Coldplay

English outfit Coldplay rose to prominence through a sincere fusion of poignant ballads and high-impact anthems, establishing themselves among the most prominent acts of their era by reaching listeners everywhere with themes of affection that cross cultural and linguistic divides. They first broke through in 2000 via the single "Yellow," then secured repeated positions atop worldwide album rankings with multi-platinum releases including Parachutes (2000), A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), and Viva La Vida (2008). Following multi-platinum status for their initial three LPs across multiple territories, the group advanced further by surpassing prior commercial benchmarks, incorporating an expanding range of stylistic influences across 2011's Mylo Xyloto, 2015's A Head Full of Dreams, and 2019's Everyday Life, and mounting stadium-filling tours on an unprecedented scale. Backed by yet another expansive trek, they delivered their ninth collection, 2021's Music of the Spheres, along with its direct follow-up, 2024's Moon Music, which reached the summit of the charts.

Vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, drummer Will Champion, and bassist Guy Berryman each grew up surrounded by music. As the oldest of five siblings, Martin started piano lessons early and later drew comfort from Tom Waits. Buckland, by contrast, absorbed the intense guitar styles of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Berryman, who hails from Scotland, gravitated toward funk rather than indie rock and therefore took up the bass, whereas multi-instrumentalist Champion had no intention of drumming before entering Coldplay. The four first united in 1997 at University College London; shortly after their initial appearance at a Manchester festival for unsigned acts, they issued the Safety EP. That record, like the later Brothers & Sisters EP, received only 500 pressings, yet both proved sufficient to secure a U.K. contract with Parlophone Records in April 1999, after which the five-track Blue Room EP appeared that autumn. Media attention soon positioned Coldplay as the natural successor to Travis, citing their straightforward acoustic approach and appealing personalities.

Parlophone sent the band to Parr St. Studios in Liverpool to lay down most of their debut. Parachutes arrived in July 2000 and quickly succeeded on the back of four U.K. singles, several of which also gained traction in the United States. As "Yellow" ascended charts on both sides of the Atlantic, the album reached American stores in November and ultimately outsold its U.K. totals.

Building on that debut's broad appeal, Coldplay returned to the studio in autumn 2001 for a second album. The result was the darker, more forceful A Rush of Blood to the Head, issued globally in August 2002 and followed by an international concert trek. Piano ballad "The Scientist" received steady airplay, while "Clocks" and "In My Place" each earned Grammy Awards.

Capitalizing on the momentum of A Rush of Blood to the Head, the quartet began tracking a third album in early 2004. Early material produced with longtime collaborator Ken Nelson was abandoned, and Danton Supple (Morrissey, the Cure) stepped in to finish what became X&Y. Lead single "Speed of Sound" surfaced in spring 2005; the album followed in June, topping charts worldwide and moving more than eight million copies in its first year. Another global tour yielded further hits with the Kraftwerk-inspired "Talk" and the multi-platinum "Fix You."

The commercial standing this success brought placed Coldplay alongside U2, yet greater visibility also invited criticism of their sincerity and predictable style. The four regrouped in late 2006 to work with noted producer Brian Eno (U2, David Bowie). Sessions wrapped within a year, after which several months of mixing heightened anticipation. Viva la Vida—also titled Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends—appeared in June 2008. Its updated sonic palette propelled immediate success, driven especially by the chart-topping title track. Worldwide sales neared six million by November, when the band released new tracks, including a Jay-Z collaboration, on the Prospekt's March EP. The ensuing stadium trek was documented on the limited-edition live set LeftRightLeftRightLeft, distributed free at the final shows.

Pursuing further explorations beyond rock conventions, the group embraced synth-heavy electronic textures and hip-hop rhythms on their fifth studio album, the 2011 concept record Mylo Xyloto, produced by Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, and Rik Simpson (with the official statement noting "enoxification and additional composition by Brian Eno"). The set topped charts globally and spawned hits such as the Rihanna duet "Princess of China" and their second number-one single, "Paradise." As before, the era was preserved on Live 2012, which captured a major world tour capped by a headline appearance at the London Paralympics closing ceremony.

Work on the sixth album began in late 2012 at the Bakery and Beehive studios in North London, with longtime producers Paul Epworth, Daniel Green, and Rik Simpson joining the sessions. Intending to temper the expansive productions of Viva la Vida and Mylo Xyloto, the band turned toward indie-electronic and synth-pop palettes. During recording, Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow announced their separation, shaping the project into a reflective, emotionally purging breakup album. The Grammy-nominated Ghost Stories arrived in May 2014 and again led charts. Platinum singles "Magic" and the Avicii-assisted "A Sky Full of Stars" reached the U.K. top ten and the U.S. top fifteen. A brief six-date tour took the band to intimate venues in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, and London; recordings from those shows formed the audio-video package Ghost Stories: Live 2014.

Once promotional duties concluded, Coldplay returned to the studio for their seventh album. Working between Los Angeles and London, they enlisted Noel Gallagher, Beyoncé, Tove Lo, and Merry Clayton—best known for her vocals on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter"—alongside producers Rik Simpson and Stargate. Joyous, disco-inflected lead single "Adventure of a Lifetime" preceded the December 2015 release of A Head Full of Dreams. The band's seventh consecutive U.K. number one featured multi-platinum international hits "Hymn for the Weekend" (which reached number six in the U.K. and number 25 in the U.S.), "Up & Up," and "Everglow." The 144-date A Head Full of Dreams tour sold out stadiums worldwide. While touring, the band issued "Something Just Like This," a collaboration with the EDM-pop duo the Chainsmokers that appeared on both Memories: Do Not Open and Coldplay's own Kaleidoscope EP. The final show on 15 November 2017 in Buenos Aires marked the third-highest-grossing concert tour in history. A year later the era closed with the CD/DVD set Live in Buenos Aires/Live in São Paulo and the career-spanning documentary A Head Full of Dreams, directed by Mat Whitecross (Supersonic).

That same week Coldplay surprised fans once more. After cryptic social-media posts suggested new Parlophone act Los Unidades, the "new" group was revealed to be Coldplay themselves. Adopting the alias to support Global Citizen—an organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty—they assembled an eclectic roster of contributors for the Global Citizen: EP 1, among them Stormzy, David Guetta, and Nigerian artists Wizkid and Tiwa Savage. The project was promoted by the single "E-Lo" featuring Pharrell Williams and Jozzy.

Coldplay initiated their ninth album cycle in May 2021 with the Grammy-nominated single "Higher Power," produced by pop specialist Max Martin. Months later, second single "My Universe," a collaboration with K-pop act BTS, ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's second U.S. number-one hit. Music of the Spheres followed in October. Entirely produced by Max Martin, the sci-fi concept album also included Selena Gomez on "Let Somebody Go" and Jacob Collier alongside R&B duo We are KING on "Human Heart." A record-breaking international stadium tour—highlighted by a fifth headline appearance at Glastonbury—kept the band on the road through 2024, when they released their tenth album, Moon Music. Previewed in the liner notes of Music of the Spheres, the companion collection featured singles "feelslikeimfallinginlove" and "We Pray" with Burna Boy, Little Simz, Tini, and Elyanna. A deluxe Full Moon Edition appeared days later. The album became the band's tenth U.K. chart-topper and their first U.S. number-one since 2014's Ghost Stories.