The band would then go on to conquer the US and score their first #1 album there. The show was intimate, the sound was massive and if there is one video to capture the whole feel of X&Y, this is the one! Coldplay performed tracks such as What If, A Message and Low in the exclusive show.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3QFihUhJm0

3) Glastonbury 2005

"Ah, give me weather that does no harm, yeah, Michael Eavis and Worthy Farm, ah give me mud up to my knee, the best festival in history" were the lyrics festival goers and Coldplayers went absolutely mad to during a live performance of Politik. Glastonbury 2005 was one of Coldplay's finest live performances, it had it all. The sing along to Everything's Not Lost and The Scientist, the second take at the start of Warning Sign, the lovely acoustic Don't Panic and even a cover of Kylie Minogue's smash hit, Can't Get You Out Of My Headwith Jonny's Guitar screaming throughout and who could forget Chris' ode to Jonny, "Ladies and Gentleman, Mr Jonathan Buckland.....aged 28 years old.....my best friend and the best guitar player that ever lived.....except maybe Slash".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1lEyTf8-VI

4) "Crazy Frog, where are you now?!!"

When Coldplay released Speed of Sound in the UK, it was destined to become a number 1 hit as it took over the radio waves like no other Coldplay single perhaps bar Clocks, had done before. Unfortunately, an awful mobile phone ringtone/gimmick known as The Crazy Frog by Axel F tragically ended up outselling Coldplay to claim the number 1 singles spot and deny Coldplay their first number 1. Coldplay, like great bands do, focus their efforts on memorable live performances and Chris and the boys truly exorcised the Crazy Frog demon with one of Chris' greatest quotes, "Crazy Frog, where are you now?!!" during the Glastonbury 2005 performance seen above and begs the question, where exactly is the Crazy Frog now? In a parallel universe with Darius and Gareth Gates, probably.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k_1kvDh2UAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k85mRPqvMbE^ Booooooo!

5) How We Saw The World / Twisted Logic tour

The feature performance of the Twisted Logic tour (to which the title track was never played live) was from Toronto which aired in various countries as 'How We Saw The World' on March 26th 2006. Many of us have watched the brilliant 58 minute show many times but i'm sure we can all agree that it produced one of the biggest gem's of Coldplay's history, Swallowed In The Sea, live in Toronto, enjoy!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTbBdfX1moY

6) Every track on X&Y had potential to be a single

Picking the singles during the X&Y era was a guessing game largely. It was an album full of singles some may argue, which can be viewed in favour of X&Y or not. Fix You was an obvious choice and was indeed the 2nd single off the album but it could of been anything after that! Talk was the rocking 3rd single and after that, it varied depending on what country you were in. The Hardest Part was available sparsely across Europe and was a radio only single in the UK, while What If and White Shadows were released in parts of Europe, bringing rare CD copies with brilliant pieces of X&Y themed artwork.Tom Lord Alge, the award winning American music producer, mixed both What If and The Hardest Part. These mixes are very similar to the originals with more strings and a slightly 'heavier' sound. What If (Tom Lord Alge mix), you can find on our multimedia forums or Youtube. The audio clip following this is the said mix of The Hardest Parthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_RrHwHUOuI

7) The B-sides

Things I Dont Understand, Proof, Your World Turned Upside Down, Pour Me(Live), Sleeping Sun, Gravity (Studio Version) and How You See The World were the b-sides from the X&Y singles. The X&Y era produced a great deal of new material. Gravity is featured below which was originally given to Danny McNamara, lead singer of Embrace which became a top 10 hit for the band a year before Coldplay released their version of the track as a B-side to the Talk single.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6d_GdLxIqE

8) Lights will guide you home

That video, where Chris Martin strolls down the streets of London then runs into the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, UK, with tens of thousands of crazy Coldplay fans and before the band harmonize, Chris swirls around that infamous light bulb which resulted in a burst of fireworks. One of the signatures of X&Y, along with the Square One countdown. Fix You has successfully stapled itself amongst Coldplay's greatest.

9) The feel of X&Y

The album has an eerie 'spacey' sound and feel throughout, to which a lot of fans fell in love with. This is reflected in the title track of the album which was not played often, mainly in the early stages of X&Y. The live show in Madrid of April 2005, along with The Austin City limits performance, really shows the perhaps under-rated side of X&Y.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsOXUUCNYe0

Magnifique spectacle mettant en vedette Green Eyes - Coldplay at Casino De Paris

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Magnificent Coldplay at Casino De Paris

Coldplay completed yet another wonderful show as part of their short, but sweet Ghost Stories intimate tour. The crowd of French Coldplayers were on top voice last night and it certainly impressed "Coldplay's 5th member", Phil Harvey who expressed his delight on Twitter below.

@Keren72538516 honestly, that was the best theatre crowd I've ever seen PH
— Coldplay (@coldplay) May 28, 2014

If you can read French or have simply just used Google translator, you would have seen in the title that A Rush of Blood To The Head album track, Green Eyes made a surprise return during the live show in France. Coldplay played a shorter setlist than usual compared to the recent LA show in which the full album was performed again but it was not short of great moments which included the theater rocking Clocks and God Put A Smile Upon Your Face. The encore took the audience through an emotional rollercoaster with the very somber Oceans leading to the explosion of energy which was A Sky Full of Stars, finished by Fix You (rather than O). View Coldplay's official setlist below : The setlist was rumoured to possibly include A Rush of Blood To The Head b-side, Crests of Waves, which was played at the pre-show soundcheck, along with Green Eyes. Now that would of been an even bigger treat and according to Setlist.fm (and my memory!), Crests of Waves has not been played live before. Fingers crossed then for an appearance sometime soon!^ Official Coldplay photos from the soundcheck in Paris

Fan reviews

Coldplayers on our messageboards have been telling us of their amazing experience at the Paris show last night with Coldplay12 on the messageboards / Coldplaycorner uploading the photo belowabdc99 gave an outstanding review on the forums :

I just went to the show today. Definitely without a doubt, best night in my whole life. I was a bit sad that it was only 1 hour (as opposed to that 2-hour-ish thing in LA) and that they didn't play the scientist or yellow. But indeed a great performance that I found much much much better than what I see on YouTube (which I dig so much anyway). Chris was so funny and humble in the way he interacts with the audience (he made a number of personal eye contact with some people and also threw some jokes here and there)On another note, Chris while playing sky full of stars (it's probably the best live song ever btw) he turned towards Jonny, got close to him and said "I wanna die in your arms" while placing one hand on Jonny's shoulder. Probably no one paid attention to that (not even Will or Guy) but it was touching to see it given what Chris has been going throw; I think he probably regards Jonny as the most trusted and closest person to him everThe show again was an absolute piece of art live. Now I definitely don't regret flying all the way to Europe for that show at all. Thanks a lot coldplay

Also just in, read this, a simply stunning review by one of our Coldplaying moderators, CoeurliThank you for your contributions and if you went to see the show, please let us know what you thought on the forums.The next stop on the Ghost Stories tour is Japan! The Far East will go crazy for Coldplay on June 12th. Also, a reminder that tickets for Coldplay's show in London on July 1st will go on sale next Friday, 6th June at 9.30am GMT we believe.

Coldplay Royce Hall, Los Angeles : Unexpected surprise as the band rock LA!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Coldplay Royce Hall - Rocking Los Angeles

Late last night, on Monday 19th May, the day Ghost Stories was released to the rest of the world, Coldplay arrived on stage to perform their last North American date on the Ghost Stories intimate tour. The band performed a re-arranged setlist from previous shows, which saw Ghost Stories being played in full after an array of older songs including the first play since 2002 of A Whisper from A Rush of Blood to The Head and the boys played it as if they have been performing it week in and week out! Speak about being so quick to adapt, its one of the qualities which makes them the band they are today! Below is a fan recorded video of Coldplay rocking with A Whisper

The whole setlist started off surprisingly with Atlas which was pictured to originally be on the album during the Sky Arts documentary showing the making of Ghost Stories which was aired yesterday but is not available online as of yet. The joyful Coldplay fans in LA saw the return of The Scientist and many classics followed before the new album was played in full followed by the return of Yellow to finish the encore in style! You can see the setlist below with thanks to setlist.fm!

Fan reviews

Many delighted fans took to the Coldplaying forums after the gig to relive the amazing night and the shock of A Whisper been played live!

By kjones31 on the Coldplaying forums

The show was fantastic!

After london grammar who were awesome, the theater slowly started filling up, from up in the balcony I could see where the empty seats were and by the time the show started I would say that at least 60 seats spread through out were not filled, a bunch in the first 8 rows, which is a shame because clearly there were people who really wanted tickets.

okay so about ten min before the show began two kids ( apple and Moses) came and sat behind the piano, Moses had glow in the dark headphones which he didn't keep on his ears the whole time haha. Can't blame him!

But holy set list of set lists! They were playing so many amazing songs tonight! With don't panic and a whisper as super delights! The guy next to me was using Wikipedia to figure out songs being played that he clearly didn't know... So first half of the show was an utter delight even with poor Jonny's guitar hiccup in the scientist ( it just didn't want to broadcast sound) the guys all had a smile on there faces and clearly looked to be enjoying themselves. And then the entire ghost stories album was top notch! I agree with what was said earlier about having that same flow throughout the album and when they mix the songs with other album songs it breaks it up a bit too much so playing them all together was a smart move.

overall a fantastic show and a great venue! Had awesome sound!

On our way back to the car we stopped to see if we might see an of the guys come out. We saw Phil and waved and then we saw miller was walking out and I asked him to write another blog and he just chuckled and kept walking so who knows if any good will come of it

Another review by LVI56 on the forums who followed up the short review with pictures from the gig.

Alright, home and time for a review!

Regarding empty seats, it was nice to see that by the time Coldplay took the stage, I couldn't see any empty seats.

THAT SETLIST!!!

Really took everyone by surprise to open how they did. I knew they sound checked A Whisper, but really didn't expect it to be played. It was great! A guy sitting next to me tried to shazam it.

Atlas <3

Don't Panic!!

The Scientist <3

Yellow, making a comeback!

And the whole Ghost Stories. I kind of expected that.

Chris mentioned "ticket shenanigans", probably aware how difficult it was to get a ticket.

Jon Hopkins "Open Eye Signal" before stage time, sounded great.

Crowd was great, really into it.

Also, London Grammar was awesome.

What a great night!

Did you see Coldplay live in Los Angeles last night? Please let us know what you think on this forum thread!

// ]]>

Fan reviews from the Beacon Theater, New York gig (5th May) & Coldplay on the Jimmy Fallon show (Video)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

As reported previously, Coldplay completed a brilliant setlist for amazed fans in New York on Monday which included True Love which was hidden from public listening! Now see how other Coldplayers experienced the spectacular show on Monday.

The reviews come from the delighted bdevil89 on the Coldplaying forums and Christa42 + Texasluvsjonny, who are part of the great moderating team here at Coldplaying and who were our representatives that night!

by bdevil89

Wow - the 9p show was ridiculously good! I guess the extra time and run through in the matinee helped them to work out the kinks. I waited till last minute for prices to drop and got a 2nd row center seat through stub hub for a decent price - to see Coldplay in a venue like this was as mastercard would put it - priceless. 1 negative thing about sitting up close, is most of the people there are not diehards but kind of music industry types or really rich people who like to drink at shows. the 1st row had some really annoying people that kept trying to get Chris' attention but not in a good way. Overall, being that close, was amazing, Chris was on fire as well as the rest of the band.

I was lucky enough to be at the AOL music concert for the X&Y promo tour - and it is amazing to see their evolution/progression after 9 yrs - they rocked the house. Plus, Til Kingdom Come is just magical (X&Y is underrated despite Chris' own feelings on the album) - Really wish they would play Swallowed in the Sea again - that is a classic Coldplay song along the lines of this relatively solemn introspective album.

Life is for Living is... what I can say, what one of the best debut secret tracks in a long while - beautiful all around - that piano line, and the grand finale with all 4 getting involved is just vintage.

Also, I'll be honest - wasn't a total fan of Another's Arms - at least from the radio broadcasts/itunes festival - but I think live it's really good, and they really tweaked the song enough to make it work. Another outstanding track with a brilliant Jonny solo.

Oceans - sublime, ethereal - that drum pad effect is perfect for that song with Chris' simple guitar rhythm, and then Jonny with that heavy synth effect - both guy and jonny really showing their versatility this tour - they're everywhere, playing everything.

I like the segue from Oceans into ASFOS - this time - there was a definite interlude a la Mylo Xyloto-esque into ASFOS - again, Sky is just phenomenal live - J, Guy, and Will are just shredding away on the song when the drop comes in. It will really sell this album well, and hopefully get more people to see the other aspects of Coldplay that make them such a talented and versatile band. Quick ? - who came up with piano riff, was it Avicci or Chris - or does Avicci just play the piano part - it's a bit confusing, bc Zane Lowe makes it out to be Chris who came up with piano part, but it looks more like Chris came up with song's vocal melody and of course lyrics. Anyway, brilliant song.

Finally - True Love sounded pretty good with initial opening, and the visuals they've added to the screen is really cool (same for Another's Arms) - but for some reason Jonny's solo sounded off, like he wasn't playing it right - I dont' know if it was just my location or what - but up until that part, it was a decent song (I don't know if it's their best song from the album as Chris had mentioned (perhaps a bit of hyperbole), but sounds like another classic Coldplay track.

All in all, cannot wait for that tv special, to get the full album experience as they wanted to people to experience but unfortunately was too expensive to take around the world. Regardless, In Coldplay I Trust - so fortunate to have a band like this out there (them, the Killers, and Keane for me) - 3 great bands that came around relatively the same time.

Christa42

So I picked up Angie right after the 5 pm show and we went to get some chow. We walked back and every time I go into The Beacon Theater I fall in love. It is so intimate, beautiful and old school. There is actually a round beautiful ticket booth in the front. There are 5 bars in the entry way, 5! We talked to a few coldplayers and it was all good. Angie got a tix in the front center aisle directly in front of Jonny. I was left of her a few rows back on the aisle which was the side entrance for all the VIP's headed to the back. Saw a few local NY celebs, newscasters and there was a ton of industry peeps. Phil came out that entrance and ran a up the aisle to more than once working his magic It was a little weird b/c it was a lot of the who's who and it was seated. a little stuffy for my taste but I am a native NY'er and we all come in all shapes and sizes and everyone loves Coldplay. When the roadies came out and all the hob nobs thought it was the band and started cheering thinking it was the band, ahem............So I people watched for a while. I know this is a pre-album tour and people paid a lot of money to see them play but I wonder if half the people would be there if they were queuing for 8 hours in the cold. I did realize I was very lucky to be there.

The set is so simple and gorgeous. To me it represents what I as a fan have been waiting to hear again from Coldplay: classic, clean, simple, pure. The stars represent so much from the beginning. I am glad they are back.

Always in My head started and it's even more hypnotic live. It takes you to a place where It's just you and the band and they are singing to you and only you& you do not want it to end.

Charlie Brown comes on and its ever so amazing. I was by myself and I am dancing my ass off. I had a lot of room because i was on the aisle seat and security is laughing and giving me the thumbs up because no one else around me is dancing. PPl were clapping but i was truly having the best time.

Paradise comes on and everyone goes wild. I took some pics. Magic is next and i start filming away, so beautiful. I realized one of the reasons I love this new album so much because Chris actually sits still and I can attempt to film and take pics of him!

Magic is glorious, Guy has the Bass with Sass and Chris's Vocals are smooth and delicious. the beat keeps you hypnotized... "Yes I do" and "of Course I do" is going to be the next "Honey Honey"

God Put A Smile comes on and it's the version I prefer myself. I feel like it's down and dirty, the way it is supposed to be played. I kind of had a feeling something different would come on next and holy crap, Till Kingdom Come is on and I am screaming my ass off. The newbs look round and they are like what song is this??

Midnight is so amazing live. I love the song but when you see it, feel it, hear it live it blows you away.

going to skip a few songs and then Oceans, Holy effing crap I don't even know what to say. I took a vid and I was literally shaking it is so beautiful. You feel like you have entered something so personal and intimate and you are actually lucky enough to hear this beautiful song and you are afraid it's going to go away and never come back. You cherish this moment. Jonny is stellar. It was stunning

A Sky full of Stars, my personal dark horse, is incredible!!!!!! It is going to be huge and not just huge cause the younger set and newbs and EDM ppl like it. It is going to be huge because everyone is going to love it. Your Mom, your babysitter, your cool cousin, your friend who works on Wall Street,your kids, Your snobby music friend. And you are going to dance! Dance like no one is watching dance. People were going nuts in the aisle and security had more to deal with than just little old me. It was insane in my section.

Well I thought I was happy enough and then my Spidey senses heard the first chords of the songs we have hidden in the back of our hearts hoping to be played again section of our brains and souls. Life is for Living!!!!! I start screaming and I hear all the other old timers up on the balcony freaking and we hear one of the most beloved Coldplay songs ever. Jonny is killing it with the riffs. And then I start having a tear or come out or two and I feel so blessed. You are probably going to kill me and this is the GD truth, but i am so blown away by Life is For Living, I do not even remember "the song we are not supposed to talk about" So I am keeping my end of the deal up and not talking about it. I cannot believe this was 24 hours ago. Oh we said hello to Dan Green and Angie talked to him for a bit.

I hope you enjoyed my version of an incredible evening

by Texasluvsjonny

OK so I guess I can same stuff about the shows while my stuff uploads.

Knew it would be short shows but the chance to see them in such a small venue doesn't come that often so you gotta go. And if you travel for one show, well you gotta go to both right.

I had to get up at 3am for my flight from Houston to NYC. Almost missed my connection in Chicago because O'Hare and American Airlines are useless as tits on a boar hog! Had to run like a psycho thru the terminal and made it just as they were getting ready to close the door. If you want to know why AA has all those "rebooking centers" every 30 feet in the airport, it's because they suck!

So got to NYC and was too wound up to eat, but needed new batteries for my camera, so walked past Beacon to a shop and noticed a group of people on the side of the building. Went to check it out and Will was there signing stuff. I had just missed Jonny They said Guy had also been in but ignored everyone....so what else is new. Chris hadn't come yet. Waited about 15 minutes and up pulls Chris and Phil. Had to call Phil over cuz he likes to act like he's no one and not F***ING AWESOME! He didn't want to take pics, but I made him. Chris was in a really good mood. He signed my ticket.

5PM show was pretty much what I expected it to be. Kinda laid back and more of a dress rehearsal vibe. Was hoping they would use it to maybe brush some dust off some older tunes, but no. The venue is really beautiful. I had a crappy balcony seat but got it for cost off ticketbastard so not complaining. I thought Chris' voice sounded really good.

Met Christa after and we went to eat...and drink...Cinco de Mayo baby! although Yankees can't do a proper margarita...they tried to sell me one with cucumbers in it ....Ugh NO!...lime please.

Went back to venue and had awesome floor seat off Stub..but location was all about the Jonny so worth every cent!

All the new stuff sounds amazing live. Oceans is just so beautiful. Really happy they played Life is for Living.

Talked briefly with Dan Green after the show He asked what I thought of the new stuff....he always asks me that!

Told him I really liked it and thought it had a nice vibe that would mix well with the older stuff and I could help them with their set list and include some really old stuff like Such a Rush...he laughed and said that aint gonna happen. I told him to work on them ....maybe just type in on the setlist!

Had an awesome time. Got to see Christa and Julie and meet some new Coldplayers.

Ready for a proper tour now.

KenV99 captured the epic moment of A Sky Full of Stars live.

Thanks again to Texasluvsjonny for these great photos!

http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt109/ac040404/Coldplay%20Beacon%20Theater%20NYC%205-5-14/20140505_162341.jpg

http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt109/ac040404/Coldplay%20Beacon%20Theater%20NYC%205-5-14/20140505_223426_1_bestshot.jpg

http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt109/ac040404/Coldplay%20Beacon%20Theater%20NYC%205-5-14/IMG_4039.jpg

You can view more images in our forum thread for the show.

As it was confirmed on the site yesterday, Coldplay were performing on the Jimmy Fallon show late on Tuesday night. The band played Magic and unexpectedly, Always in My Head which you can see the absolute beautiful performance of below with thanks to NBC!

google_ad_client = "ca-pub-2178348667918002";

/* Bottom of article */

google_ad_slot = "9323411377";

google_ad_width = 300;

google_ad_height = 250;

//-->

Now only 12 more days (North American and UK release) until Ghost Stories, the new Coldplay album of 2014 is released!

Chris' spidey sense is tingling! Coldplay on Saturday Night live & news summary of the past week on Youtube!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Chris Martin has obviously been watching 'The Amazing Spiderman' too much! Coldplay were due to appear on Saturday Night Live as previewed and Chris decided to give some advise to actor, Andrew Garfield who led a sketch with his partner, Emma Stone which was filming the kissing scene from the popular film with hilarious out-takes and with Emma Stone been referred to as Gwenyth until Chris Martin interrupted proceedings and offered to give the scene a try, so up stepped the Coldplay frontman who was about to get ready for the scene with Emma Stone, or at least that's what we thought! Until Emma was ushered out of the way in favour of Andrew Garfield who was shown by the powerful Chris Martin how a kissing scene is really done! You can watch the intimate moment below...

Emma Stone, Andrew & Chris Martin - Final Kiss... by IdolxMuzicColdplay then performed two tracks for the show, Magic and the energetic A Sky Full of Stars which you can watch below with Chris Martin in dancing mode!

Coldplay performs "A Sky Full Of Stars... by HumanSlinkyEdition 4 of the Coldplay news round up, the Coldplaying video podcast is now up! You can watch the summary of the past week in news below, presented by the excellent Petey/Periahdark.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CclchTviALI&feature=youtu.beOur Youtube channel is community led and we appreciate any ideas or any content you would like to provide. You can visit our Youtube channel forums to do (please read the stickies first!)

Reactions to "A Sky Full of Stars" & Jools Holland performance

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Tuesday 29th May is the date the most hyped Coldplay single to date, A Sky Full of Stars finally hit the ears of all fans who had not been lucky enough to hear it live at the intimate shows performed in the US and in Germany.

It started off with a mixed reception but the gauge of positivity is increasing based on the latest poll results on our website and forum. the eighth single off Ghost Stories had set quite a high bar for itself and it did not meet the expectations for some but generally, was a big hit and it very much certain to be a massive hit across the world and it will take off very soon! Over half of fans so far have rated 'ASFOS' 8/10 or higher with a perfect 10/10 score increasing in percentage faster than any other rating.

Next, was the live performance on Jools Holland on BBC 2 (UK) which links will be available to soon while UK users can rewind on the live BBC Iplayer within a few hours from the performance.

Coldplay started off the show with the cool Magic and finished the set after performances by various artists including The Black Keys and Damon Albarn by performing the energetic and uplifting A Sky Full of Stars which featured a Ghost piano player! This allowed Chris to dance and jump around which was great viewing and easy on the eye! The live version of A Sky Full of Stars has received an even more positive reception.

Here is Magic (sorry non UK fans, BBC are only allowing UK users to view but keep an eye on our multimedia forum!)

A Sky Full of Stars links are in our multimedia forum

Video for UK fans

New songs aired on Radio 1 during the emotional and revealing Chris Martin interview

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

As discussed last week, an interview between Zane Lowe of BBC Radio 1 and Chris Martin was planned to air today and it proved to be the biggest talking point of "Ghost Stories" so far with Chris not only revealing experiences from his personal life but talking through parts of the album with Zane Lowe which led to several clips being played.

The following new tracks were playing during the interview

Always In My Head - Half of the song.

Oceans - All of the song pretty much.

A Sky Full of Stars - Partly.

O - Partly.

O (Reprise) - featuring Chris's daughter, Apple Martin! (She also sings a tiny part in Always in My Head Due for release with Target deluxe edition (US only) or everywhere else in around 6 months!

The main key points are that A Sky Full of Stars has been produced by Avicii, in the same way Jon Hopkins had produced Midnight, you can hear a big influence but its not a 'featuring' in the way Rihanna did in Princess of China. Chris brought the popular artist/producer, Avicii into the studio during one evening session and helped shape A Sky Full of Stars to which Chris mentioned, felt like "Cheating on the band". O was another track played during the emotional interview. O is already a massive hit with the fans due to its peaceful and simple sound and it seems to be, like Midnight and Oceans, a track best heard when listening to it in full and immersing yourself in the experience!

Many interesting stories came to the fold during the detailed interview about Chris' personal experiences and one was when Chris seeked the help of a Sufi teacher and advised Chris if he 'sits' with his experiences and the things he has been through, they will 'alchemize', in other words, fit together to make something stronger. Before refering to Eno, Chris Martin revealed his perception on the meaning of Ghost Stories

"The idea of "Ghost Stories" for me was how do you let the things that happened to you in the past, your ghosts, how do you let them affect your present and your future because there was a time when I was feeling they were going to drag me down, ruin my life and of those around me"

There were quite a few eyebrow raising quotes in the hour interview, here is a recap of a few :

- Chris Martin was once kicked out of the band for a week or two to raise the confidence of the other band members

- The jam at the start of Magic was created by Guy Berryman

- Jonny Buckland lost his temper once with Chris Martin telling him "I am sick of your s**t" in 2004.

- Ghost Stories is basically 42 minutes on an emotional treadmill.

- If Chris wasn't in the band, he would probably be performing Elton John covers on a Ferry!

- When Chris was 16, he was in a band with Phil Harvey as a keyboard player. The name of that band was the 'Rocking Honkeys' but Chris said the name implied racial innuendo and it was a terrible name!

You can listen to the Radio 1 interview in full below to listen to the full details in what has been described by many Coldplayers as the 'best Chris Martin interview ever'

You need to be registered on our forums to view the links

OR BBC Radio 1 have now uploaded to high quality audio to their website here

google_ad_client = "ca-pub-2178348667918002";

/* Article ad link */

google_ad_slot = "6176311779";

google_ad_width = 468;

google_ad_height = 15;

//-->

or watch all parts of the video version below! (now including the full interview in one video posted on 6th May)

A massive thanks to BBC Radio 1.

Coldplay's new album of 2014, Ghost Stories is out in just 21 days/3 weeks!

Chart update : "Midnight" smashing ITunes charts worldwide & an instant 'grat' track a week strategy uncovered?

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Since the release of Midnight and the official remix earlier on when the clocks struck 12 AM, a massive mark has been left on the charts as Midnight has hit #1 in the ITunes chart of over 53 countries!

(Thanks to Rezaditya on Twitter for this image)

Most of the sales for Midnight came from downloads as an instant grat track people who pre-ordered Ghost Stories on ITunes received. Another portion was from regular downloads on Midnight on its own and others were for the official remix of Midnight

The impact Midnight has had on the charts so far shows Ghost Stories has had an extraordinary amount of pre-orders so far. When Paradise was released in 2011, it didn't have this much of an effect so things are looking very promising for Coldplay's new album now!

Ghost Stories :

Midnight (album version) :

Midnight (remix) :

There seems to be a good possiblity, Coldplay's record label, Parlophone, owned by Warner Music, may be planning a strategy which involves releasing an instant grat track every week for fans who pre-order Ghost Stories . This will be a very effective tactic as the release of Midnight has surprised us all as to how well its done in the charts! With the 'domino effect' of large pre-orders counting towards the charting of a single, there is a good chance we may see Another's Arms next week as previously discussed.

Below : Possible release plan?

21st April : Midnight (released)

28th April : Another's Arms

5th May : A Sky Full of Stars

Another's Arms would be set to make an even bigger impact as a promo track in the way Midnight with being a song no one has heard the studio version of yet and A Sky Full of Stars? With all of the hype surrounding that song, the pre-orders just weeks before the release of the new album and being potentially the most popular track off the Ghost Stories, it will explode on the scene like nothing you have seen before! There is a lot to look forward to.

There is a currently a discussion about this the Coldplaying forums

Only 28 days until the release of the new Coldplay album of 2014, Ghost Stories!

We could be listening to new tracks off "Ghost Stories" as soon as Friday & German Coldplayers snap up tickets in record time!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Above : The last Coldplay visit to Cologne. This time, we may expect to see star shaped confetti! (photo by Getty Images)

Friday 25th April, the date Ghost Stories may get blown open to the public, in live form! Coldplay will play their first show in the six date promo tour in Cologne, Germany. Why should we expect to hear the new tracks? Because historically speaking, Coldplay have performed a setlist that stays pretty much the same, sometimes a few songs switch places and a few tracks are also replaced but it would be very unlike Coldplay not play the tracks the fans want to hear such as A Sky Full of Stars at London and not play it in Germany.

Another major reason is the secret show which is being aired live on German radio with SWR3 the next day on Saturday 26th April. While its not guaranteed this will happen, the words 'intimate' and 'secret show' were the main feature of the landmark LA show on 21st March which Coldplay debuted the whole of Ghost Stories in live format and it seems likely this will happen again but this time, everyone online will be able to listen to the 'secret show'!

A Magic Night With Coldplay

Coldplay win an intimate concert

So you can not normally see a rock legend : up close. But for you and SWR3 Coldplay play an intimate concert for a small audience . The tickets can not you buy - but win with us !

On April 26, 2014 by 17 clock Coldplay will shake the foundations of Baden -Baden. And you can be there! We make you that special Easter gift and raffle from 19 to 21 April nearly 100 tickets on the radio. For this, you need only listen SWR3 and whenever we play a Coldplay hit 8-19 clock in full length , call: . 01803-929100 ( from a landline 0,09 € per minute , mobile max 0,42 EUR per minute).

win online

Should you have missed out on the three radio Sweepstakes days , you can watch from 22 to 25 April here subscribe to SWR3.de in a guest list . From all entries , we randomly select from six other winners who are then each with an accompanying person on the guest list . We wish all participants good luck!

Thank you for Gai for the info and translation

More information will be available to you on the live audio streaming of these shows closer to the performance and you can also watch or post on our forums for breaking updates and discussion of the live gigs

Now, as you may have seen on our Facebook/Twitter pages already, tickets went on sale this morning for the show in Cologne to which there was a staggering demand for! So much infact, pretty much all tickets were sold out within 3 seconds!. Congratulations to the Coldplayers who managed to get tickets for the show! Unfortunately, since there was so much demand, a lot of fans did also miss out on the chance but "just be patient and don't worry", there are many of us in the community who are in the same boat and the chance will come for everyone!

A few determined fans would not take no for an answer. There were the few comments on our Facebook page and on the forums such as from alokgarg47 that revealed they had managed to snatch tickets over an hour after the tickets went on sale, refreshing the page thousands of times in the process! These tickets were likely to be the ones which were reserved in the first few seconds of going on sale but were released for whichever reason which could include the person not going ahead with the sale. So there is a great morale in this story, if you don't succeed with getting tickets try and try again and you never know!

Extended video for "Magic" on the way & Zhang Ziyi talks about working with Chris Martin (Article)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Last Monday, we were treated to the video premiere of Coldplay's 1st single taken from "Ghost Stories", "Magic". Now the directors and Zhang Ziyi, the actress who co-stared alongside Coldplay's Chris Martin in the music video, best known for her roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Rush Hour 2 have revealed we will have the privilege of viewing the extended colour version of the music video!

Firstly, you can view a gallery of the new behind the scene photos of the Magic music video including Chris Martin playing the villain role of Claude, the drunk magician (fooled me at first!). Big thanks go to Gai on our community forums for the sources, nowness.com for the exclusive images and china.org.cn for the Zhang Ziyi interview!

[soliloquy id=22564]

Zhang Ziyi spoke to the Southern Metropolis Daily during an interview today Link

Coldplay songs are my favorites, but I’d never imagined that leading man Chris Martin would also love my movies

. He invited me and the director is a long time friend of mine, so this is it," Zhang explained about how their collaboration actually materialized. She participated in the video shoot during China's Spring Festival in February in Los Angeles.

Swedish director Jonas Akerlund's profile includes many videos ranging from Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, U2, Robbie Williams to Madonna. Zhang starred in his feature film "Horsemen" in 2009.

The music video was presented in the form of a black and white silent movie, with Zhang playing the role of a beautiful magician named Cecile.

Meanwhile, the band’s singer, Martin, plays two roles: that of Cecile's husband and that of famous magician Claude, as well as her assistant, Christoph.

The video tells the story of how Christoph tries to become a magician himself in order to charm Cecile after realizing how problematic the relationship between the magician and her husband in fact was.

The video got 3.7 million views within the three days was after being uploaded to Youtube.com.

The story's creative idea is very unique, depicitng a magician's love

," Zhang said, "The filming techniques are not so different from [those used in] a feature film, but doing a feature film is much more exhausting."

As Zhang remembered, there was so much fun while shooting the video.

"Chris would have to play two roles, one of which was evil. His evil role is very dramatic so he would get false teeth and nails. He was so into his role, that when his false teeth fell out, funnily enough, he didn't even realize."

Zhang changes styles nine times in the video, which, she says, are vintage but fashionable. "These are not what I can try out when doing a film, so it's very satisfying."

As for Zhang's impression of Martin, she said the singer was actually younger than she thought,

"And he would always thank me during the filming. I think he is an especially grateful man. " Zhang also revealed that people will have the chance to see an extended color version of the music video.

Please let us know what you think of the new revelations of the extending video on our forums!

Only 35 days to go now until the new Coldplay album of 2014, "Ghost Stories" is out!

Chris Martin gives Peter Gabriel an induction into the Hall of Fame & performs a live duet

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin inducted Peter Gabriel, the lead singer of the historic progressive rock band, Genesis into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on Thursday night. Chris continued being his usual funny self, appearing to be reading from the book of Genesis while he read out, "An angel of the lord descended and appeared before Phil the Collins......and Phil the Collins said unto him, who are you O angel?" as Chris paused for a second, deep in character and relishing the speech before finishing with "I am Gabriel" to a round of applause as Peter Gabriel himself appearing on stage which was shortly followed by a one off special live duet of Washing Of The Water by Chris and Gabriel. You can watch the high quality video of Chris Martin's speech and part of the live performance below

You can discuss the ceremony on our forums here

(Thanks to Coeurli, Lily42 on our forums and the ColdplayUK Facebook page for the vids!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK1r5EoMYl8

Below is another video of the highest quality amateur recording so far if you want to hear the full performance.

Only 37 days to go until the new Coldplay album of 2014, Ghost Stories is out!

Coldplay due to perform on Jools Holland (April 29th) & flashbacks to previous shows!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Mark your (Coldplay!) Calenders everyone, a possible landmark live appearance is on its way! Should it fall before the planned NBC special on the way there is a possibility that 'A Sky Full of Stars' may debut just before the possible 5th May release.

The source of information is from a reliable source via a media editor/writer on Twitter who has been told the date of Coldplay's appearance on the show! (Thanks to Gai on the forums for posting this) and it should be confirmed also by Radiotimes very soon.

On the community forums, We have had a discussion about this and applications for tickets were made but unfortunately, we do not have a Coldplayer we know of who has won this (no frontline reporting for me!) so please post on our forums and bathe in glory and the envy if you have been selected for this show by the BBC!

We will now take a trip down memory lane! Coldplay firstly performed on Jools Holland in 2000 when they played their first single off Parachutes, 'Shiver'. This recording is shown in the video below. Will Champion and Chris Martin talk about playing 'Shiver' live on Jools Holland just before the live Performance of 'Yellow' on their second outing in the year 2000 with Jools. Will starts off by explaining "The first we were very young and it was the first time we had ever done a TV show I think, it was even before we were even on Top of the Pops". Chris added "It was even before we recorded the record"! Will continued with "We didn't really know what to do and we didn't know how to make it sound any good". Then Chris will a wry smile explained "First time we were on, we played a song called Shiver and we thought we played it ok then the dude who wrote 'Whiter Shade of Pale', what was his name (to Will)?" in which both Chris and Will quickly answered "Gary Brooker" and Chris quickly carried on, "sat down a played 'Whiter Shade of Pale' straight afterwards and just made us look really stupid" Chris chuckled with a grin on his face. Chris then finished with "And that was our abiding memory and being put firmly in our place".

Watch Shiver (2000) and Square One (2005) in glorious old school 240p below!!!

Then continue the journey through Coldplay history with Violet Hill (2008) to Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (2012) in a slightly more glamorous HD quality!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV_Jd_jRbzA

CD collections of Coldplay fans across the world!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

There are many types of Coldplay fans and there are hundreds of ways for us to show our enthusiasm for the band we love! Some build up as many MP3's as possible of every single live performance, rare, b-side etc.. Others stalk the band outside their studio at the bakery (naughty!) And some others show their appreciation on every single Coldplay related website, forum and Facebook page online! The following fans are devoted collectors of every released Coldplay CD whether its in a form of a single, album, film soundtrack or rarity, they will get their hands on it!

Firstly, we have a fan who I believe is from Germany. Picked this up from a German Facebook group. One of the most impressive collections and almost up to date with the Atlas OST included!

The next comes from No1CPfan on our community forums (thanks!) who has managed to get hold of a few very rare CD's including the top middle CD which is Morning Becomes Eclectic - live tracks recorded by the band in LA, very rare and sealed! The Japanese CD (bottom left) is the Every Teardrop is a Waterfall Japan promo that includes 2 remix tracks which are only found on that disk!

lucascm, another user on our forums treated us to this image of a very well presented collection that is a dream to many Coldplay fans including the collection of Mylo Xyloto comics! Great job!

Finally, the award for one of most intriguing Coldplay rare of recent times goes to No1CPfan (again!) who has been adding to his collection further! This is what he had to say about this particular piece which strangely includes no music.

The X & Y Global Communication Strategy advance promo. If you're like me and you surf the web looking for rare Coldplay CDs you have probably seen this CD selling for anywhere from $100.00 USD to $200.00 USD. When I first saw this CD I thought wow there must be some really cool rare music on this one. I found out there isn't any music at all. A Coldplay CD without music?? So I picked one up anyway.

This CD contains a PowerPoint presentation that Parlophone put together about the release of X & Y. It's actually pretty cool. Within the presentation there are unseen pictures and information about the band. They cover what areas they were to release the album first. What types of people buy Coldplay music. You can tell the release of X & Y was an important one with this CD and "The Fir Trees Album" pre release.

Needless to say there aren't many of these CDs floating around. Because of its rareness and what it contains is why it sells at such a high price. Plus the fact that this CD was never intended to fall into our hands. I think it's cool.

You can have your say to by posting your collection on our forums using the link below no matter the size, its the presentation, enthusiasm and uniqueness that makes a collection special!

- Marc.

Chris Martin & Gwyneth Paltrow announce their separation via Goop

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Coldplay's Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have decided to separate after 10 years of marriage, the couple have announced. The pair, who married in 2003, issued the announcement in a statement on Gwyneth’s website Goop, titled “Conscious Uncoupling”. More of your thoughts on this news are at the Coldplay forum now [thanks gai]

Within minutes, the Goop webpage was unavailable as the site struggled to cope with the demand from fans seeking confirmation of the news. The statement on Goop, wrote:

It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate. We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate. We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been. We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time. We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.

Love,

Gwyneth & Chris

Stereogum: 'It’s time we all agreed that Coldplay is great'

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Chris Martin’s band has been a punchline since that first fresh-faced beach walk, and there are some good reasons for that, writes Stereogum, following the release of Coldplay's latest song, Magic. Read on for the article, and discuss it at the Magic sub-forum now [thanks ihaveabono]

Stereogum continues: When your debut album sounds less like a spongy facsimile of Bends-era Radiohead than a facsimile of Travis, themselves a spongy facsimile of Bends-era Radiohead, you invite ridicule. When you and your movie-star wife name your child Apple, you invite ridicule. When your band dresses up like French revolutionaries and/or the Beatles, not just for promo photos but interviews too, you invite ridicule. And when you release a concept album about “the story of a war against sound and color by a supremacist government” and call it Mylo Xyloto, you have come to embody the very essence of ridiculousness. Such awkwardly polite young Englishmen playing such wholesomely saccharine music with such shamelessly grandiose ambitions were always destined to be written off as lames.

Martin knows this. As he told The Telegraph in 2008, “We aren’t cool and never will be.” But as Chuck Klosterman explained in his 2002 essay collection Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs, it’s one thing to be cool and another thing entirely to be great. Klosterman presented Billy Joel as the evidence for his theory: Joel “has no intrinsic coolness, and he has no extrinsic coolness,” but as a songwriter he’s responsible for a baffling number of modern classics. Thus, Klosterman concluded, “there is absolutely no relationship between Joel’s greatness and Joel’s coolness (or lack thereof), just as there’s no relationship between the ’greatness’ of serving in World War II and the ’coolness’ of serving in World War II.” Ironically, in the first chapter of the same book, Klosterman goes on a rant about how much Coldplay sucks, a position he recanted in 2013′s I Wear The Black Hat. This wasn’t his rationale, but logically, he had every reason to revise his anti-Coldplay stance because Coldplay is exactly the same as Billy Joel. The fact that they are perilously uncool has no bearing on their greatness. And it’s time we all agreed that Coldplay is great.

The two low-key tracks they’ve released so far from their forthcoming Ghost Stories — the spectral “Midnight” and the groovy “Magic” — are among the best songs any musician has released this year. They are marvels of construction and execution, first-class singles that trigger the pop pleasure centers while incorporating sounds foreign to the Top 40. Do “Midnight” and “Magic” borrow heavily from Bon Iver and the xx, respectively, just as Coldplay has previously borrowed from indie-rock causes célèbre Arcade Fire, My Bloody Valentine, LCD Soundsystem, and Animal Collective? (It can’t be just me who heard some Merriweather Post Pavilion in Mylo Xyloto.) Sure, but it’s just a higher-pay-grade version of what Radiohead does. Thom Yorke and the boys have spent their whole career gleaning inspiration from lesser-known talents (DJ Shadow, Liars, Flying Lotus) and repurposing them in a more accessible context, and they’re still widely recognized as one of the greatest bands of their generation. Why not cede the same honor to Coldplay? Is it because their irrepressible earnestness isn’t balanced out by cynicism? You might say it’s because Coldplay still throws themselves into goofy shit like the dancing in the “Midnight” video, but have you seen Yorke’s dancing lately? Or, like, ever?

The pair of moody numbers Coldplay debuted at SXSW, “Always In My Head” and “Another’s Arms,” are similarly triumphant, but excellence isn’t a new trend for this band. Every album in the group’s discography is loaded with classic songs, from the sleepy folk-pop of “Don’t Panic” to the gleaming neon theatrics of “Every Teardrop A Waterfall.” Speaking of that span: The band has traversed an incredible stylistic gulf over these past 14 years. Their songwriting has maintained its essential core of vague arena-rock sentimentality, but the aesthetic trappings have evolved daringly from Coldplay’s humble beginnings. Their one major misstep was 2005′s X&Y, on which they pushed the pap to the forefront and betrayed their more adventurous instincts, but even the relentlessly cloying “Fix You” is a jam. (Just ask Chance The Rapper, one of the many MCs who’ve pledged allegiance to Coldplay over the years.) Besides, after veering too far into mush they hooked up with Brian Eno and made 2008′s Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, as fine an art-rock achievement as we’ve seen this century and “exactly the record this band needed to make.” Go listen to the title track or “Lost!” or “Strawberry Swing” — they’re all fantastic. Shit, follow the thread further back and bask in the softhearted glow of “The Scientist” and “Yellow.” Power ballads don’t come any better.

It takes a special understanding of what moves the human spirit to accumulate two hour’s worth of songs that can bring an arena to its feet. Coldplay boasts that kind of catalog, and from the sounds of the early Ghost Stories material, it’s about to get even stronger. Some of that strength is due to sheer longevity — stick around long enough and eventually you rack up enough highlights that the lowlights start to fade out of memory — but that trick only works when you continue to release tremendous music, which is exactly what Martin and his anonymous bandmates have pulled off. Time has been good to those blokes behind “Clocks,” but they’ve been good to us, too.

SPIN: Coldplay go moonlighting in the Balearic-techno 'Midnight' (review)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SPIN's Dan Reilly this week has compared Coldplay's new single to Bon Iver in his log-cabins-and-vocoders phase, which isn't too far off the mark.

But from a dance-centric point of view, what's most striking is that 'Midnight', with its atmospheric synthesizers, Göttsching-like guitar pings, and abdomen-massaging bass, is just one four-to-the-floor kick drum away from being an Innervisions track, essentially. (Apparently, it was produced by Jon Hopkins, who previously provided "Colours and Additional Production" on the group's Viva La Vida.) Just listen to the Howling's "Shortline (Frank Wiedemann Remix)" or Ry and Frank Wiedemann's "Howling (Âme Remix)" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

SPIN continue: That's hardly a bad thing, especially given that Coldplay's last foray into electronic dance music was "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall," their cornball collab with Swedish House Mafia. "Midnight," in contrast, sounds more like the Field remixing Godley & Crème's "Cry," and who can be mad at that? It definitely beats the hell out of all the other sad-sack electronic pop and deboned R&B that seems to have become the sound of 2014. But when Coldplay starts to sound like contemporary underground dance music, it also underscores how uncomfortably close so much contemporary underground dance music has come to sounding like Coldplay, a band whose very name has long been synonymous with all that is safe and blandly sentimentalist in contemporary pop.

Would it be too much to hope that this (temporary?) tack into Balearic waters might trigger some kind of opposing reaction from the underground — a move away from milky mannerism and back towards risk, danger, grit, etc.? Because here's the thing: Coldplay has just proven that they do this particular thing better than anyone else. They've made the moon-eyed indie-dance set sound like amateurs. Meanwhile, the inevitable stream of unauthorized remixes has already begun to flow, including a just-as-inevitable "chillstep" version on SoundCloud, which I refuse to link out of principle.

And there is this review from SheKnows, which comes from a die-hard Radiohead fan. That's all you need to know...

They wrote: It's been three years since the release of Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto, and now they're back with new music. Is "Midnight" everything we were hoping for? Not exactly.

For about the first 10 years of Coldplay's existence as a band, I did a lot of scoffing. They tried too hard to sound like some sort of weird collaboration of Radiohead and U2 — two bands that, in my opinion, deserve to be left alone. I was not a fan. And then Tumblr happened. Just like it managed to convince millions of girls that it's OK not to have a thigh gap and turned infinite internet users into Whovians, Tumblr made me reconsider Coldplay. All those pictures of the night sky with quotes from "Fix You" were just too hard to resist. Then their collaboration with Rihanna happened and so much of 2011's Mylo Xyloto made their past 15 years as a band seem suddenly worthwhile. Their brand of sythie-pop-rock was... OK.

But now they've gone and done "Midnight."

There's nothing particularly wrong with the tune's ambient backing and muted choir of Chris Martin vocals. The song will no doubt soundtrack plenty of upcoming movie moments and is an instant late-night romantic drive classic. It's mellow and airy, easy to blend into the background or become that perfect mid-concert slowdown.

If Coldplay spent more than 15 minutes on the lyrics for "Midnight," I'd be surprised. But even the minimal word usage is mostly OK. Its repeated sentiment of "In the darkness before the dawn/leave a light, a light on" seems like the echoes of a billion lonely, cynical souls. It is most definitely a sentiment that will soon find itself scrawled across a quarter of all Tumblr posts. That's good, right? But it's not quite enough to overshadow the song's one major flaw.

The problem: It would fit nearly splendidly onto Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A.

I always suspected that Martin was dying to latch on fully to the Radiohead sound, but Mylo Xyloto threw me for a loop and I instantly forgave him. I reasoned that he wasn't trying to be Radiohead but that they just had a similar taste in music. I was certain Coldplay was still just trying to find its spot in the musical world, but that they'd found it in 2011.

In reality, it looks like he just needed 14 years to feel ballsy enough to go ahead and make the lunge for what he's always wanted: Thom Yorke-style idolization. But he doesn't have it and he never will. No one does Radiohead better than Radiohead. Mostly, though, because no one could ever be our noodle-y, twitching leader other than Yorke.

Will "Midnight" be the worst song on the radio? Hell, no. It would be downright hateful to suggest that Martin et al should be mixed in with some of the sludge that takes up the airwaves. Honestly, I think "Midnight" will do plenty of rotations in my life. Then, again: I still listen to Kid A fairly regularly, too.

Coldplay's new song 'Midnight': What does it mean?

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Completely unannounced - and quite possibly on the advice of Beyoncé - Coldplay decided to plonk a new track on the internet this week called Midnight, writes Digital Spy.

Okay, so Beyoncé probably didn't have a hand in it, but once we recovered from the initial shock of there being new Coldplay available for our ears, we had to try and decipher the change in sound the band have seemingly taken.

Digital Spy continue: Their previous album Mylo Xyloto heard them sprinkle pop electronics over their soaring serenades, but the first teaser from album number six strays much further beyond that. It's subdued, murky, twinkling, but definitely not lead single material on first listen.

What hit us the hardest is Chris Martin's robotic vocals. The frontman's tone has become ubiquitous in modern soft rock, but 'Midnight' hears it distorted, with any hint of recognition gently drifting away further into the darkness. It's probably a nod to the track's namesake, primed to make the vocal effect waft around the song so you don't really know which direction it's coming from. You're almost blind to where the track is going to go next.

But most likely that's the point. As much as Coldplay have been branded MOR-rock in some circles, you can't deny the band are not afraid of taking risks. They've filled up stadiums with their gliding piano ballads, they've hinted at revolution with their thumping anthems and they've already got frisky with Rihanna in a music video, so smacking us with yet another turn is what we should have all been expecting.

What Chris Martin and his Auto-Tune will sound like when morning comes and they're out of the woods, we'll have to wait and see, but one thing is for certain: Coldplay never fail to shake up their sound and become even more successful with it. As always, it's just going to take us a little bit of time to get used to it.

Coldplay label changes to Atlantic Records after Warner Music restructuring

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Warner Music Group has finalized the integration of Parlophone’s roster into its U.S. label structure following the acquisition of the record label from Universal Music Group for £487 million (about $765 million) earlier this year, Billboard are reporting today.Under the new structure, Atlantic Records will distribute new releases from three additional artists – Coldplay, Tinie Tempah and, through dance imprint Big Beat, David Guetta.Warner Bros. Records will inherit the majority of the Parlophone roster, including new releases from Damon Albarn, Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, Bat For Lashes, Eliza Doolittle, Conor Maynard, Gabrielle Aplin, among others, and catalog titles from Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Blur, Gorillaz, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, Supergrass and Sinead O’Connor. You will remember that back in February of this year Warner Music obtained Parlophone, which was formerly part of EMI, from Universal Music Group after the European Union made its approval of UMG's acquistion of EMI contingent upon the divestment of the label among other conditions.a Warner Music spokesperson told Billboard in a statement:

“We're extremely proud that Parlophone’s great diversity of incredible artists are part of the Warner Music family. As you’d expect, we’ve been taking a very thoughtful approach to which U.S. label is partnered with each act, working closely with the artists and their management.”

The integration of Parlophone acts onto the Warner Bros. and Atlantic rosters started quietly rolling out this fall with a new album from Eliza Doolittle and much-blogged about single from Lily Allen released through Warner Bros., and David Guetta doing press on behalf of Big Beat to premiere a new single and music video with the United Nations. Warner Bros. Records, which inherits the majority of the Parlophone roster, is closing a tumultuous 12 months that saw the departure of president-CEO Todd Moscowitz last December, followed six months later by the exit of co-president Livia Tortella in June. Warner/Chappell Music chairman Cameron Strang has been running the label for the past year, in addition to oversight of Rhino and Warner/Chappell. Though the label had No. 1 albums from superstar acts like Josh Groban, Michael Buble and Avenged Sevenfold in 2013, it failed to generate many pop hits – ranking No. 7 on Billboard’s year-end tally of Hot 100 labels, and No. 9 on Billboard 200 labels. Having new music from Lily Allen, Kylie Minogue and a just-announced solo project Damon Albarn should help keep the label competitive in the first half of 2014. Atlantic is capping off a successful 2013 that saw Bruno Mars moving enough copies of sophomore set “Unorthodox Jukebox” to become the year’s fourth-biggest seller, with additional hits from Hunter Hayes, Wale, Kid Rock, TGT, Skillet, Janelle Monae and K. Michelle. Unlike Warner Bros., home to Green Day, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Metallica, Atlantic doesn’t have a signature rock band, which it gains with the addition of Coldplay. Warner’s acquisition of Parlophone’s catalog was finalized in May after approval from the European Commission, has already buoyed the company’s earnings. In its most recent quarter, ending Sept. 30, the Warner Music group posted a $57 million net loss on revenue of $764 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30. That represented an increase of 4.5% from $731 million in revenue during the corresponding quarter of the prior year, thanks largely to the addition of Parlophone Records. Without the addition of Parlophone Records in the fourth quarter, revenue would have been about $704 million, which represents a 3.7% decline.Parlophone will remain a frontline label in other international territories.

WMG divvies-up @parlophone: @Coldplay @Radiohead, @KylieMinogue, @PinkFloyd @DavidGuetta to Atlantic or WBR http://t.co/rXwX4WNRCo #Excl.
— billboardbiz (@billboardbiz) December 18, 2013

This news comes just 24 hours after Parlophone tweeted these from a Somerset pub:

Wow!! @coldplay just casually playing Ring O' Bells #onlypubinthevillage pic.twitter.com/TdB1EzxIRf
— Parlophone Records (@parlophone) December 16, 2013

Reminiscing about last night. The calm before the incredible storm at the @Ring_O_Bells

Coldplay nominated for two GRAMMYs: Atlas and Live 2012 up for awards

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The Recording Academy have announced the Grammy 2014 nominations on Friday during a concert at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles - and Coldplay have been nominated for two awards. Put forward are Atlas for 'Best Song Written For Visual Media' and Live 2013 for 'Best Music Film'. Latest discussion on this is at the Coldplay forum now [thanks CdColdplay, oldmuckers]The 56th Annual Grammy Awards nomination presentation was given almost as much fanfare as the ceremony itself this year at LA's Nokia Theater as the highly-anticipated nominations were announced live to the world on CBS. The Grammys itself will be broadcast on CBS on 26th January 2014 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.A complete list of this year's nominations can be found on the official Grammys website. Below are the categories that Coldplay are involved in:Song Written for Visual Media"Atlas," Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)."Silver Lining," Diane Warren, songwriter (Jessie J)"Skyfall," Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)"We Both Know," Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw, songwriters (Colbie Caillat, ft Gavin DeGraw)"Young and Beautiful," Lana Del Rey & Rick Nowels, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)"You’ve Got Time," Regina Spektor, songwriter (Regina Spektor)

Music Film"Live 2012," Coldplay"Cuatro!" Green Day""I'm In I'm Out and I'm Gone: The Making of Get Up!" Ben Harper With Charlie Musselwhite"Live Kisses," Paul McCartney"The Road To Red Rocks," Mumford & Sonshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB-NbV4JTjUSome of our community messages...

Last day of voting for the Coldplaying Awards 2013 is today! Send in your votes at http://t.co/4PRC8PuooK
— Coldplay news (@coldplaying) December 8, 2013

If you missed it: Coldplay ~ Atlas (Avicii remix feat. Chris Martin) http://t.co/SiV4lsMQEq
— Coldplay news (@coldplaying) December 3, 2013

Earlier: this was the @celcafe top 10 Coldplay songs http://t.co/yjuOX2NFyC - what was yours?
— Coldplay news (@coldplaying) November 27, 2013

Top 10 Coldplay songs listed by Celebrity Cafe - what were yours?

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

We have been asking for your comments on a recently published list of the top 10 Coldplay singles by web magazine, The Celebrity Cafe. Check out all your feedback at the messageboard. Read on for CelCafe's Coldplay countdown. They don't appear to be a fan of the Viva La Vida era with videos for Violet Hill, Viva La Vida, Lovers In Japan, Life In Technicolor ii and Strawberry Swing all missing out...

Coldplay is the band that everyone secretly loves to love. The vocals of Chris Martin are instantly recognizable and the lyrics have been sang all across the world. Coldplay has gone on world tours, sold millions of albums and reached number one on the iTunes charts more than a few times.

Their most recent tour for Mylo Xyloto brought a brand new show to stadiums all across the world. The show even featured bracelets that every concert-goer got to wear that lit up to the music. Coldplay created a tour that made everyone feel like they were on stage, as opposed to the stadium seating.

Not much is known about the plans for Coldplay in 2014 but if the plans include anything like 2013, fans will not be disappointed.

TheCelebrityCafe.com is counting down the top ten Coldplay songs. From “Hurts Like Heaven,” “Speed of Sound” to “Charlie Brown,” Coldplay has become a staple in the mainstream music industry.

10. Hurts Like Heaven

This single off of Mylo Xyloto followed the unique sound that Coldplay embraced for this album. It was danceable, upbeat and inspirational with Martin on the piano.

9. The Scientist

One of Coldplay's most popular songs, "The Scientist" has been covered thousands of times and is one of the most recognizable songs in the past ten years.

8. Charlie Brown

This song off of Mylo Xyloto really reaches its musical height at the end of the song. The piano solo that concludes the song is beautiful and captures the energy that Mylo Xyloto gives off in just a few notes.

7. Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall

"Every Teardrop is a Waterfall," was the lead off single from Coldplay when they released Mylo Xyloto. This single set the tone for what was to come and fans went wild.

6. Princess of China

This Coldplay track showed range in musicality and featured Rihanna. The combination of rock/pop and female hip & hop royalty was a home run for both artists.

5. Speed of Sound

This single features catchy lyrics and the sweeping sound that Coldplay is known for.

4. Paradise

Mylo Xyloto produced hit after hit. "Paradise" was one of them. When Coldplay brought their tour to Michigan, fans could be heard singing "Paradise" as they walked to their cars. Even after the conclusion of the concert fans wanted more.

3. Clocks

Coldplay gave a whole new meaning to timepieces everywhere. "Clocks" features catchy lyrics and the signature sound of piano, guitar and soaring melodies that make Coldplay so recognizable.

2. Yellow

Coldplay first came into mainstream music when they released "Yellow." The rest is music history.

1. Fix You

This is one of the more emotional songs that Coldplay has written and performed. "Fix You" has become a fan favorite and has healed the hearts of many. At live performances fans are often quiet so they can fully hear and take in "Fix You."

Photos: Chris Martin and Bono perform 'Beautiful Day' at RED auction, Sotheby's, NY (23 Nov)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Chris Martin attended Jony Ive and Marc Newson's (Red) Auction at Sotheby's in New York last night (23rd November) to benefit The Global Fund to fight AIDS. During the event Chris performed 'Beautiful Day' and Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' with Bono on a to-be-auctioned Steinway & Sons grand piano (which later sold for just under $2m). Read more on this at the Coldplay forum now.The charity auction exceeded expectations - most of the items at the charity auction fetched sums that far exceeded their estimates, especially the products that were selected and customized by Apple design chief Jony Ive along with renowned industrial engineer Marc Newson. The auction featured a couple of special edition Apple products co-designed by Ive and Newson, namely, a red Mac Pro and a pair of solid rose gold Apple EarPods. The former was expected to sell for $40,000-$60,000, but it went on to fetch nearly a million dollars — $977,000 to be exact. As for the latter, its sale value was estimated at $20,000 to $25,000, but it ended up being sold at an impressive $461,000.But as whopping as those figures may be, the top sale figure belongs to the unique “Red Pops for (RED)” parlor grand model A piano by Steinway & Sons, which incorporates design components hand-selected by Ive and Newson. Expected to sell for $150,000-$200,000, it went on to fetch $1,925,000 - not before it was used by Chris Martin during the event.Backed by the Product (RED) brand, which was cofounded by U2 frontman Bono, the (RED) Auction benefits The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.More on this story (and hopefully longer videos than those below) to follow... [thanks coldplaii13, iduran20, gai, LdySpace]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y97dFtz6208http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o0778nSUWU

'A Beautiful Day' Bono & Chris Martin sing & play on Steinway piano Lot 12 at #REDatSothebys
— (RED) (@RED) November 24, 2013

#AuctionUpdate: Coldplay's Chris Martin and Bono sang a duet on this custom Steinway piano before more… http://t.co/ZcSnixqdAF
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 24, 2013

So it sounds like Bono & Chris Martin did Perfect Day then Beautiful Day tonight at the @RED auction at @Sothebys.
— atu2 (@atu2) November 24, 2013

New photos of Chris Martin and Bono on stage during @RED auction at Sotheby's, NY (23 November):" src="http://www" loading="lazy">

Catching Fire press conference: new interview with Chris Martin (from 8 Nov)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

An online article has emerged via The Inquirer from the recent Hunger Games: Catching Fire press conference where Chris Martin attended and was interviewed during the conference. The full article is below courtesy of the Inquirer. [thanks gai, Tash]

LOS ANGELES:

It turns out that Coldplay’s frontman, Chris Martin, is also a funnyman. Asked in a recent interview if he’s a tough critic of his wife Gwyneth Paltrow’s singing, Chris joked, “Very! I’m a tyrant. I say, ‘No, that note was flat!’ And I have a ruler, and I smash it on her hands, like Mozart did—it’s awful! But, she’s very good, so it must be working.”

The English singer-songwriter, pianist and rhythm guitarist disclosed that he and Gwyneth, and their kids, Apple, 9, and Moses, 7, “just moved to Los Angeles. Our kids are at school here. I find it thrilling and refreshing for the band, because we meet here and there. It’s cool, because it shakes you. You get stale being in the same place the whole time. And naturally, because we have that bug of touring, we like moving around.”

Coldplay recently released “Atlas,” their first new track in nearly two years and the band’s first original song for a movie—it’s also the first single from “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” soundtrack.

“I really like the books,” Chris said of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy of novels upon which the franchise, starring Jennifer Lawrence, is based. “I don’t know if I’m too old to like them,” he quipped. “I was just waiting for the right film and song. One time, I tried to write a Bond theme, but it got rejected by the person below the person below the person. This was like 10 years ago.”

“This song came together over a weekend and it was nice, because I knew what the film was going to be about,” Chris added about “Atlas,” which has received positive reviews so far from music critics. “The song just came through in 10 minutes. Not to say that I didn’t put any effort in. It took a long time to record.”

Being Coldplay’s lead vocalist, Chris is the most visible member by default, but also for another reason: “We’re one of those bands where one of us is much more recognizable, because the other three are shy. They just won’t do it. So, it looks like it’s one person with three other random people—but, that couldn’t be further from the truth! Our bass player is very handsome, so a lot of people recognize him.”

Chris shared, “The first time we won a Grammy, I wasn’t there. People were asking them for more sandwiches, because they thought they were part of the catering team. I’m not joking—they like to blend in as much as possible.”

“But, I would never ever go solo, because when you’re part of a brotherhood like that, when you are not a prodigy or virtuoso at music, the only thing you have in your favor is a unique chemistry,” he stressed. “We just got blessed with the fact that when the four of us sit down together, it makes something bigger than the sum of its parts. We all go off and do our own little things but it’s never quite as fulfilling. There’s something very uplifting about it (being a group). At this point, when we have been at it for nearly 18 years, it’s incredible.

“I remember when we were playing in rooms smaller than this. Now, we are playing in a stadium in Zurich—it’s awesome! And seeing the same people. There are only a few bands that manage that. So, we look up to the people who have done it for even longer. Some of the Stones have been together for a long time; U2, those four guys have been together since they were teenagers. So, it’s uplifting when you see them in a concert, because it’s like, wow, look at their journey together. The feeling of togetherness is very special.”

Reflecting on his growing up years, Chris said, “I didn’t think it was possible for somebody like me, from where I came from in Britain, to become a musician, because nobody from that area—it’s a farmland in the Southwest—ever made it as a musician. Everyone was from the North. But, there is Radiohead quite close by. That was the first time I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I am allowed to do this.’

“But, in terms of the music itself, a lot of it comes from the old hymns that we hear in church. I was playing some chords the other day, then I realized, ‘Oh, that’s a song I was singing in school assembly when I was 9!’ So, all that music, basically old school, religious music, combined with all the stuff I was listening to in pop, like A-ha or whoever it might be. There’s that rooting in very ancient chords.

“That’s why I think we stumbled upon something. I don’t know about unique, because everything comes from somewhere. Over time, we have become more comfortable in our own skin. It took us a while to become comfortable with being ourselves—that’s natural with any artist or writer.”

“I went to an all-boys school,” he recalled. “The only way to meet girls was to be in this choir. We were singing Bach and Mozart, but I wasn’t really consciously paying attention to that. I was more just looking at people—but, subconsciously, all that stuff seeped in from singing in big cathedrals.”

More new photos of fans (angelo.giummarra) meeting Coldplay at the Bakery/Beehive (11th November)

" src="http://www." loading="lazy">

Atlas release delayed until 6th September (8th in UK); latest 'Catching Fire' soundtrack news

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This coming Monday was supposed to bring a new Coldplay track, Atlas, as featured on the forthcoming 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' soundtrack. But if you haven't heard, the Atlas release has been delayed by a week and a half, as confirmed by Coldplay's official Twitter account. More discussion on the delay is at the Atlas sub-forum now.

We've had to move Atlas' release date back a bit. It's now out 8 Sept in the UK, 6 Sept everywhere else. Sorry for the hold-up. A
— Coldplay (@coldplay) August 22, 2013

Confirmation followed on Coldplay.com: "Atlas will now be available via iTunes and all digital retailers on Sunday, 8 September, 2013 in the UK and Friday, 6 September, 2013 everywhere else (we had to move it back a bit from the original 26 August date - sorry for the hold-up). The film is due for release on 22 November, 2013."A potential explanation was wrote by macky on the forums: "I think the song is ready and this has to do with the record label. The VMAs are on this Sunday and that's probably the biggest music award show here (Grammys are more prestigious but VMAs are bigger). With all the hottest artists performing on Sunday night, next week charts will be loaded by said artists and whoever releases a song the day after the VMAs (without performing it on the show) might have low sales and not much press. So if they want this song to be as big as it could be, this is a smart idea."Oldmuckers added: "It was starting to seem like there was way too little promotion for a song that was supposed to come out in less then a week. I mean when you think about it we had the initial announcement and then... nothing. This makes a little more sense now. I think we have a chance of hearing a 30 second clip... a radio station vivit to debut the song... the normal build up to a single. Maybe they feel like they have a huge hit on their hands and wanted to take a little more time to film a video, line up a few appearances... things like that. Maybe on Monday we will all wake up to a message saying that they are sorry that we were all expecting a new song this morning and for the delay and to make it up to us here is a free download of Famous Old Painters..."Or, as kalex1138 put it:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1sIn other latest 'Catching Fire' soundtrack news, as published by Hypable, music producer Scooter Braun has seemingly revealed that Ed Sheeran and Tori Kelly will be a part of the album. In a tweet that has since been removed, Braun wrote, “Best morning gift! @ToriKelly @edsheeran #HungerGames WOW!!!!!” Presumably the pair recorded a new song together. Braun is a producer for artists like Justin Bieber, The Wanted, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Usher. The Catching Fire soundtrack will be released in November ahead of the film’s theatrical debut. The Hunger Games soundtrack included many big artists like Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, The Civil Wars, The Decemberists, and Miranda Lambert, so as you can imagine this follow up soundtrack should be equally impressive. Catching Fire opens in cinemas and theaters around the world on 22nd November.

Updated: New Coldplay song Atlas on 26th August - your reactions to the announcement

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

In a little over two weeks we'll have 'new Coldplay', fan-speak for unheard material from our favourite band. Their new song, Atlas will be realeased on 26th August as part of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' film soundtrack. The film itself will be released in cinemas on 22nd November.

We have been inundated with reaction and comments on the announcement yesterday. Some of your comments are below (thanks to everyone who has contributed - you can read the whole thread at the Coldplay forum here - 12 pages and counting!).

We will be announcing a Listening Party depending on the format of the initial release, our first since 12th September 2011 when single Paradise debuted on BBC Radio 1.

Coldplayer comments on the announcement of new Coldplay song, Atlas:

The lyrics look interesting, I reckon it might be a quiet song... I bet I'm going to be so wrong and it'll be loud and intense. I don't think it'll be on the same vibe and positivity of Paradise. Just look at the film it's being used for. The Hunger Games isn't the cheeriest of stories, it'll be a song probably combined with the gloominess of Moving To Mars and maybe the optimism of Everything's Not Lost. [thanks squibby92]

I hope it's not a stand alone song, and that this is indeed the beginning of the LP6 era. Really excited right now! I hope the cover art will be Coldplay's and not just the Hunger Games artwork. They should release the chords for the song as well, and (as we've already got the lyrics), and then the fans could try to figure out how the song will sound based on that information. That would be pretty cool. [thanks hente44]

Best news I've heard in a while! Hope this is the start of the lp6 era, but why does august 26th have to be so far away! I wonder if this is the new song Gwyneth Paltrow said was one of her fav tracks a while back? [thanks FJK_12]

Awesome news! Hope this is like the "Christmas Lights" of the LP6 era, with an official single from the album only a couple months away. I feel like it's going to be a Sleeping Sun type of song. [thanks golfing7861]

I love the title meaning but I don't like the sound of the word itself, yes I'm strange. Maybe because in Italy we have a different pronunciation so it sounds weird to me, yeah must be that. [thanks Jonny and the cake]

The title is a 9/10 for me, the lyrics are an 8.5/10, so I'm hoping the song will be something I listen to for a long time, even without the connection to the movie. If it becomes a hit they could perform this at the Oscars like Adele performed for "Skyfall" last year. [thanks laxwatcher]

I NEED AIR!!!!!!!! [thanks macky]

If this song is even half decent it has a strong chance of reaching number one. Think about it... 1) the promotion of a huge blockbuster to bring in non/casual fans who would not usualy listen to Coldplay...

2) the entire Coldplay fan base buying the stand alone single as it is a non album track and the majority won't be buying the complete soundtrack... 3) first new Coldplay song in a few years already will gain hype... 4) the video will gain the attention of both Hunger Games fans and Coldplay fans pushing the viewing numbers sky high and adding sales. Go to youtube and look at the views on coldplay songs and look at the views on hunger games trailers... now combine them. Not to mention it will come out before the grammy deadline as well which means if it is a hit we can expect to see them play it on the show next year. Of course if the song is a stinker none of this will matter but if it is a solid song I think it has the potential to go VERY far... [thanks oldmuckers]

I came out of the shadows just for this. My lord you can't believe how long it seems like we've been waiting for this! [thanks DrewStern]

I think it might be quite like Moving To Mars, a slow starter with an epic ending - I think it'll be epic/dramatic in some way to fit with the whole theme of the film. Only time will tell. [thanks randorolian]

Typical post-Viva Coldplay lyrics at first sight, I think the "oh" will be a classic "oooh-oooooh-oooooh" again, if you know what I mean. Of course, it's the song that matters, and I'm curious, if not a little excited to hear it. I enjoyed the first Hunger Games film by the way, so that will be another good reason to go an see it this fall. There's never been a hiatus by the way, they've always been recording and LP6 should not be too far away. [thanks Tryptophan]

Never forget the little secret message. For this news: A rather lovely atlas doodle from CM. [thanks the_escapist]

Absolutely brilliant news! I'm over the moon by it! Perhaps LP6 is closer than we first thought - we'll have to wait and see on that front. I'm singing the beautiful lyrics in my head trying to figure out how it'll sound (have a feeling it'll be similar to UATW); I'm sure it'll be amazing though! [thanks ColdplaySheffield]

I could picture dark piano ballad that slowly gets more powerful and gains more tension. Wouldn't that make sense? Especially when he sings, "We're about to explode." Then again, there is a good chance that it will be a big sound. But does the chorus sound like one that could be echoed and chanted. "Carry your world, I'll carry your world." Sounds like something sang softly. Idk, maybe I just want a dark ballad from Coldplay. Been too long since Amsterdam. [thanks Kingzilla]

SO excited by this news, I have goosebumps! And if the song is good - really good (and I think we can expect that) it might just be nominated for a Best Song Academy Award... Coldplay at the Oscars. We can dream, right? [thanks JillyBlue]

My guesses: I think that Atlas will be a blend of Don't Panic and Major Minus, but maybe slower and in two parts like Up With the Birds. Or something similar to that. [thanks The Envoy]

Great news! I, like many, am hoping for this to start the LP6 era, or at least be a new take on the MX sound, even though the lyrics look very MX. I heard the original Hunger games soundtrack and I really liked it (had a real Americana sound actually, which could be an interesting route for Coldplay). Don't know who's in charge of this one, but the last one was T Bone Burnett whose a really good producer, so if he's involved we may be in for a treat. Another thing, only one or two of the songs from the soundtrack made it into the first Hunger Games, and they were over the credits, so for those who don't think they'll like the movie I wouldn't worry about it since the soundtrack will probably be a standalone thing (ie. "Music Inspired by the Motion Picture"). I know people were looking forward to Abraham's Daughter which got a release before the film came out and it was only in the end credits of the movie. I'm sure the Taylor Swift song had major marketing and I don't remember that being in the movie at all (maybe also post credits I don't know). I seem to recall the music in the movie was orchestrated, but anyone whose a fan correct me if I'm wrong. [thanks Cheese Nip 2]

To be honest, the length of the lyrics make it seem like this song ma be pretty short, unless there's a lot of breaks in between and really long notes. And I have to agree that it seems like it will be a quieter song than what was on MX. Hopefully this means that Coldplay will be announcing more information on their LP6, and maybe if this song is good enough, then they will include it on the album, if it flows with the rest of the songs that they've recorded. [thanks CdColdplay]

CANNOT WAIT!!!! Got the news through Twitter an hour ago. I find the lyrics to be pretty good (I especially like the "carry your world, I'll carry your wold" part). I have a good feeling about it! Really looking forward to hearing how it sounds. Awesome that it'll be released so soon!!! 17 days!! edit: I love how excited and enthusiastic everyone gets when hearing about a release. [thanks Coeurli]

BEST NEWS OF THE DAY! I can't wait to hear this! The first soundtrack was solid, but now, this ups the ante. Oh and those lyrics are really, really good! [thanks kalex1138]

OMG this is like the best late Birthday present ever (Aug 17 ) Can't wait to hear it!! I have a feeling its going to be a pacey track something a bit different from what they have done maybe sort of like ETIAW but like a darker theme and sound. Neutron Star Collision by Muse was quite good but the official video gives me nightmares of sparkling vampires and that pathetic werewolf, I just hope it does not have a video for Atlas or its a normal one. [thanks 42rock89]

This is fantastic! But I think since the song is the first track on the soundtrack, it will be neither to slow or to fast. I think it will gradually build up. I think it will be a Cross between Moving To Mars/Up With Birds/Everything's Not Lost/Politik. [thanks HurtsLikeHeaven42]

I am actually so excited. I've been waiting all year for the new hunger games and some new Coldplay stuff, so this together has really made me happy! In my opinion Coldplay don't really repeat themselves but if we were to compare then I'm expecting this to be most similar to the AROBTTH stuff. [thanks Mollyxyloto]

I think the song will be at least 4minutes long, and not a slow song. More like Life In Technicolor 2, but not in the same style. [thanks Nature]

I hope it will be like Everything's Not Lost or Amsterdam (both my all-time favourites), though I have a feeling it might be a peaceful song like U.F.O. It has to be catching if it's the main song for the movie so therefore might be more powerful. [thanks JonnyGuitarGenius]

If you take a look at the handwritten lyrics by Chris, you'll find a symbol to the song. A man carrying the world on his hands. This is what Atlas means in Greek mythology. It makes sense to what Chris has written; "Carry your world, I'll carry your world." [thanks Xylo Myloto]

Looking at the lyrics, it seems that Atlas belongs much to the MX era. Slayed dragon, searching for gold... Seems like that adventuruos MX theme. Maybe the album's leftover? If so, it could be different from the main LP6 theme. Or not We'll have to wait and see. [thanks lafinion]

Fuck this, I want Car Kids. [thanks Twisted__Logic]

Atlas lyrics:

Some saw the sun

Some saw the smoke

Some heard the gun

Some bent the bow

Sometimes the wire must tense for the note

Caught in the fire say oh

We're about to explode

Carry your world, I'll carry your world

Some far away

Some search for gold

Some dragon to slay

Heaven we hope is just up the road

Show me the way, Lord because I

I'm about to explode

Carry your world

I'll carry your world

Carry your world and all your hurt

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - official trailer:

A Right Royal Mashup! Prince William's Coldplay lullabies put Prince George to sleep

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

A tired Duke of Cambridge has resorted to singing Coldplay songs to his newborn son, Prince George Alexander Louis, to get the infant to sleep, the Daily Star reported earlier today. More discussion on this is at the Coldplay forum now [thanks Tash]

31-year-old Prince William has been belting out Coldplay songs 'Yellow' and 'Paradise' in the hope the little one, who was born last week, will go back to sleep as he is up six times a night and is keeping Carole and Michael Middleton, the parents of Duchess Catherine - previously known as Kate Middleton - awake.

A royal insider said: "William had no idea it would be this tough. He's using a bizarre tactic of belting out Coldplay anthems at all hours of the night even though he can barely hold a note. It's even keeping Kate's parents awake. His favourite song is 'Paradise' and he also loves doing 'Yellow'. Coldplay aren't even his favourite band, but George responds to their songs the most and settles back down."

William and Catherine are looking after George at her parents' £4.7 million home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, south east England, but William has been ducking out of morning greetings by heading back to bed to catch up with some much-needed sleep following his night-time singing sessions.

The insider added to the Daily Star newspaper: "Wills is shattered by the morning so he heads to bed for a couple of hours and Kate springs back into action along with her parents."

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their son, Prince George