We gauge Coldplayers' reactions to the news that Rihanna will feature on Mylo Xyloto (Princess Of China)

Coldplay have revealed that Rihanna features on the track Princess Of China from the forthcoming album Mylo Xyloto. The song features the singer's vocals, and Chris Martin revealed it took him some time before he could pluck up the courage to ask her to appear on the track - all this came from an article via The Sun in the early hours of this morning and then confirmed via the official site just hours later.

In just over a year Rihanna has already teamed up with Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Drake, Britney Spears, David Guetta, Kanye West and Avril Lavigne. How do you think her collaboration with Coldplay will compare? Can you judge before the track is heard?

Read on after the jump/below for your early comments. What do you make of the collaboration? Let us know in the Princess Of China sub-forum and also the MyloXyloto sub-forum on the messageboard now. Below are some of your comments so far... the general concensus? You're not happy!

We gauge Coldplayers' reaction to the news that Rihanna will feature on Mylo Xyloto (Princess Of China):

That's one freaking hell of a joke. i hate rihanna. why would they even think about having a hellish voice on their album. i thought great bands like coldplay would never do a duet. the song featuring kylie minogue is ok. but i'd rather they stay pure as a band. [thanks liu273420683]

I honestly don't see what the big deal is. Rhianna is a pretty good pop artist, but all the stupid music elitists are going to disagree with me on that based on the sole fact that she sings pop music. The complaint that Coldplay is becoming more mainstream doesn't make sense to me either. They've always been pretty damn mainstream (at least after Speed of Sound), and being mainstream doesn't make something inherently bad anyway. [thanks Mister Snig]

However I don´t get it how a lot of people seem to be surprised by this...after all Chris has been singing praises for mainstream artists for YEARS (girls aloud anyone?), so it is clear to me it was just a matter of time before they incorporated some of that in their albums, however to me it is still unmistakably Coldplay and that´s what matters. We don´t know yet how big or small Rhianna´s part in the song is, so we don´t know whether it´s gonna sound worse live. I think she just has a cameo in the song. And Coldplay being pop? Well I always thought Yellow was PRETTY pop all in all and definitely mainstream, so I might be wrong here but the new stuff does not shock me much: it´s just an evolution of their sound. [thanks valypan]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - I mean to give credit to Chris I think she is one of the better female vocalists of today. But I don't want that SLUT SEX POP GARBAGE on my Coldplay album!! : F-ing ridiculous. X( I'm beyond disappointed. It makes me wanna badly change my favorite band to Radiohead. :'( Edit: although they had Jay-Z on lost so. i guess I can't really say much. He's really talented though and Chris is good friends with him so it's different for me. i guess it could be worse. I just hope there is a version without her like the one without Jay of Lost! Maybe it'll be really good and surprise us. I kind doubt it though. [thanks Fix42YellowClocks]

I'm ready to put my head in the oven. Just what? Seriously. What is this world I have woken up to this morning? Since when do Coldplay duet on an album track? Since when do they regard Rihanna to be a good artist? Since when did PoC need tampering with? Since when has Coldplay sold out?! Jeez. At least I can say I saw them when they were still good. [thanks Nattatouille]

I just... I just don't know if I can sing along to Rihanna. I really don't think I can. This is horribly heart breaking. I guess Charlie Brown and Hurts Like Heaven are the only two songs that I can look forward to really getting into. A Hopeful Transmission, M.M.I.X., U.F.O., Up In Flames, and DLIBYH will have to be huge hits for this album to even touch VLV. [thanks Wickett]

It sucks because it's not going to be the same when they play it live. It's not like they're going to be able to bring Rihanna around with them everywhere. It makes the album eternally incomplete when it's not purely the band. As for the recording, the song might still be kick-ass -- but I won't be able to experience in it's full glory live. [thanks Skin&Bones]

I just find a lot of Coldplay fans to be hypocrites. Now let me tack on the disclaimer that I'm just as excited for this album as you are, if not more. Sure I might not voice it as much sometimes, but I do like to stay down to earth. Coldplay is a top 40 tier pop band and it's pretty obvious that they don't have the best reputation. You "fans" will literally suck logs out of Chris, Will, Guy, and Johnny's assholes and eat it up. In other words, you're devout. Sure ETIAW isn't the best song in the world, it lacks a sense of lyrical depth and interesting instrumentation. You will wank other that song to kingdom come, but the minute the band is associated with one of their top 40 peers outside Coldplay's genre of music, be it Jay-Z, Rihanna, etc. you will rule it out as a pile of shit. In my eyes, that is hypocrisy at its finest. I'm not telling you to like Jay-Z or Rihanna, I'm telling you to open up your eyes and ears and view the music as it is. Whoever is featured on the track, whoever produces it, doesn't matter. Names are arbitrary. Look at the vocals as they are. It's not like you have their beats or their styles on the album. It's all the band, Eno, and Dravs in the end. Backing vocals aren't a bad thing. Duets aren't a bad thing. [thanks admnistramation]

If this happens the song should be renamed Princess of Caribbean and the bass would turn into a ukelele. then jay z would feature also to finish the screwing and will i am would remix all the crap together before the release. a we so me. i can even imagine. [thanks Teco]

It sounds great. I'm not really a fan of Rhianna's stuff but I have to admit that I bought 'Russian Roulette' off iTunes because I was on a long bus journey and it was stuck in my head... look, all bad excuses for me having paid for her music aside- I think we should wait and see instead of jumping to the conclusion that it will suck balls. She has a great voice, and if the lads got her to sing 'differently' - as chris puts it- to suit the song, then I'm very much open to that interpretation. [thanks Bonus_mosher]

i am pretty excited for this! collaborations can be such a great thing (take Gorillaz for example), plus Rihanna's not a bad singer at all. Plus, to everyone complaining that Coldplay have gone too mainstream or pop: Coldplay have always been a POP band. ALWAYS. They were mainstream all the time, don't pretend else. Only now they're incorporating more synths instead of acoustic guitars, what's the problem? I mean listen to FUCKING YELLOW or SCIENTIST - it's all C O M M E R C I A L. [thanks VivaGroaning]

I think Rihanna's great. She's beautiful, she has a great voice and she has lots of appeal.. BUT GET THE FUCK OFF MY COLDPLAY ALBUM. Argh. This news along with Paradise is making me really upset. I haven't been this disheartened by Coldplay since Parachutes. Grow on me, damnit! [thanks Kiame]

Guys, I admire your strong views, but I really think we should give Coldplay some credit before we berate them for something like this. Sure, Rihanna is a pop singer, but Coldplay got her because they believe her voice would suit the song. They're not trying to appeal to a mainstream audience (I'd argue all of their albums are pretty mainstream), they're not deliberately following trends, they're just expressing themselves musically, as they have every right to. For all we know, Princess of China could be awesome! Adding a bit of variety to the vocals may be good! (I like all their songs, from Sparks to Amsterdam through to Paradise and ETIAW, just for a scope of my views). Of course, if you hate Rihanna and her voice, you have every right to be annoyed- but if you're angry because she's a 'pop' act, let's just hold judgment!Oh well, what do I know!?! [thanks F1-77]

F**k! I don't like this, is rubbish! I was so happy when i saw that Princess of China made it on MX, but now im not so sure, I just can't imagine Rihanna's voice in this or any Coldplay song, is just not right! Can you imagine Kesha or Katy Perry singing with Thom Yorke in a Radiohead song? Absolutely not! I hope this isn't official. [thanks thomas.paul]

SHE IS GOING TO BE ON THE SONG. WTF. OKAY JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR, I DON'T HATE RIHANNA. It's just that, chances are, the song with Rihanna on it is going to sound extremely pop, and no longer the Coldplay sound I used to love. I'm not saying I'm completely true because Coldplay might just surprise me (heck, they did it with wa wa wa waterfall), but it just sounds like Coldplay is abandoning their old style and heading to pop. If they insist that this is who they are and they're not doing it for fame, then I'm sorry, this is not the Coldplay I loved. I'm disappointed. I loved Coldplay so much, and it's like bidding a lover goodbye. [thanks eff-exx]

I think it'd be better if they chose a lesser known band/singer. I remember The Pierces were going to make an appearance before the old album was scrapped, which I think would have been a much better decision. Hopefully this is only a rumour. Or, if it isn't, let's hope she's declined. [thanks HandyAndy136]

I haven't had any doubt about what Coldplay does until now. It's really wrong kind of direction. After watching the festival songs I said to myself 'wooah told ya, it's still epic'. But ETIAW (I love Etiaw but still, it's different from what I expected), Paradise, Rihanna, and Jay-Z earlier? Come on. I'm mad at Chris. A little. I know that the rest of band would go into opposite direction. Will is just a simple guitarist who loves classics and listens to good music. Maybe that's why he was so harsh to all the songs. But why did he approve all of what happened here? I may begin to like Paradise. Who knows... But I still think it wasn't a good idea because I'm very objective right now and I think it's a plain pop song. [thanks The Champion]

Having thought about it. It can't really be that bad, it's not as if they've asked Rihanna to re-write the song, it's still going to be fundamentally the same. If you don't like it, just wait until we get a high quality live rip, because Rihanna obviously won't be touring with them for just one song. [thanks Tom8]

This is the SADDEST and most Angriest I've ever been as a Coldplay fan!!! I don't want that horrible high pitched voice on my Coldplay music!!! They could have at least gotten a talented singer!!! Beyond depressed now!! Hey CHRIS, STOP asking all these pop and rap singers to sing on your records!!!! Stop alienating your passionate fan base!! Chris's relationship with Jay Z has clearly ruined him. All thanks to the biggest perpetrator of Coldplay destruction: Gwyneth Paltrow. It all goes back to her. Yoko herself. From her, he met Jay Z and Beyonce, which led to him to work with Kanye West, and now he went and did the unthinkable and put that wretched Rihanna on the new album. I am devastated. I usually just read comments, but this is my third comment on this thread alone. If a duet was really necessary, why not someone with REAL talent, like a Lilly Allen or Adele even. Why this fake fraud Rihanna who pretends to be a rockstar all of a sudden? Anyone else completely depressed and deflated by this dreadful news? [thanks VivaLaColdplay90]

Although I'm not a fan, she is a pop artist, and she is VERY good at being a pop artist, who says she is not allowed to give alternative/rock a go? It would not surprise me if this duet is amazing, it's Coldplay, they can pull it off. On another note, Hayley Williams is a Punk artist who did a R&B duet, and made it amazing (or perhaps better)... [thanks danieltmiller]

Thanks. Rihanna's music is pure shit, Rihanna's voice is pure shit. What the hell happened to Coldplay?!? Why can't Will sing the parts of Rihanna? With her Princess of China will be shit. ajpdsbhugfpodshufpbgvos. I'm so disappointed. For me the album will consists of 13 titles instead of 14. [thanks [Coldplay]Andi]

I think something is obvious - one of the next singles will surely be Princess Of China now, it's inescapable, but I guess it will be a great song, Rihanna isn't the worst choice in the world and I'm sure if Chris says she sounds different on that song, he means so. It's good to have variety and I'm predicting it won't be the only collaboration on this album (someone has already mentioned he can hear The Pierces in 'Paradise' chorus, while Leo Cohen is bound to be in his own sample!) [thanks Miha]

In my head I tried to justify what they have been doing lately, but this is getting ridiculous. It all started with the Jay-Z version of Lost which I just hated. Now Rihanna? I mean, yeah, she's not bad, looks and all, vocal skills above average, but don't they realize she will be forgotten in a couple of years? Whereas I would love to see Coldplay alive and kicking for their LP8 tour. Dear Coldplay, please stop all this nonsense. Mr. Buckland would kindly kick Chris in the nuts please?? [thanks pansonic]

Someone, please introduce Chris to good music. It seems he doesn't know that in the world exists something more profound, deep and beautiful than pop. I don't want to sound snobbish, but the reason I listen to pop music in very small amounts is that it's plain and wears off too fast. It's usually about a girl liking a boy and vice versa - same old story which got old in stone age perhaps. Pop is too simple, too literal. And that what influences Coldplay now. Is it just me, or when they listened to Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Echo & the Bunnymen their music was far more good? And if they needed so desperately someone to sing on PoC why not collaborating with someone less famous and maybe more interesting as an artist? Or Rihanna is the only one in the world who can sing? I don't know, Adele seems huge now in the Stated, Florence Welch is quite popular... So why, why, WHY Rihanna? [thanks lafinion]