Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland gave a jubilant NPR Tiny Desk Concert with the nine-piece For Love choir. Martin, who sang and played keys, was on cloud nine during the concert. This was seen early on during the soundcheck, when the frontman abruptly stopped the choir during the opening song “Cry Cry Cry” and asked them to start the song from the top. One of the singers asked if there was anything wrong, Martin replied with “No, I’m just in f****** heaven right now!”
Coldplay performed a five-song set, which featured their songs “Cry Cry Cry”, “Viva La Vida”, “Broken”, “Champion Of The World” and the Prince cover “1999”. There’s a reason why Martin was so stoked to be performing with the choir, as the guitar, piano, and vocal-only arrangement of the band’s songs sound so lively and intimate. All the performers had big smiles on their faces throughout and were clearly just vibing so hard on the chemistry in the room.
Coldplay’s Tiny Desk performance was quite the hit online, where it attracted 25 million views on YouTube. This made the concert one of the most popular uploads in the history of the Tiny Desk format, which has attracted big names such as Justin Bieber, Sting, Harry Styles, and Taylor Swift. Coldplay recorded the set on January 23, 2020, and it was one of the last Tiny Desk concerts before the format was temporarily shut down due to the pandemic.
NPR hyped up Coldplay’s performance at the show, saying that Martin looked like it was the happiest day of his life, and that the band “gave one of the most jubilant, uplifting and memorable performances we’ve ever had at the Tiny Desk.” We know The Music Man readers love to hear unique live arrangements of hits, so another video to check out is when Martin stopped by The Howard Stern Show for a solo acoustic rendition of “Viva La Vida.”
Coldplay performed three songs fresh from their eighth studio album Everyday Life at the NPR concert, with “Viva La Vida” being the only classic number from their discography that made an appearance. The Prince cover “1999” was a surprise inclusion in the set. Earlier that month Martin had performed the Prince composition “Manic Monday” at Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince, so no doubt the frontman was still vibing on the music of The Purple One.
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