The American Music Awards just got a bit more British, adding Coldplay and Leona Lewis to its performance line-up, according to Billboard. The two join a bevy of previously announced performers, including Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, the Pussycat Dolls, Taylor Swift and Annie Lennox.

The fan-voted extravaganza, as previously reported, is set for Nov. 23, and will be broadcast live for the East Coast from the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Voting is underway now at the AMA website, and will end on Nov. 7.

The gala is open to the public, and tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster. A mezzanine seat will run you $67.60, plus an $11.50 service charge. Or you can spring for the VIP package, which is priced at $1,040. But there's a catch: You need to buy 10 of those puppies.

So what's the service charge on 10 tickets price at $1,040 apiece? Just a cool $417.50, bringing the total cost to $10,822.45. And here's what it gets you: Access to a VIP lounge, a trip to the red carpet, a limo ride and into the official AMA party.

But really, in the grand Ticketmaster universe, that's not so bad. In fact, it's kind of a bargain. To compare: A fancy $1,040 ticket to the AMAs carries a $41.75 service charge, and a box seat to see Madonna on Nov. 6 at Dodger Stadium (still available at $165.00), comes with a $21.30 "convenience" charge. To sum: The added charge on a Madonna ticket is about 12% of the total ticket cost, whereas the bonus fees on a four-figure AMA package are only about 4% of the total ticket cost.

But the cost of potentially seeing Kanye throw an award-show tantrum?

Priceless.

An interesting article has been published by defamer.com.au of Australia over Coldplay's performance last week on US television's Saturday Night Live:

Whether you take or leave Coldplay mostly depends on your taste for their brand of overproduced nursery rhymes and moody rock-star glowering. But what of the megaband's performance this past weekend on Saturday Night Live, with frontman Chris Martin bounding through Studio 8A like a sort of atonal Bono?

What of that insistent pitchiness and those karaoke-grade moves underscoring his most recent album's title track "Viva la Vida" — the single on which Coldplay's label EMI was counting to help rescue it from certain insolvency in 2009? In a post-Groban world where any court jester who tries hard enough can usurp his king's crown, is Martin's lunacy the un-self-conscious work of a born performer, or just another postmodern, funk-faking harbinger of SNL's obsolescence?

We could go either way, though (SPOILER ALERT) the inspired back-bend at the end puts this just over the top for us every time. Team Coldplay? We think?

In response to the article, one reader mused the following:

Article sets up an interesting dichotomy of reader reactions; those indifferent(or less) to Coldplay might find it mildly amusing (or who knows - maybe even hysterical) and may enjoy sniggering at the silly looking performance, those who like them may just find the article annoying as it mocks a band whose music they may hold dear.

I remember as a kid laughing at the "hard-core christians" in church, singing with their arms in the air as we walked passed. I used to feel so smug and smart to see them worshiping things my intellect could easily pick holes in.

Now I cringe at the naked self-congratulatory smugness of it all. Especially in the arts, where intellectual hole-picking is such a trademark of the unsuccessful and disgruntled, and reverence of less rational forces is more a trademark of the people we as a society tend to revere.

Source: http://www.defamer.com.au

From midnight tonight (EST), Mick Boogie and Terry Urban present Viva La Hova, the Jay-Z/Coldplay mash-up project and Coldplaying.com grabbed a moment with Mick for an exclusive interview to explain what it's all about.

If you love Jay-Z and you’re not into Coldplay, this is for you. If you love Coldplay, but don’t mess with hip-hop, this is for you. If you love all good music, this is definitely for you. As they began piecing together the correct verses to match the correct beats, it became clear how truly amazing this project really is. This is what real music is supposed to sound like. The lyrical elegance of Shawn Carter, the vocal magic of Chris Martin, the finely tuned instruments of Coldplay, the creative visions by the team of producers, and lastly, their analysis of which Jay verse best fit each track.

Coldplaying: We read on your website that Jay-Z himself likes the project.

Mick: Yeah… we have a lot of mutual friends and they played it for him, and I guess he really liked it. So… I hope now via Coldplaying, Chris Martin will hear it as well.

Coldplaying: How did this unique idea come about?

Mick: Well... it's just a really cool concept... Jay and Chris represent all that is right with modern music and art... and have collaborated a few times in recent years to great results. So why not extend that concept over an entire album? I thought when Danger Mouse did the Grey Album, it was just remarkable. And while I didn't like every song on there, when it was on, it was absolutely some of the most amazing stuff I had heard. Same with the Jay-Z/Linkin Park project. When it was in sync, it was amazing... like their "Encore" mashup. So we tried to take a collaboration that was already organic and make it real... and also extend that quality level throughout the entire project.

Terry: A lot of artists reached out to us about being part of it as well... contributing guest verses and stuff but we didn't feel it fit the schedule and concept of this project. But if we could have made it happen, that would have been cool.

Coldplaying: Did this take you guys a long time?

Mick: Couple weeks... give or take. It was pretty much done a week ago, but we definitely wanted to take some time to tease it... and get people excited about it. It's been a lot of work.

Coldplaying: This looks like it was a lot of fun. Any difficult parts in getting it together?

Mick: Just coordinating everything in a short amount of time. But a lot of producers that we work with were more than happy to listen to our ideas and create things that we requested for the cd. Actually a lot of producers we have never worked with reached out to us in hopes of being on this project... which was really cool.

Coldplaying: What’s your favorite song on the project?

Mick: I have two. One is "The Reverse Fix" which is my first ever production. Usually, I have so many things I'm involved with that I outsource all the production on my projects and just Executive Produce/A&R the overall musical score. But I figured this would make a great introduction into something I want to get into more... and that is production. Also... I love the Lost Part 2 mix that I did. It's one of the very few songs on the project that's not a recreated/reproduced song. It's the import version of Lost... acoustic and piano only... and Chris singing. But there was a breakdown in there which left room for me to add some Jay-Z verses. I mixed in Jay’s "Momma Loves Me" which was my least favorite song on "The Blueprint" but the mood and emotion it creates essentially takes both songs to a whole new level.

Terry: I love The Kickdrums remake of "Homecoming" and "Heart Of The City." They are respected producers who are now moving into the artist realm... and their recreation of the Chris Martin hook on "Homecoming" is amazing.

Coldplaying: Are there artists in hiphop that are continuing to progress the culture in the same way Jay-Z is?

Mick: Kanye has been that dude who has followed Jay's trends of unique artistry, worldliness, fashion, and overall (i hate this word) swagger.

Terry: And as far as newer artists, we really like people like Mickey Factz, Naledge and Kid Cudi. They have a fresh new sound and vision, and capture the new spirit of youthful hiphop.

Coldplaying: You have a website for this... vivalahova.com...

Mick: Yeah.. well, it's really an offshoot from our blog...which is becoming more and more popular by the day... PressPlayFashionForward.com. But we wanted to give people a central place to read the updates, the press, get the download, etc. So we created an offshoot blog...and there it is. Good marketing is key. As Coldplaying undoubtedly knows!

Coldplaying: So over the years you guys have made quite a name for itself, seamlessly adding more and more onto your catalogues, with this project being helmed by the two of you and your team of producers, what is next?

Mick: Lots! More A&R and consulting. More cool conceptual mixtapes. A few digital deals with progressive record labels are being discussed. Mostly though, I'm focusing on my deejaying and traveling. I love traveling the country and world rocking parties from city to city, state to state, country to country. It's the thing I'm most enjoying right now about my career.

Terry: We are also working on expanding our 90s party... "I Got 5 On It" to other cities and states... and making it a traveling event. We already do it monthly in Cleveland and Brooklyn, and soon will be starting monthlies or one-offs in Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, and Montreal. So that's kinda fun. Also, I'm working with some of my favorite clothing brands on projects bridging hip-hop and skateboard culture.

Read more discussion on Viva La Hova at the Coldplaying messageboard here [thanks sDOTmelfi]

Tracklisting:

1) Intro (produced by Mick Boogie & Terry Urban)

2) Public Speeding (produced by Cookin’ Soul)

3) Know My Place (produced by The Amps)

4) Never Changing (produced by nVMe)

5) Miss Trouble (produced by Judah)

6) Back At My Place (produced by Remot)

7) No Love Coming Home (produced by The Kickdrums)

8) Lost Part 1 (produced by Coldplay)

9) A Spy’s Prayer (produced by nVMe)

10) Science Is Ignorant (produced by Gooch)

11) The Reverse Fix (produced by Mick Boogie & nVMe)

12) Hola Blanco (produced by Garbs Infinite)

13) Take The Hill (produced by nVMe)

14) Lost Part 2 (remixed by Mick Boogie)

15) Cold Success (produced by 9th Wonder)

16) What If We Cry? (produced by Remot)

17) Beach Chair (produced by Coldplay)

18) Falling In Shadows (produced by 6th Sense)

19) Life of Clocks (produced by Terry Urban)

20) X-Y-Z (produced by Hasan Insane)

Guy Hands' Terra Firma has admitted that there will be no quick fix for EMI as the private equity group set out in stark detail the financial and operational challenges facing the ailing music company that it bought in a highly leveraged £4bn deal just before credit markets turned, report Financial Times.

New revelations about the former culture at the record company behind Katy Perry and Coldplay included news of a £700,000 annual taxi bill - the largest account with a prominent London cab company after three investment banks with almost 10 times as many staff.

An annual review of Maltby Capital, the vehicle through which Mr Hands' Terra Firma owns EMI, showed that pro forma losses ballooned from £287m to £757m in the year to March 31, because of financing costs, asset writedowns and restructuring costs in the first seven months of its ownership. Group revenues fell 19 per cent but cost-cutting held the fall in adjusted earnings to just 5 per cent.

Lord Birt, the group's chairman, said in a letter to investors that they may be struck by "the forthright presentation of problems and the absence of rosy assurances about the future". However, the report said that Mr Hands' private equity group remained confident that its investment would deliver value for shareholders and other stakeholders "over time".

"EMI can not be turned around overnight," Lord Birt said, but he pinned the blame for its underperformance on a failure of EMI Music, its recorded music division, to tackle internal problems that went beyond the broader crisis in its industry. Highlighting "a culture where high expenditure [was] at odds with the challenges it faced", Terra Firma said 88 per cent of EMI Music artistes made no money for the company, the group lost £125m on new music in the year, and some salaries had been double market rates.

Terra Firma added that EMI Music had shipped 20 per cent more compact discs than it managed to sell in the last two financial years, and returns of unsold CDs hit 50 per cent in April and May of last year. One former executive, who would not be named, disputed the idea that there was routine overshipping on such a scale. Former management had cut costs by £290m in the six years before the sale, the executive added.

Terra Firma, Mr Hands' private equity group, also released new details about its £3.7bn debt load, showing that financing cost it £520m in the year. However, it argued that the terms of the debt meant it would have time to turn the business round. Maltby owed £2.62bn to Citigroup, which financed the buy-out but was unable to distribute the debt in chaotic credit markets. Terra Firma and investors brought in by Mr Hands accounted for £1.06bn of shareholder loans and a further £545m of equity.

The group emphasised that Citigroup loans were subject to only one covenant, testing the ratio of debt on its stable music publishing business to "maintenance ebitda" - the measure of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, which fell 5 per cent to £164m in the year to March 31. The company's term debt does not have to be repaid until 2015 and mezzanine facilities come due in 2017. More equity could be injected in the event of a covenant breach, Terra Firma said.

One industry consultant said, however: "The debt is impaired. These numbers are truly awful and show what a complete disaster of an investment EMI was." Injecting more equity would be "just good money chasing after bad", he added.

Terra Firma said results for the six months to September 30 would show "a significant improvement" at EMI Music, returning it to its expectations at the time it bought EMI. Costs and charges would not recur at the same level, it added.

EMI Music Publishing, which manages the rights to songs by Amy Winehouse and accounted for more than 100 per cent of the group's ebitda in the year before the acquisition, would require less change, it said. The group was on track to make £200m savings it had identified in EMI's £700m cost base, it added, although not all of its planned 1,500 job cuts would be completed until next June.

The report confirmed that "dramatic" credit market changes had made it impossible for Mr Hands to proceed with a planned securitisation of EMI Music Publishing's catalogue or to make planned acquisitions.

In a up close and personal, exclusive invitation only concert, one of the biggest bands in the world played to one of their smallest audiences in years.

500 lucky fans, industry executives, and friends of Coldplay including Jay-Z and Beyonce had a chance to see the London four piece in a intimate setting. Being one of the lucky ones to get in, it was rather amazing to see Coldplay perform to such a small crowd gathered at Hammerstein Ballroom, a venue that can hold close to 4,000. The concert was a taping for a Nissan / Yahoo live series that will be broadcast on the web December 1.

Opening with "Life in Technicolor," then going into a semi-acoustic version of "Violet Hill;" I could hear the feedback coming off speakers, the hands of Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Johnny Buckland sliding up and down the fret boards of their guitars, Chris' fingers pounding his piano.

Read the full review here [thanks Jenjie]

Reviews for Coldplay's fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, are still trickling in over four months after its release. Here's one from a blogger at edublogs.org:

Chris Martin’s declarations that they had “thrown away all [their] tricks” and “tried to find new ones” is sure to have raised many eyebrows from critical circles, many of whom would have tagged Coldplay as a band devoid of imagination. Well, it turns out that their inspirations had been dormant all of this time, because their fourth effort, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), this quartet of certainly talented Englishmen finally show that they have substance to accompany their talent that had been lacking for all of these years.

Viva la Vida is undoubtedly not a perfect album, and certain parts of the record does not (or at least should not) convoke responses of approval. For all of its anthemic power, the title track speaks of revolution in the verses and something decidedly different throughout the chorus; Coldplay’s tendencies to be lyrically indeterminate and unclear seem to be a difficult habit to break.

Read the full review at WikiColdplay here

EMI, the music company behind Coldplay and Katy Perry, made a loss of £757 million in the year it was acquired by Terra Firma, run by Guy Hands, amid heavy restructuring costs, financial charges and a collapsing music market, report The Times.

The losses were accompanied by a frank annual report, with a introduction written by Lord Birt, the former Director-General of the BBC who now advises Mr Hands, comprising "a forthright presentation of problems" and "the absence of rosy assurances about the future".

Lord Birt said EMI's cost base was too high and that its reporting system could not easily tell how profitable individual artists were. Nevertheless, despite the deficit and the new owner's criticism, Lord Birt said that the report "does not signal any lack of confidence in EMI, but sets out the problems that were faced in the year."

The annual report admitted that EMI has been losing share of a market that fell by 7.9 per cent last year, but could not see how poorly it was performing because it was shipping too many CDs, such as Norah Jones's Not Too Late, to retailers.

Terra Firma bought EMI for £2.1 billion in August 2007 and Mr Hands and his colleagues, such as Lord Birt, have been vocal in spelling out the company's problems. However, their criticisms have dented morale and some artists, such as The Rolling Stones, have walked out.

Revenues plunged 19 per cent to £1.45 billion the year to March 2008, in which there were few major releases, and the company was hit by £123 million of one-off restructuring costs relating to the dismissal of 1,500 staff. Underlying profits of £164 million were wiped out by the interest charge of £165 million.

Other non-cash financial charges relating to currency, totalling £250 million, brought the net loss to £757 million. The company ended the year with debts of £2.68 billion, and is funded by £545 million of equity from Terra Firma and a further £1 billion shareholder loan.

Terra Firma has published EMI's results to comply with the recently agreed Walker Code, which requires private equity- owned businesses to release accounts annually.

Where is the love? Coldplay has it

Centric, The Agency of Change, believes that the Oracle of Coldplay.com fame is artificially intelligent, and that Coldplay spread more love than, well, love itself. Here is their article:

I may be the only one here thinking that you never see the word l-o-v-e in business discussions. You don’t hear it in meetings or in elevators. And that’s a shame because if you think about it, love matters. And it makes me angry when companies who have the love but don’t see fit to share it. So short sighted and so cold, they are.

Take Coldplay. These guys have it going on. They are one of the most successful and popular bands on the planet. They sell out stadiums, sell millions of CDs and legal downloads and still give away songs and more importantly take this fame very seriously. Even before the fame, Coldplay understood the importance of engaging their fans in nearly every way. Same can be said for Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails.

But Coldplay is a bit more accessesible than its peers. It helps that the boys have maintained an informal and self funded marketing team. A friend who worked at EMI said the last thing they wanted was corporate control of their message.

The website, coldplay.com is outrageously inclusive and well designed. They have all of the social networking apperatus you’d expect including a few cool things you didn’t. One that turned my head was the "Oracle" tab. You ask it a question and its A.I. responds, usually spot on. At least I think the A.I responds. This time I don’t think it’s Chris Martin at the keyboard.

The loves flows back and forth between the band and the fans. The latest eMail blast includes a video contest, new video clips and news; all written in the first person. Sure, there’s a "store" on the site, but it’s not the boys selling out. It’s just love. And no one’s complaining.

Source: http://www.centric.com

Blog article courtesy of nzhelgahume.blogspot.com:

This week we say the Coldplay concert in Ottawa, and it was incredible.

The band has always been a little special to me, since I initially discovered them during a trip to Italy in 1999. It was a full year before they hit Canadian shores, so I got to look cool by being "the first to know" about them. ;-)

Nonetheless, I was immediately struck by their semblance to another famous British band, Radiohead, who at the time was going off on a fascinating but... err... artistic tangent. Compare "Yellow" (Coldplay, 1999) to "Fake Plastic Trees" (Radiohead, 1995), featuring underfed, sensitive blonde Brit boys falsettoing to mellow music with periodic swells of guitars.

But from there, Coldplay went more commercial, and Radiohead went more artsy. Radiohead artistically evolved past their old sound, but Coldplay copied that sound and made it more audience/radio-friendly. Coldplay is the Phil Collins to Radiohead's Peter Gabriel.

Now, being the artistic snob that I am, I would normally consider this to be a point entirely in favour of Radiohead. I fully expected Radiohead's concert back in August to thusly be a superior show to Coldplay's. Because, surely, artistic merit of the music is the only important factor to consider in evaluating a concert, right?

Wrong.

Yes, Coldplay has a musical formula, and yes, it's literock pablum, but those boys put on one hell of a show. They told stories, interacted with each other and the audience, and seemed wholly grateful to be there. Basically, their stage presence was a perfect balance between star power and regular-guy-dom. The song choices were ideal, and encouraged audience singalongs. Their encores were ingenious. The lights were spectacular, and even included a song where millions of multicoloured paper butterflies were rained down over the entire audience. My only regret regarding that concert was not going stoned.

The moral of the story is, therefore, that artistic merit of music and enjoyability of a concert are not necessarily linked. While I should have understood this from when I saw Nickelback live (great show, but lukewarm about the music), Coldplay made the point fully sink in. And while I am in no hurry to purchase their next album, you can bet I'll be first in line to get tickets when Coldplay hits Ottawa again.

Source: http://nzhelgahume.blogspot.com

Here's an interesting article from the media source who only hours earlier had been so proud about running an exclusive Coldplay ticket competition. That same evening, they write an unfavourable report on the show at the Q Arena:

Coldplay, who many rock critics have tabbed as the next U2, headlined the the Quicken Loans Arena tonight and drew a crowd that I would estimate at about 17,000. The band that hails from Britain failed to answer the lingering questions that I had about about the band. Chris Martin and company were wise enough to bring along the next rising star in the music industry as Duffy thrilled as the opening act.

The problem that I see in Coldplay is too much show and not enough actual talent to back up their big act.. The band has some songs to thrill a crowd but aren't quite at the level that they seem to think they are at. Between the set of the excellent opening act Duffy was simply eyebrows raising. Coldplay seems to accept the fact that they don't know who they are despite being rock veterans. Playing songs ranging from rap to classical music before they took the stage made you wonder what to expect and, not surprisingly to me, failed to deliver on the supposed grandiose entrance.

While Mr Paltrow possesses good songwriting skills at times it didn't fulfill a full set that could entertain for an entire evening. The selection of songs tried mask the weak vocals by Martin by utilizing a wide assortment of t lighting effects which seemed to enthrall parts of the crowd but veterans of rock shows in attendance knew that there was something lacking in terms of quality in the bands performance. The band does not inspire passion from the crowd and simply seems to be a passing fad that will fade as soon as the music industry moves onto the next "in" thing.

While I can dismiss their live show, Coldplay is not afraid to employ a solid opening act. On their last tour, the band had one of the most underrated singer-songwriters in the last decade opening for them in Richard Ashcroft who shot to fame in the mid-90's with his band The Verve. This time around, the band is touring with neo-soul singer Duffy who truly lived up to hype that has surrounded her from her home of Wales. While her live sound has not been fine tuned to an Arena setting, Duffy truly has the making of an extraordinary live act. Her meek voice which introduced her songs was an amazing contrast to her strong vocals which wowed the crowd and probably made them wonder why she was supporting a band instead of headlining a show herself. Duffy has the makings of a superstar if she can handle the fame that surrounds it.

More on this article here onwards [thanks Jenjie]

There's no escaping Joe the Plumber these days. Not even at a rock 'n' roll show.

Less than a week after you-know-who found himself at the center of the final presidential debate, the non-licensed tradesman from Holland, Ohio, was mentioned indirectly a couple of times when the British quartet Coldplay performed Tuesday night at The Q. "You live in the most important state . . . at the moment," frontman Chris Martin told concertgoers, referring to Ohio's pivotal role in the upcoming election. "You also have, according to the news, some of the best plumbers in the world," Martin couldn't resist adding.

The charismatic singer and his bandmates -- guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion (decked out in their finest psychedelic military regalia, to a man) -- didn't shy away from serious topics in their songs. "Violet Hill," "Cemeteries of London," the transcendent "42" (a soul-searcher in three movements) and other selections from Coldplay's latest album, "Viva La Vida," broached life-and-death matters. Yet these guys (all in their early 30s) managed to keep the mood not only light, but even uplifiting at times.

During "Lovers in Japan," thousands of Day-Glo paper butterflies fluttered down from the rafters. It made for a magical spectacle.

The concert originally had been scheduled for July. It was pushed back when Coldplay postponed the start of its North American tour because of unspecified production issues. Martin apologized for any inconvenience.

Better late than never, an eye-popping light show complemented the band's arena-rocking anthems and super-sized ballads. Martin & Co. often were backlit, content to be silhouettes while their fans got to bask in the bright lights instead.

Curtains hid lots of empty seats in the upper reaches of the venue, filled to only three-fourths capacity, tops. What the audience lacked in numbers, it made up for with unbridled enthusiasm. The sing-along at the end of "Fix You" was especially heartwarming.

"For a Tuesday night, you people are on incredible form," Martin remarked.

He wasn't too shabby himself. "The Hardest Part" showcased his versatile pipes, with low-register verses giving way to a breathtaking falsetto refrain. When he wasn't concentrating on playing guitar or piano, Martin cavorted on two runways jutting into the crowd.

The whole band relocated to a rear corner of the arena to deliver stripped-down renditions of "The Scientist" and "Death Will Never Conquer." Champion ably handled lead vocals on the latter song, while Martin tooted a harmonica.

Coldplay brought the 90-minute performance to a feel-good close by revisiting its 2000 breakthrough hit, "Yellow."

Despite the occasional Joe the Plumber joke, Martin avoided overt political commentary. Or maybe the impassioned chorus of "Politik" was his message to voters: "Open up your eyes!" he sang, over and over.

SET LIST: "Life in Technicolor," "Violet Hill," "Clocks," "In My Place," "Speed of Sound," "Cemeteries of London," "Chinese Sleep Chant," "42," "Fix You," "Strawberry Swing," "God Put a Smile upon Your Face/Let's Talk," "The Hardest Part," "Postcards from Far Away," "Viva La Vida," "Lost!," "The Scientist," "Death Will Never Conquer"

ENCORE: "Politik," "Lovers in Japan," "Death and All His Friends," "Yellow"

More on this review here onwards.

Coldplay kicked off the North American leg of their world tour at Scotiabank Place last on Monday night, and it sure didn't take long to turn into a joyous singalong as the four band members were caught up in a swell of some 13,000 voices, reports the Ottawa Citizen.

By song three, singer Chris Martin had every man, woman and youth in the stadium belting along as he bashed an upright piano. After the processional Life in Technicolour and the rocking Violet Hill, two songs from the latest chart-topping disc, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, the familiar hook of the 2002 hit Clocks created a surge of energy in the near sold-out audience.

In My Place, another song from the Rush of Blood to the Head disc, had the same effect. With the stage lights up, Martin appeared tickled to see what he and bandmates Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman had created. He bounced across the stage and down each of the two catwalks, bending backwards as he sang, a limber performer whose body was as supple as his voice.

Loveable and a bit goofy, the sandy-haired Mr. Paltrow never missed a chance to connect with the audience, sometimes even talking in the middle of a song. Precious, he was not.

"We're Coldplay," he said early in the concert, unnecessarily identifying one of the biggest bands in the world. "We really appreciate the fact that all you beautiful Canadians have come out to see a band from miles away. You could have been playing Scrabble or doing homework. We hope to give you some good entertainment."

Indeed they did, delivering a career-spanning set with Martin setting an enthusiastic pace. To demonstrate the diversity of the band's catalogue, highlights ranged from Pink Floydian, as in the dark, mystical Speed of Sound, to Supertrampish, as in the stark piano opening of 42 or Lost, a shape-shifting song that has at least three different versions. On Monday night, it morphed from stark intimacy to a throbbing club beat.

No longer a wallflower who hides behind his piano, Martin has blossomed into the gregarious host of a magnificient event. It was a concert on a grand scale, complete with artful lighting design, a shower of multicoloured confetti and offshoot staging that helped bring the band members closer to the audience. At one point, the four musicians popped up in the upper stands, delighting the people in the nearby rows, and performed a couple of acoustic songs.

For those who were not making an early exit in order to get ahead of the traffic, the ultimate high was a gorgeous rendition of the band's breakthrough song, Yellow, played as an encore, the entire stadium bathed in yellow light.

Opening act Stars showed they have a few things in common with Coldplay, starting with a shared penchant for melodramatic pop music. Fronted by the quirky duo of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, the Montreal-based band delivered a strong set, except for the brutal sound and tuning problems. The sound was muddy and the vocals out of tune through most of the songs, but they played well nonetheless, their dark, repetitive songs flowing from a whisper to a frenzied wall of noise.

The Night Starts Here made the perfect opening to the highly anticipated evening. Ageless Beauty was one of the songs that spotlighted Millan's little-girl voice, while Campbell not only traded verses with her in duet fashion, but also supplied falsetto background harmonies and played keyboards, trumpet and other instruments.

More on this review here onwards [thanks jenjie]

Coldplay will begin another North American tour tonight in Ottawa, Ontario, in support of the latest album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. While fans are likely to sing along to every word Chris Martin utters during the tour, they'll have some new lyrics to memorize when Coldplay's Prospekt's March EP arrives from November 19th. Coldplaying.com members have already celeb-spotted Coldplay in Ottawa (click the links for more information):

I was driving to work this morning around 8:45 on Wellington and I saw a group of 4 or 5 guys dressed in shorts and t-shirts. It's chilly today in Ottawa so they definitely stood out. At first I was like why are those guys wearing shorts and tshirts when it's 3 degrees celcius outside and then I saw and screamed to my husband - it's COLDPLAY!! I definitely spotted Guy and Will but there was 2 or 3 others. I did turn the car around to o find them but by the time I did, they were gone - probably staying at Chateau Laurier. Looking forward to the show tonight! [thanks kokopolo]

This morning i went to go get my tickets from scotiabank place and instead of seeing coldplay, i saw the entire senators team as they were leaving practice and heading to their cars. unfortunately, i don't care about hockey. [thanks redcurry]

More discussion on tonight's show at the Ottawa live thread here

British rockers Coldplay emerged from this month's Q Awards with statues for best album and best act in the world today. On the eve of a major U.S. tour, the recognition makes them look like a band at the absolute pinnacle of success, reports canada.com.

That may be true, but you won't find frontman Chris Martin patting himself on the back. In a phone interview, the mild-mannered 31-year-old was modest about the band's achievements, generally chalking them up to the superior talent of people like Brian Eno, who produced Coldplay's chart-topping fourth album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, and Jay-Z, who remixed the latest single.

"There's a lot of great musicians around and we don't necessarily always feel that we're as good as them so we work with people we know are super-talented in hopes that some of it will rub off," Martin said, after joking that they should have won the Q award for best bribe.

This streak of insecurity led them to Eno, the former Roxy Music synth man who went on to become a masterful producer (and mentor to Canada's Daniel Lanois). The members of Coldplay wanted to challenge themselves by working with a legend, and Eno's list of credits is dominated by some of their favourite U2 albums.

The Coldplay-Eno collaboration was fruitful, yielding so much material that some songs were put aside in order to finish Viva La Vida in time for last June's release. Now five of those back burner tracks have been rounded up and will be included on an EP, titled Prospekt's March, to come out in November.

"Our sessions with Brian Eno over the last year or so, we really did a lot of different things," Martin says, "and I think some of the more extreme things, just took us a little while to finish basically."

He was quick to dispel the notion that the leftover songs weren't good enough for the original record. "No, I would say they're actually better but I might get in trouble for saying that," he said with a laugh.

In Martin's eyes, Eno brings "confidence and colour" to the band, two things they were lacking. "It's like working with a genius nymphomaniac," says the singer. "He's very excited about life and all that it brings, and music and everything. He's a ball of energy."

Even more colour, of the rhythmic variety, comes from Jay-Z, who lays a sturdy hip-hop beat and hard-hitting rap in the new remake of Lost, one of Martin's most plaintive ballads. They may seem to be an unlikely couple, but the scrawny, pale singer and burly hip-hop visionary have worked together before and Martin calls it a privilege and a spectacle to watch the magic unfold, "especially with someone like Jay who does something completely different than what we do. His talent level is pretty extraordinary and when you get to be in the room and watch it, it's a special feeling."

While success in the studio does not always translate to success on stage, Coldplay appears to be on a roll in terms of delivering a top-notch concert experience, according to both newspaper reviewers and bloggers.

"Recently we've got a lot better live," says Martin, attributing the improvement to better songwriting. "As cliched as it sounds, you can just filter out the bad songs from your set and keep putting in the good new ones. So now our concert is all songs that our audience likes. It's a big singalong at the moment."

It's the best feeling in the world, he says, to see the crowds and hear their voices. "It's an unbeatable feeling. It's like when your wife or girlfriend or partner has a baby, it's on that level of euphoria. It's big."

Martin, of course, is no stranger to the parental buzz. He and his wife, actor Gwyneth Paltrow, have two children, a four-year-old girl, Apple, and a two-year-old boy, Moses.

The American leg of Coldplay's world tour actually starts in Canada before lumbering on down the Eastern seaboard and through the Western states. The band is also booked to appear on Saturday Night Live on Oct. 25, and have been nominated for four American Music Awards, to be handed out in L.A. on Nov. 23.

Why begin in Ottawa? The members of Coldplay have always had a soft spot for Canadian fans, who were among the first to embrace the band back in the Yellow days. Says Martin: "Canadian audiences are pretty unbeatable so it's good to start in a place that's friendly."

Source: http://www.canada.com

In the world of experimental and abstract music, there are no more than two degrees of separation between Brian Eno and everyone else. This is the man who, after all, is credited with inventing ambient music, and his influence is deep and wide.

But Eno, 60, is also the man who produced or co-produced some of history's biggest pop and rock albums, including U2's "The Joshua Tree" and the best-selling album of 2008, Coldplay's "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends."

Eno, born in Suffolk, England, has experimented with sound and composition since he began making music, although he originally considered himself a non-musician.

Read the full article at WikiColdplay here

Reviews for Coldplay's fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, are still trickling in over four months after its release. Here's one from fredericksburg.com:

"Viva la Vida" translates as "live the life." What a title for an album that matches the epic proportions expected from a group like Coldplay! On "Viva la Vida," released this past June, Coldplay offers a new sound that will truly shock old fans. This time, frontman Chris Martin isn't always singing in his falsetto about some girl. Instead, the album focuses a lot on Martin's lower-register singing and ambiguous lyrics.

The album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts as well as topping the charts in Britain, Japan, Australia, Canada, France and Germany. Coldplay has essentially saved the EMI group--which handles music efforts in the U.K. and Ireland for Capitol Records--from its extended sales slump.

Read the full review at WikiColdplay here

Despite their successful musical trajectory and chart-topping albums, Starsailor have always shied away from the glamour of the music industry. In an interview for the media, they talk about Coldplay and their success:

Starsailor were one of the first bands to pioneer the sound that was later adopted by Coldplay and Snow Patrol. I ask how he feels about that. "In terms of Coldplay, to be fair, they came out around the same time. It would be rude of us to say you copied our sound," he laughs.

"But Snow Patrol, if you've heard their early records, it's very different to the sound of their last couple. I think they've taken a bit of Coldplay, a bit of Elbow, and maybe a little bit of our sound and used it to make successful music, so yeah, good luck to them."

So you don't think Chris Martin [pictured] deserves to be punched in the face or anything like that? He laughs and answers definitely not. "However, my only complaint about Coldplay is that sometimes they're a little bit too apologetic. They should just enjoy their success and their fame and not worry so much about what the critics think. I think they're a bit paranoid."

Read the full article here

Meanwhile, Keane would prefer it if you didn't mention Coldplay. The Boston Globe reports:

"The more recent comparisons—to Radiohead and Coldplay—still hold, especially when singer Tom Chaplin launches the most aching version of his smooth croon on the elegiac finale, 'Love Is the End.' But the guitar-less trio has quietly become one of the strongest pop purveyors of its generation and will no doubt soon be the influencer itself."

Music producer Markus Dravs has worked with many notable musical artists on several significant albums, among them: Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible; Brian Eno’s Nerve Net; and Bjork’s Homogenic. Recently he worked with Coldplay on their highly anticipated album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008).

Coldplay is one of the world’s most popular rock bands. Since coming together in 1998, they’ve sold 35 million albums. Their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), was selected by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

For Viva la Vida, their fourth studio album, Coldplay looked to make a purposeful break with their past and a meaningful change in their sound — arguably one of the most recognized musical styles in the world. "We're still obsessed with making songs that can be sung to the rafters," says Coldplay front man Chris Martin on the band’s website. "We just wanted to present them differently." As part of the difference-making team, Dravs was asked by the band to co-produce alongside Brian Eno and Rik Simpson.

Read the full interview at WikiColdplay here [thanks Motoi]

The Northern Star, the all student-produced, independent media from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, has produced an article claiming that Coldplay's Chris Martin is not deserving of rock 'god' status. You can reply to the author here. The article reads as follows:

Sure, Coldplay might dominate Billboard charts and receive wide-critical praise, but is front-man Chris Martin the rock and roll god he’s made out to be?

If he is, I will gladly go to the rock and roll gallows as a heretic. Meanwhile, Andrew McMahon of Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin could take Chris Martin any day—in a piano duel, or something. Jack’s Mannequin’s new album, “The Glass Passenger,” managed to sell a respectable 49,000 copies in its first week of release and also received critical acclaim. He’s no push-over, but his albums have not gone gold within a day of release like Coldplay’s albums have. Just keep in mind that Hootie and The Blowfish’s album “Cracked Rear View” went on to sell 16 million copies and to prove that majority musical taste has no correlation to talent.

Coldplay has essentially made a career out of combining the influences of Radiohead and U2, while trying to save face by claiming more influences. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a brilliant idea that went on to make Martin a very, very rich man, but his work has done nothing to influence or change the direction and style of contemporary music. How many bands say they’re primarily influenced by Coldplay over Radiohead and U2? If they do, they really need to go get some pre-“Joshua Tree” U2 and “OK Computer” right now.

McMahon is one of two chief songwriters in Something Corporate. Along with Josh Partington, the songs the two wrote spear-headed the rise of the Drive-Thru records bands that essentially shaped the face of the teen-through-young-adult targeted music of this decade. McMahon’s song “Konstantine” is a nearly ten-minute masterpiece that’s managed to build a reputation as one of the most loved songs of the past decade without ever being promoted as a single.

Though it’s not really fair due to outside circumstances, when McMahon sings about the troubles in his life, it’s believable, whereas it’s hard to believe Martin has a lot to be upset about—he is married to Gwyneth Paltrow and is in one of the highest selling bands of the decade. He’s also going the route of Bono in trying to bring too many global issues in to his message, which tends to take away more than it adds to the music. Fewer, focused messages produce stronger music—see the 1960s.

For Example: U2’s “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” is a masterpiece with a strong political message while U2’s “Vertigo” just served to confuse the non-Spanish speaking public on the proper way to count to four.

At the age of 22, McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Due to his illness, Jack’s Mannequin had to cancel all tour dates following the release of the band’s debut album “Everything in Transit.” When McMahon writes about being scared he could die, he means it.

If Martin would actually talk about the lyrics to his music, he might actually be a bit more believable. That brings us to the next point: McMahon actually talks about his music.

Martin famously walked out on an interview about the lyrics of a song on the band’s most recent album. McMahon kept a video blog about his treatment and recovery from leukemia. It’s very noble to let your fans in to the darkest moments of your life in such a personal fashion. Also, it’s a lot more effective at “raising awareness for a cause” than empty rhetoric at protest concerts.

In the end, McMahon influenced the direction of contemporary music far more than Martin and rightfully deserves the title “rock god” any day over Martin.

An interesting story of the evolvement of Coldplay's studio recording of 42 has been published by a former Rolling Stone employee. Read the full article below:

Earlier this year, I flew to London to visit Coldplay as they put the finishing touches on their new album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, for a short profile.

Chris Martin and friends welcomed me to their cozy studio/clubhouse in a tiny section of North London near all of their houses. They were still debating which songs to include on the album and in what order, but had generally agreed to stop recording or re-recording for now. They graciously let me listen to a rundown of the strongest contenders for the album and asked for my thoughts afterwards.

I genuinely liked many of the songs and said so. Without much forethought, I mentioned that the middle section of "42" — a complex composition in three parts and a real highlight — sounded a bit like the last section of Radiohead's "Sit Down Stand Up" (ya know, "the rain drops, the rain drops...").

Martin stared intently for a second, then moved on and I didn't think anything of it. I had temporarily forgotten the band's reputation as Radiohead copyists, or hadn't realized how deeply Martin had internalized it (in his Rolling Stone cover story a couple months later, Martin said of Radiohead: "Sometimes I feel like they cleared a path with a machete, and we came afterward and put up a strip mall.")

In any case, when I returned to the pad later that night, Martin was coaxing reluctant guitarist Jonny Buckland back into the studio. Martin told me that after thinking about what I said, he wanted Jonny to overdub some guitars on the middle section of "42." "It's not that I mind sounding like Radiohead," he said. "It's just that when I hear the song in my head, that's not what it sounds like."

After I got back from London, I got an email from a friend of the band, who was in the studio that night, thanking me for doing them "a huge favour." "You encouraged us to go back and revisit that part of the song," he wrote. "We've now improved it a great deal — giving it a lot more energy and bite." I consider it my sole recorded legacy.

Read more on this article here

From Nov. 3 in Detroit through Nov. 26 in Phoenix, El Paso’s own Sleepercar will be touring with one of the biggest bands in the world: Coldplay. While media and fans may not grasp any connection between the two, having either band talk about the other makes the situation perfectly clear. There’s a long history of love between Sleepercar founder Jim Ward and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman.

“I first met them on tour with At the Drive-In; we both played the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show in 2000,” Ward recalls. The event annually brings the best of the year’s new bands together with more renowned legends for a two-night extravaganza in Los Angeles. “And then we played Big Day Out in Australia, which we all refer to as Big Day Off because there’s so much time off in between.”

At the time, both Coldplay and At the Drive-In had solid core followings but were still considered relatively new bands among the mainstream. In fact, for the Acoustic Christmas they came first and second in the performance line-up, with the likes of Papa Roach and No Doubt claiming the headline slots. No doubt there was additional bonding over what it was like to be experiencing the limelight for the first time, which Ward and the members of Coldplay can certainly reference today to keep things in perspective.

“We end up spending a lot of time together and the big joke on that tour was that I just wanted to hang out with the pale guys since I was the only white guy [in the band],” Ward continues with a laugh. The friendships blossomed to hospitality, with Ward recalling that when At the Drive-In cancelled the last dates of their 2001 European tour, they stayed with members of Coldplay in England.

Shared musical sensibilities drew Ward and his Coldplay peers closer as time went on with each influencing the other via their tastes and experiences. “Guy was the one who turned me on to Gram Parsons, actually,” says Ward. “We always joked about starting a country band together. Obviously, they took off and that didn’t happen, but I’ve spent time with them over the years.”

In order to keep the musicians in contact over so much time and circumstance, there was a deeper connection between them that went beyond merely being in the same place at the same time. Almost a decade later and despite the slings and arrows of life in the music industry, the guys remain close. Most recently, Ward visited the band in London during the making of their latest album 'Viva la Vida.' And when he finished his Sleepercar record earlier this year, Ward was proud to share it with his Coldplay friends right off.

“When I finished this record and showed it to them, I said, ‘This will probably be the last band I ever start,’” Ward recalls. He’s quick to clarify that it wasn’t with any intention of touring or collaborating with Coldplay, adding, “But somehow it happened to work out. I mean, I was done for the year and everybody was basically deciding what else they were gonna do, and then this came out of the blue.”

There was never any doubt in Ward’s mind that Sleepercar belonged on tour with Coldplay. “At the very beginning when the record came out, I was telling Chris, ‘This is the first band I’ve been in that I feel could tour with you.’ We’ve been friends for so long and have tried to get shows worked out; with Sparta, we tried several times to be on tour with them, but one thing or another would happen. But this is the one that I felt just went with them a little bit more.”

For their part, Coldplay was eager to comment on the pairing with Sleepercar and sent this very enthusiastic endorsement from the middle of a European tour (Rotterdam, to be exact): "We are very thrilled to be closing for one of our favourite bands of the modern age: Sleepercar, a band that could not have existed were music in 2008 not such a diverse, free thinking and open minded kind of place. They are the link between the Ramones and the Carter family, between Rage and McGraw, between JC and ACDC, and above all their songs make you want to sing ‘em. We can’t wait to tour with Sleepercar. Love, Coldplay."

To Ward, Coldplay has a lot of meaning in return. “I’ve always looked up to not just the way they run the band. Obviously, they have a great songwriter, but I’ve always looked up to the way they’re really good at acknowledging each other’s strong points. And then as a whole, they really push themselves. They could easily just write 'Parachutes' over and over again and be masters forever. But I remember Chris saying about this new record that it didn’t matter if half the crowd was alienated by it—like that was almost a positive thing. I just admire the fact that they still want to push themselves when they could very easily not. They’ve had huge success, they’re the most successful band I’m friends with!”

From first-hand experience, Ward acknowledges that attaining such success often leads artists to be terrified to try anything different for fear of losing it. “It’s sort of easier to take potshots at big bands. Chris has his own way of dealing with it, with his funny little self-deprecating quotes and things like that. But I really love their faith in the power of music. At the end of the day, I honestly think they’re really trying to push themselves and always do more.” It’s a quality Ward has always tried to cultivate in his own work and life. Having him around is sure to be a welcome reminder of that integrity for Coldplay.

More on Sleepercar and Coldplay in the article here [thanks mimixxx]

Oasis’ guitarist Noel Gallagher has praised Coldplay, comparing a song from their new album to the Beatles, report Gigwise today.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Gallagher said his opinion of the band differed greatly from his brother, Liam. "I listen to ‘Violet Hill’ and it's like The Beatles,” Gallagher said. “I just think Chris Martin is a great songwriter. Liam fucking hates them - thinks their stuff sounds like Annie Lennox, but Liam can be a fucking idiot sometimes."

Gallagher also spoke highly of U2, and specfically their frontman Bono in the interview. "I fucking love U2 and I always have done - I love the size of that band,” he said. “Whether you like them or not, you cannot deny that U2 have written some great fucking songs. People will not accept that Bono is sincere - in this cynical age, they think he's really just a cunt But he's not."

They sang I Predict A Riot — but Kaiser Chief frontman Ricky Wilson couldn’t have predicted what would happen when he met rival band Coldplay.

For he made a fool of himself by moaning that he was busier than Chris Martin’s hit group. Leeds lad Ricky bumped into them at a recording studio. He confessed: “Whenever bands get together, all they do is moan about how busy their touring and promotional schedules are. I did the same when I met Coldplay. I felt such an idiot, because they looked at me like, ‘Oh, you think Kaiser Chiefs are busy? Try being in Coldplay, mate.’“

“They were right, too. After all, Coldplay have got the planet to save as well as selling billions of albums.“

Read the full article here [thanks Aprophet]

Although he’s pals with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, 31, Noel says the rest of Oasis hate his band.

He admits “I’m not in a band full of Coldplay fans, there’s only me – the others hate them – and U2. I think they’re a bit insecure because Coldplay and U2 sell more records than we do. I like them. Chris fascinates me, even though he’s proper posh. I don’t think I’d be Gwyneth Paltrow’s cup of tea, though. I swear too much.”

Read the full Noel Gallagher interview here

Back in late July we posted news that Coldplay would be returning to South America for the Viva La Vida tour in March 2009. This news came courtesy of 'Revista Veja', a Brazilian Magazine. The original article has been translated, as follows:

Viva La Vida topped the charts in 36 countries. Presently, are Coldplay the biggest band?

Yeah, we're the biggest ones today - but in a very limited sense. Just because U2 and Green Day didn't release any record this year. It's like winning a golf tournament in which Tiger Woods didn't take part. I'd say we're among the ten best bands. But did you know that I don't listen to Coldplay albums? They make me have nightmares.

You collaborate with Fair Trade, which defends the end of commercial restrictions between poor and rich countries. How do you take part in the project?

I've been more active. I left Fair Trade aside to dedicate myself to the new Coldplay record, which means that I'm just a silent enthusiast of the organisation. I still believe that this project can reduce poverty in many countries, including Brasil.

Read the rest of the article in English here [thanks Suzana Fong, Cris_Santos & vagner]

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'Revista Veja', a Brazilian Magazine, interviewed Chris Martin after Coldplay's soundcheck in San Jose in mid July - and promptly gave Latin America fans the news they'd been waiting for since early 2007 - a trip to South America around March 2009.

Which leaves us all wondering if Coldplay have double-booked Australia and South America by mistake or whether it's part of the same tour leg. Chris Martin spoke to Nova 96.9FM (Sydney radio station) the day before the San Jose show in which Chris said that Coldplay will hopefully tour Australia in February or March next year.

Australia or South America, or both? We'll wait and see.