1 hit with the K-pop wunderkinds is the Brits’ second chart-topper, following “Viva La Vida” in 2008. At every step, he was so good at giving us confidence, especially toward the end as we were making brave decisions about things like let’s have BTS on here and he’d say, ‘Yep, let’s go.’”Ĭoldplay’s No. Miyagi figure for us in terms of allowing us to find something within the band that we thought might be there, but has taken a while to get there,” Martin says, invoking the fictional mentor of “The Karate Kid.” “We have so much faith in him as a producer and a co-writer. Martin credits Swedish super-producer Max Martin – whose pedigree ignited in the late-’90s during his tenure with Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync – with helping Coldplay find a new level of surefootedness. 'Sky' meaning: Why a Coldplay song was played at President Biden's inauguration
“He thought it was for me, so I said, ‘What about these amazing vintage guitars?’ and he said, ‘Well those, if you break them you have to pay for them,’ and he didn’t want me to try them! But I was dressed as a tramp,” Martin says with a grin.īut, joking aside, Martin and Buckland (as well as drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman) are understandably proud of “Music of the Spheres.” It’s a notable achievement for a band that has recorded dozens of hits ranging from the heartfelt (“Fix You,” “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”) to the lofty (“Viva La Vida,” “Clocks,” “A Sky Full of Stars”) to hip electro-pop (“Something Just Like This” with The Chainsmokers, “My Universe” with BTS).Ĭoldplay enlisted younger artists including Selena Gomez, BTS and Jacob Collier to perform on their new album, "Music of the Spheres," out Friday. He then shares an anecdote with Buckland about how he got, in his words, “Pretty Woman-ed" in a guitar store when he told the clerk he needed a guitar for a beginner. “Or the guys who bring the snacks,” Buckland added. When asked if he offered BTS, who collaborated on the smash hit "My Universe," any advice about dealing with fame, Martin deadpans, “We asked them what fame was like? What’s it like to be really famous pop stars? Because we always get confused for Genesis.” Talking via Zoom against a starry background, Martin and Buckland are witty, charming and self-deprecating. More: An inside look at Coldplay's recent intimate show at the Apollo in New York City The 13-minute film follows both bands as they record their collaboration in Korea, with commentary from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin sharing how they were brought together.Coldplay released "Music of the Spheres" on Friday. They also released their Inside My Universe documentary. “And they said that we can’t be together because, because we come from different sides,” they sing, and they eschew those who work against them on the chorus: “You, you are my universe and I just want to put you first.”Įarlier this week, Coldplay and BTS dropped two new renditions of the song, including a stripped-back acoustic recording and the Supernova 7 mix, courtesy of Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman. The Korean and English-language track advocates for unity in the midst of division. But the musicians believe the power of song will prevail as the visual appears to convey. In the Dave Meyers-directed clip, the groups band together in hologram form alongside alien group Supernova 7 to defeat the powers that rule the Spheres galaxy. Coldplay and BTS have dropped their video for collaborative track “ My Universe.” The song appears on Coldplay’s upcoming album, Music of the Spheres, which arrives on October 15th.