Say what you like, Coldplay haters, but this London band has composed some of the biggest hits our century has heard so far. “Yellow,” the third single from Coldplay’s debut UK #1 album, “Parachutes,” remains supersonic: an eye-watering 1.2 billion YouTube views have come to underline its music video after its official upload back in 2011.
But one ultra-nostalgic performance of “Yellow”, resurfacing from the very beginning of Coldplay’s career, has been making the rounds online all over again, sinking pop fans back in love with the golden indie rock days of the early-mid 2000s. Performing their brand new hit on The Late Show with Conan O’Brien, on an episode that first aired on February 16th, 2001, this performance marked Coldplay’s US TV debut, with the clip now becoming the ultimate musical throwback! Check out their performance below!
Young and vulnerable, suffering from voice cracks in the very first line, this clip shows Coldplay as you’ve hardly seen them before; removed from the glitz of the main stage and still asserting their authenticity as upcoming hitmakers, only ever truly earned through chart-breaking ballads such as “Yellow.”
Chris Martin’s voice resounds as identically as it does today, yet this version comes tinged with an undeniable freshness—Chris (aged 23 in this clip) sinking his nerves beneath the unshakable and self-assured nature that would soon lead the band to headline festivals across the globe.
Charged with emotion and blissful riffs, this set still holds an undiminished ability to tug at its listeners’ heartstrings. Coldplay’s moving rendition reveals rare new layers through their stripped-down acoustic mix; harmonic riffs take the spotlight where they were pushed into atmospheric shadows on the record, glossing a light but unmissable spin over their studio original.
Coldplay fans have been going feral over this resurfaced clip, highlighting the long road this band has walked to become the pop gods they are today. As one fan noted in the YouTube comments, “A voice crack at the beginning of the performance, and a broken guitar string never stopped Chris just kept going along. What a true professional I’ll forever love Coldplay they’re epic!”, another top commenter picked up on the band’s obvious nerves, writing, “Chris was so nervous and even lost one guitar string. He clearly didn’t like his performance at the end but we are so lucky to be able to watch them grow.”
But it wasn’t just Chris who stole the spotlight in this clip, as one top-commenting Coldplay fan pointed out, “Jonny’s tone is soooo good. One of the best guitar sounds ever, love you Buckland.”