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''Music of the Spheres'' (subtitled ''Vol. I: From Earth with Love'') is the ninth studio album by British
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
, released on 15 October 2021 by
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
in the United Kingdom and
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
in the United States. The album was produced by
Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic
known professional ...
, who is a new producer to the band's discography. It features guest appearances from
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
, We Are King,
Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...
and
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
, as well as returning contributions from electronic producer
Jon Hopkins Jonathan Julian Hopkins (born 15 August 1979) is an English musician and producer who writes and performs electronic music. He began his career playing keyboards for Imogen Heap, and has produced but also contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Co ...
. ''Music of the Spheres'' is the band's second
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
after 2011's ''
Mylo Xyloto ''Mylo Xyloto'' (pronounced ) is the fifth studio album by British Rock music, rock band Coldplay. It was released on 19 October 2011 in Japan and on 24 October 2011 in the rest of the world. The band worked closely with producer Brian Eno fo ...
''. The album explores pop,
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
,
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
,
space music Space music, also called spacemusic or space ambient, is a subgenre of ambient music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from new-age music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music ...
and ambient influences. It is set in a fictional planetary system called ''The Spheres'', which contains nine planets, three natural satellites, a star and a nebula, with each one of them corresponding to a certain track on the record. According to lead singer
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
, its concept and themes were not only based on ''Mylo Xyloto'', but also inspired by the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' film franchise, which made him and the other band members wonder what other artists could be like across the universe, while also using the planets as a canvas to explore human experience. In anticipation for the album, Coldplay released " Higher Power" and " My Universe" as singles, with the former being nominated for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this categ ...
at the
64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...
, and the latter being nominated for the same award at the following year's ceremony. "My Universe" also debuted at number one in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, making Coldplay the first British group in history to achieve the feat. " Let Somebody Go" was later released as the third official single on 7 February 2022. "
Coloratura Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...
", "People of the Pride", "Biutyful" and a live version of "Humankind" were served as promotional singles. ''Music of the Spheres'' received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom criticised the album's overtly pop sensibilities and style. "Coloratura" however was acclaimed for its lengthy, unconventional structure and production. The album was nominated for Album of the Year and
Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...
at the
65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year – October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 – as de ...
, marking the band's third nomination in both categories. It became the first album of the 2020s to debut atop the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
with more than 100,000 units. To support the record, Coldplay embarked on the
Music of the Spheres World Tour The Music of the Spheres World Tour is the ongoing eighth concert tour undertaken by British Rock music, rock band Coldplay. It is being staged to promote their ninth and tenth studio albums, ''Music of the Spheres (Coldplay album), Music of t ...
and released an accompanying concert film. It was the first volume of the ''Music of the Spheres'' series, the second being '' Moon Music'' (2024).''Moon Music,'' ''Music of the Spheres Vol. II'' subtitle: *


Background

The idea for a space-themed record had been envisioned by the band since 2010, when lead vocalist
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
proposed a project of building "a solar system", as stated in a blog published by the band, named "Roadie #42". This project eventually led to the creation of the universe for Coldplay's 2011 album ''
Mylo Xyloto ''Mylo Xyloto'' (pronounced ) is the fifth studio album by British Rock music, rock band Coldplay. It was released on 19 October 2011 in Japan and on 24 October 2011 in the rest of the world. The band worked closely with producer Brian Eno fo ...
'', which would go on to inspire the ''Music of the Spheres'' universe as well. At the time ''
Everyday Life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or Normality (behavior), normal. Human diurna ...
'' was released, in November 2019, one of the hints was hidden within the bifold of the booklet of the physical vinyl and digibook editions of the album, in which a black and white billboard in a field advertises "Music of the Spheres". In the bottom left corner, smaller writing says "Coldplay coming soon". This, combined with the band's history of teasers for future material, fueled speculation about ''Music of the Spheres'''s themes and release date. Other hints to future material were purportedly hidden within song lyrics and music videos from the ''Everyday Life'' era.


Recording

According to bassist
Guy Berryman Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, producer, businessman and designer. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he starte ...
, when the band "made 019's''Everyday Life'', we knew we weren't planning on touring it, so that directed the course of that album musically. The idea was always to follow that up with ''Music of the Spheres'', which definitely would be toured. So the new album was created with one eye on the live performances. I think that shaped the overall energy levels and song selections for the album". The record was produced by
Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic
known professional ...
, whom the band called "a true wonder of the universe". Their first work together was in the single "
Orphans An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages, such as Swedis ...
". He met Chris during a
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
concert in Sweden in 2016 and they started to share potential about possible collaborations, with the rest of the band sharing the same feeling and considering him as a "new band member" for the album. Chris stated Max was very involved on most of the creative process, helping to decide which songs would be chosen as well. He added that "just before 'Higher Power', I'd done a whole session with him auditioning songs for a potential album". Drummer
Will Champion William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Rock music, rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned to play numerous instruments during his yout ...
noted one of the reasons of feeling certain relief while working with Max "is that he is very conscious of not filling too many gaps", with Berryman further adding that a sound "will not be impressive by just adding another layer of sound and another layer of sound", comparing it to a mix of "too many colors together, utyou always end up with brown". They cited "Humankind" as an example, which was according to them was the hardest song to be recorded in the album, as the band "couldn't get the feel of it right until the end of the sessions".


Style and concept

''Music of the Spheres'' has been described as pop,
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
,
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
,
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
,
space music Space music, also called spacemusic or space ambient, is a subgenre of ambient music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from new-age music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music ...
,
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
,
soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
, and ambient. Lead singer Chris Martin stated that the theme for the album was inspired by "wonder ngwhat musicians would be like across the universe" after watching the fictional Mos Eisley
cantina A cantina is a type of Bar (establishment), bar common in Latin America and Spain. The word is similar in etymology to "canteen (place), canteen", and is derived from the Italian language, Italian word for a Wine cellar, cellar, winery, or Vault ...
band perform in ''Star Wars'' and making speculations in relation to outer space sounds. The album is set in a fictional planetary system called ''The Spheres'', which consists of nine planets, three natural satellites, one star and a nearby nebula. Each track on the album represents a celestial body from ''The Spheres''. Following the album's track listing, they are: Neon Moon I ("Music of the Spheres"), Kaotica (" Higher Power"), Echo ("Humankind"), Kubik ("Alien Choir"), Calypso (" Let Somebody Go"), Supersolis ("Human Heart"), Ultra ("People of the Pride"), Floris ("Biutyful"), Neon Moon II ("Music of the Spheres II"), Epiphane (" My Universe"), Infinity Station ("Infinity Sign"), and Coloratura ("
Coloratura Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...
"). Supersolis is the star at the centre of the system, and Coloratura is the Nebula. Each celestial body in ''The Spheres'' has its own
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
: EL 1 for Neon Moon I, Kaotican for Kaotica, Mirror Text for Echo, Qblok for Kubik, Aquamarine for Calypso, Supersolar for Supersolis, Voltik for Ultra, Bloom for Floris, EL 2 for Neon Moon II, Spheric for Epiphane, Infinitum for Infinity Station, and Coloraturan for Coloratura. An unnamed natural satellite orbits Echo, while both Neon Moons orbit Epiphane. A ''lost planet'' named Aurora is also part of the system, and although no song on the album represents it, fans have theorised that the short instrumental "A Wave", which was played at the end of concerts during the first leg of the Music of the Spheres World Tour and would later appear on the ''Full Moon'' edition of ''Moon Music'', is connected to it. The artwork featuring the planetary system was created by Pilar Zeta, who had worked on Coldplay's previous two albums ''Everyday Life'' and ''
A Head Full of Dreams ''A Head Full of Dreams'' is the seventh studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 4 December 2015, by Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and by Atlantic in the United States. Coldplay recorded the album from early to mid 2015, r ...
'' (2015). Martin uses the planets as a canvas to explore the human experience: "It's really another record about life as a human person, but given this freedom that comes when you pretend it's about other creatures in other places". Drummer Will Champion stated that ''Everyday Life'' was about making big questions personal, while ''Music of the Spheres'' promoted more about the purpose of the band in relation to humanity and manmade demarcations, saying: "We historically as a band tend to fill space". The album was promoted with the words "Everyone is an alien somewhere", which, according to Champion, was about people looking to what unites them, not to what separates them, saying: "From the perspective from another planet, we would be the aliens. We searched the perspective where we are all equal". The fictional universe for ''Music of the Spheres'' is in part inspired by the universe created by the band for ''Mylo Xyloto'', and, according to creative director
Phil Harvey Phil Harvey (April 25, 1938 – December 2, 2021) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and Libertarianism, libertarian who set up large-scale programs that delivered subsidized contraceptives in poor countries. Harvey was the founder and ...
, features several references to it. One of these references may be the appearance of the ''Mylo Xyloto'' "silencers" in the music video for "My Universe".


Promotion

On 23 April 2021, a post from an account titled 'Alien Radio FM' on social media released a set of coordinates (51°30'24.6"N 0°08'34.4"W) that led to
Green Park The Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, is in the City of Westminster, Central London. Green Park is to the north of the gardens and semi-circular forecourt of Buckingham Palace, across Constitution Hill road. The park is in the m ...
in Piccadilly, London. The post included a photo of an advertisement at these coordinates with unknown bright neon purple characters set to a blue background. The characters were quickly decoded by fan sites and said "Coldplay Higher Power May Seven". Similar posts would follow, which all teased the lead single, " Higher Power"''.'' On 29 April, Coldplay confirmed on their main social media accounts that a new single called "Higher Power" would in fact be released on 7 May. Branded as a form of " extraterrestrial transmission", the band previewed the video to French
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
astronaut
Thomas Pesquet Thomas Gautier Pesquet (; born 27 February 1978) is a French aerospace engineer, aviator, pilot, European Space Agency astronaut, actor, musician, and writer. Pesquet was selected by ESA as a candidate in May 2009, and he successfully completed ...
aboard the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
prior to its public release. Martin had stated that the theme for their upcoming music had been inspired by "wonder ngwhat musicians are like across the universe" after watching the fictional Mos Eisley cantina band perform in ''Star Wars''. After the promotion cycle of "Higher Power" was done, Harvey teased a possible announcement on 19 July 2021. During the next day, Coldplay revealed the album, its tracklist, and a trailer titled "Overtura" containing a snippet for each song. They also said that "Coloratura" would be released on 23 July, while the next official single would follow in September. On 13 September, Coldplay announced that their second single "My Universe" which features
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
, would be released on 24 September 2021. On 4 October 2021,
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
confirmed via Twitter that she is featured on "Let Somebody Go". On 1 October 2021, Coldplay announced a one-off album launch show at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, in which they were introduced by
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...
and joined on stage by
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
,
Fleur East Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer, songwriter, rapper and presenter. East competed on the second series of ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as part of the girl group Addictiv Ladies but was unsuccessful. In 2012, she signed with ...
and We Are King.
Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a nomination for a British Academy Film Award. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Johnson made her ...
was in attendance. Later that week, on 7 October 2021, Coldplay announced that an album pop-up event for ''Music of the Spheres'', entitled "The Atmospheres", would be held in four cities across the world (
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
) on 15 and 16 October. In each city, there was a "custom-built installation" that enabled fans to "be transported to The Spheres – the distant solar system that plays host to the band's latest album, where each of the twelve tracks is twinned with a different planet." During the event, fans had the opportunity to "create their own alien language messages, snap selfies in the augmented reality photo booth, and even help to power the experience through bespoke kinetic walkways." According to the band, the event was made possible by partnering with
Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...
.


World tour

On 14 October 2021, a day before the release of ''Music of the Spheres'', Coldplay officially announced the
Music of the Spheres World Tour The Music of the Spheres World Tour is the ongoing eighth concert tour undertaken by British Rock music, rock band Coldplay. It is being staged to promote their ninth and tenth studio albums, ''Music of the Spheres (Coldplay album), Music of t ...
in 2022 to promote the album. The band had not toured for ''Everyday Life'' as they had decided to pause touring until they could work out how to ensure that it would be environmentally friendly. Alongside the announcement, they released a detailed plan setting out how they would ensure that the tour would have a minimal impact on the environment and would result in 50% less
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
generated than during the A Head Full of Dreams Tour. The plan was developed over two years by Coldplay and a number of leading environmental experts, and features a number of innovative sustainability strategies. For example, the band have joined forces with
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
to create the first "mobile, rechargeable show battery" to power each concert on the tour, and have announced that the tour's stage will be built from "a combination of lightweight, low-carbon and re-usable materials (including bamboo and recycled steel) that can be properly reused or recycled at the end of the tour". They have also pledged to plant one tree for every ticket sold.


Commercial singles

"Higher Power" was released as the lead single on 7 May 2021. The song was produced by Max Martin, whom the band called "a true wonder of the universe". The band stated in a tweet that "it arrived on a little keyboard and a bathroom sink at the start of 2020". An audio visualiser directed by Paul Dugdale premiered on Coldplay's
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel at 12:01 a.m. BST on the same day. The official music video, directed by Dave Meyers, was released on 8 June 2021, it features Chris exploring the fictional planet Kaotica. "My Universe", a collaboration with South Korean pop group BTS, was released as the second single on 24 September 2021. The official music video, also directed by Meyers, was released on 30 September 2021. It features both groups performing the song alongside a fictional band named "Supernova 7" in different futuristic planets, set during an era where music is banned around the universe. The track debuted at number one in ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which made Coldplay the first British group in history to achieve the feat. It was their second
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
chart-topper and BTS' sixth. "Let Somebody Go", a collaboration with Selena Gomez, was released as the third single in the adult contemporary radio on 14 February 2022. A music video was released a week prior, on 7 February 2022, once again being directed by Meyers.


Promotional singles

"Coloratura" was released on 23 July 2021 in anticipation for the album. It is the longest song ever released by the band, running at 10 minutes and 18 seconds. "People of the Pride" impacted American alternative rock radio stations on 8 March 2022, although Chris stated during an interview the song would not be marketed as an official single. Its lyrics explore themes of human politics and is inspired by empowerment movements. A music video was directed by Paul Dugdale and released on 15 March 2022. A live version of "Humankind" was released as a charity single on 22 April 2022 through
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
for Earth Day 2022, with royalties being donated to EarthPercent, a charity supporting numerous organizations working to help tackle the
climate crisis ''Climate crisis'' is a term that is used to describe global warming and climate change and their effects. This term and the term ''climate emergency'' have been used to emphasize the threat of global warming to Earth's natural environment an ...
. The music video was directed by Stevie Rae Gibbs and Marcus Haney, being released on 17 August 2022 to further promote the Music of the Spheres World Tour. On 16 September 2022, the song was then released as a promotional single in Italian and Dutch radio stations serving the same purpose. "Biutyful" was made available as a promotional single on 6 July 2022 along with a video directed by Mat Whitecross.


Critical reception


Reviews

''Music of the Spheres'' received generally mixed reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 55 based on 18 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' gave the album two stars out of five, praising its cheerful lyrics but criticising its superficial feeling. This sentiment was echoed by
Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been the chief music critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV (TV channel), Vintage TV i ...
of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', which called the album a "giddy sugar rush" and gave it three stars out of five.
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' also gave the album two stars out of five, calling its pop tones a "desperate" attempt by the band to stay on top of the
record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...
s. Rhian Daly of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' gave the album four stars out of five and declared that "While ''Music of the Spheres'' feels like quintessential Coldplay, there are some more surprising moments buried in its tracklist", citing the songs "People of the Pride" and "Infinity Sign" as examples. Neil Z. Yeung from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
also gave the album four stars out of five, deeming it the band's "most unabashedly pop-centric and optimistic album to date. He elaborated that "This sci-fi concept piece is the spiritual successor to technicolor predecessors ''Mylo Xyloto'' and ''A Head Full of Dreams'' – outpacing both with its sharp focus and lean runtime – while maintaining the boundary-pushing energy heard on the '' Kaleidoscope EP'' and ''Everyday Life''". Conversely, the track "Coloratura" was universally praised. AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung stated "while they typically end their albums on a grand, uplifting note, Coloratura"takes the prize for ambition and sheer beauty". Ella Kemp, writing for ''
Rolling Stone UK ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known f ...
'', said the song "might be the most dazzling thing Coldplay have ever done, a sprawling
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
-esque experiment which pays off infinitely".
Will Hodgkinson Will Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London (born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), England. He is the chief rock and pop critic for ''The Times'' newspaper and contributes to ''Mojo (magazine), Mojo'' magazine. He has written for ''The Guardian ...
of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' called it as a "forward-thinking vision of a melodic utopia with shades of Pink Floyd at their most hopeful". Jeremy Levine of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' praised the track "plenty of structural risks that allow it to achieve a surprising level of intimacy. It's still a little lyrically over-the-top, but the variations in tone, as well as the climactic use of the band's retro instrumentation, leave us with at least one flicker of Coldplay's brilliance". Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''Financial Times'' felt the album's concept "only really registers" on "Coloratura", praising the elaborate orchestrations and "more sophisticated lyrics than the gaucheries of the previous songs". Paolo Ragusa of '' Consequence'' agreed, saying the song "really flesh out what the record is supposed to sound like: sprawling, odd, and unique". Bobby Olivier of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'', however, felt it was "overlong", while David Cobbald of ''
The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' said it "lacks a sense of originality, as all of emotions and lyrics have in way appeared in their music previously".


Year-end lists


Accolades


Commercial performance

''Music of the Spheres'' debuted atop the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
with 101,045 units sold, becoming Coldplay's ninth number-one and the first release of the 2020s to move over 100,000 units in a week across the country. It also reached number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 by shifting 57,000 units, making it their eighth Top 10 album. In France, the band topped the chart for a sixth time, with 15,908 units. Four songs from ''Music of the Spheres'' appeared on South Korea's
Gaon Download Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. Founded in 2010, it is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored ...
simultaneously, including non-single "People of the Pride". According to ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'', the record was among the United Kingdom's main contributors to the increase of CD sales in 2021, along with
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
's '' 30'',
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
's '' ='' and
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
's '' Voyage''. It became the fifth best-selling album of the year in cassette and the 15th best-selling on vinyl as well.


Track listing

Notes * "Music of the Spheres" is stylised as "" and occasionally rendered as "Music of the Spheres I".For "Music of the Spheres I" see: * * * "Alien Choir" is stylised as "". * "Human Heart" is stylised as "". * "Music of the Spheres II" is stylised as "". * "Infinity Sign" is stylised as "". Sample credits * "People of the Pride" contains a sample of " Black and Gold" (written by Sam Sparro and Jesse Rogg).


Personnel

Coldplay *
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
– lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, rhythm guitar *
Jonny Buckland Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is a British musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he started to play guitar at an early age, taking ins ...
– guitars, keyboards, backing vocals , percussion *
Guy Berryman Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, producer, businessman and designer. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he starte ...
– bass guitar, percussion , keyboards *
Will Champion William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Rock music, rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned to play numerous instruments during his yout ...
– drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals, programming Additional vocalists *
Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic
known professional ...
– backing vocals * Denise Carite – choir vocalist * Bill Rahko – additional vocals * Apple Martin – additional vocals * Stevie Mackey – choir vocalist * Dorian Holley – choir vocalist * Neka Hamilton – choir vocalist *
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
– vocals * We Are King – vocals * Jin – vocals *
Suga Min Yoon-gi (; born March 9, 1993), known professionally by his stage names Suga (; stylized in all caps) and Agust D, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer. He debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS in June ...
– vocals *
J-Hope Jung Ho-seok (; born February 18, 1994), known professionally as J-Hope (; stylized in lower case), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS in 2013, ...
– vocals * RM – vocals *
Jimin Park Ji-min (; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment. Jim ...
– vocals * V – vocals *
Jungkook Jeon Jung-kook (; born September 1, 1997), better known as Jung Kook, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member and vocalist of South Korean boy band BTS. He has performed three solo songs as part of BTS' disc ...
– vocals * Amber Strother – additional vocals *
Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...
– additional vocals * Tate McDowell – additional vocals *
Rik Simpson Rik Simpson (a.k.a. Rikademus) is a British record producer. He is most recently recognised for his production work with Coldplay on ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008), ''Mylo Xyloto'' (2011), '' Ghost Stories'' (2014), '' A ...
– additional vocals Additional musicians * Max Martin – keyboards, additional keyboards * Federico Vindver – keyboards * Oscar Holter – guitar, keyboards * Bill Rahko – keyboards,
theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...
* Dan Green – keyboards * Davide Rossi – strings * John Metcalfe – strings *
Jon Hopkins Jonathan Julian Hopkins (born 15 August 1979) is an English musician and producer who writes and performs electronic music. He began his career playing keyboards for Imogen Heap, and has produced but also contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Co ...
– keyboards * Paris Strother – synthesizer * Rik Simpson – additional keyboards Production * Max Martin – production and programming * Oscar Holter – production and programming * Bill Rahko – production and programming * Pdogg – vocal recording
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, production engineering * Rik Simpson – additional production * Dan Green – additional production and programming *
Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...
mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
*
Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including Blink-182, DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse ...
mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...
* John Hanes – engineering * Michael Ilbert – engineering * Connor Panayi – assistant engineering * Duncan Fuller – assistant engineering * Karl-Ola Kjellholm – assistant engineering * Linn Fijal – assistant engineering * Tate McDowell – assistant engineering * Love Choir – choir arrangement * The Dream Team – additional production * Miguel Lara – engineering * Emma Marks – engineering assistant * Duncan Fuller – engineering assistant * Cherif Hashizume – additional programmer Artwork and design * Pilar Zeta – design and art direction


Charts


Weekly charts


Monthly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

* 2021 in British music * List of number-one albums of 2021 (Australia) * List of number-one albums of 2021 (Belgium) * List of number-one albums of 2021 (Ireland) * List of number-one albums of 2021 (Portugal) * List of number-one albums of 2021 (Spain) * List of number-one hits of 2021 (France) *
List of number-one albums of the 2020s (Czech Republic) A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2020s A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 2021 albums Albums produced by Jon Hopkins Albums produced by Max Martin Albums produced by Rik Simpson Atlantic Records albums Coldplay albums Songs about outer space Parlophone albums Science fiction concept albums Albums produced by Oscar Holter Albums produced by Metro Boomin Synth-pop albums by English artists Space rock albums Ambient albums by English artists 2020s concept albums