Atlas

"Atlas"
General information
Artist	Coldplay
Released	6 September 2013 (worldwide) 8 September 2013 (United Kingdom)
Recorded	April–July 2013
Studio	The Beehive (London, United Kingdom)
Genre	Alternative rock Power ballad
Length	3:56
Labels
Songwriter(s)	Guy Berryman Jonny Buckland Will Champion Chris Martin
Producer(s)	Coldplay Daniel Green Rik Simpson
Album	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Singles chronology
Previous	"Hurts Like Heaven"
Current	"Atlas"
Next	"Magic"

"Atlas" is a song by Coldplay from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the soundtrack album to the 2013 American science-fiction adventure film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It was released digitally as the lead single from the soundtrack on 6 September 6 2013 worldwide and on 8 September in the United Kingdom. The single was accompanied by a lyric video, which also premiered on 6 September.

"Atlas" has charted in 16 countries and reached top ten positions in three of them, and has also received mostly positive reviews from music critics. The ballad, which is the first song ever written and recorded by Coldplay for a film, won the Hollywood Song Award at the 17th Hollywood Film Awards, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Background and recording

"Atlas" is Coldplay's first new song in almost two years, as the band's fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto was released in October 2011. It was written specifically for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and marks the first time that Coldplay have ever recorded an original song for a motion picture, or any piece of media outside the music industry. The song "We're a Team" from the movie score was also co-written by Coldplay, and features elements of "Atlas". According to Billboard magazine, "the lyrics abstractly touch upon main characters Katniss and Peeta's mutual reliance."

About Coldplay's involvement in the soundtrack, film's director Francis Lawrence said: "I have great respect and admiration for Coldplay, and we are thrilled with how well they have connected to the themes and ideas within the film. Their unwavering passion and excitement for the project elevated the collaboration even further, and we can't wait to share this music with audiences around the world. Tracy McKnight, Lionsgate's Head of Film Music, added: "We are so honored that Coldplay, one of the iconic rock bands of our generation, will perform the first song out on the new soundtrack. Knowing that Chris Martin is a fan of the books makes this even more meaningful. The Coldplay single underscores the stature of recording artists we've assembled for this powerful soundtrack."

"Atlas" was included in the original track listing of Ghost Stories.

The song was written by all Coldplay members and recorded in London between April and July 2013. It was originally intended to be included on their sixth studio album Ghost Stories, but it was ultimately released as a standalone single only.

Composition and production

"Atlas" is a down-tempo ballad, featuring delicate piano refrain with a "moody, haunting melody", and showcasing Chris' lower-register vocals. According to some reviewers, it sounds "less like more recent Coldplay tracks and more like a throwback to their sound on A Rush of Blood to the Head", and "like a tossed-off remnant from the outfit's early days, before it began experimenting with deep rhythms and vivid textures." The piano builds to a bolder, "anthemic-quality" chorus with richly layered production, reminiscent of the band's fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto.

The song was produced by Coldplay, Rik Simpson (with whom the band has previously worked on the Grammy Award-winning album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends and Mylo Xyloto), and Daniel Green (Mylo Xyloto).

Commercial performance

"Atlas" has achieved moderate chart success, having charted in 16 countries. The song debuted at number twelve in the United Kingdom with sales of 19,546, and has reached top ten positions in the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. In the United States, it has reached number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 12 on the Rock Songs chart, and number 18 on the Alternative Songs chart. "Atlas" was also reported to have reached number one positions on iTunes Store charts in 43 countries upon its release. In 2013 the song was certified Gold in Venezuela. As of August 2014, "Atlas" has sold 246,000 downloads in the United States.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Some saw the sun
Some saw the smoke
Some heard the gun
Some bent the bow
Sometimes the wire must tense for the note
Caught in the fire, say "oh"
We're about to explode

[Chorus]
Carry your world
I'll carry your world
Carry your world
I'll carry your world

[Verse 2]
Some far away
Some search for gold
Some dragon to slay
Heaven we hope is just up the road
Show me the way, Lord
'Cause I, I'm about to explode

[Chorus]
Carry your world
I'll carry your world
Carry your world
I'll carry your world

[Outro]
(Carry your world) Carry your world, and all your hurt
(Carry your world) Carry your world

Lyric video

A lyric video premiered on music video website Vevo on the day of the single's release. It was directed by Mario Hugo, featuring illustrations by Micah Lidberg and animation by Ric Comline and Jonny Bursnell. The video "follows a shooting star coursing through the universe while tracing various constellations in the zodiac to the point of supernova."

Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Three things the internet is definitely not tired of yet – Coldplay, The Hunger Games, and high-production lyric videos – have all converged in the form of "Atlas". (...) The just-released visual is an intense affair set on an astral plane, full of all sorts of Olympian imagery designed to get you excited for Katniss' return to the big screen this November."

Coldplay - Atlas (Hunger Games- Catching Fire)(Official Lyric Video)

Official audio

Atlas (From “The Hunger Games- Catching Fire” Soundtrack)

Critical reception

Upon release, "Atlas" received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Michael Nelson of Stereogum called the track "a swooning, appropriately cinematic ballad." Erin Coulehan of Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "The dreamy tune features a classic Coldplay presentation, with twinkling piano that builds as Chris Martin croons 'I'll carry your world'." "The dreamy, piano-driven track was clearly written specifically for 'Catching Fire’, with lyrics like "some bend the bow" — about bow-and-arrow-wielding heroine Katniss, presumably – and "caught in the fire" (pretty self-explanatory)," wrote Karen Lanza of PopCrush.

Upon release of the soundtrack album, Consequence of Sound's Rob Hakimian called the song "spirited", and AllMusic's Heather Phares described it as "typically sweeping and earnest". Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Coldplay is here too, but in a battle with Lorde's haunting version of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Lorde would forever reign supreme." Slant Magazine's Blue Sullivan commented that "'Atlas' is autopilot Coldplay dipping into its back catalogue for a paycheck, but at least it approximates a pulse. Though the band may have zero insider-cred, 'Atlas' proves that 'Clocks' played at three-quarter speed with most of the chorus scooped out still runs rings around most of the current zeitgeist."

In a ranking of the band's entire discography, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of Parachutes, NME wrote: "Coldplay's first song ever written for a film speaks to the characters – young people who are scared, brave, at war, alone – and also celebrates the band's best qualities. The haunting gravity of ‘Rush of Blood’ era gives way to a more cinematic, regal payoff that would come to define the storytelling of ‘Mylo Xyloto’ later. No wonder it was nominated both for a Grammy and a Golden Globe."

Awards and accolades

On 15 October 2013, it was announced that "Atlas" would receive the Hollywood Song Award at the 17th Hollywood Film Awards. The song was also performed at the gala ceremony, which took place on 21 October 2013 at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Carlos de Abreau, the Hollywood Film Awards founder and executive director, told The Hollywood Reporter, "The Hollywood Film Awards is thrilled to present the Hollywood Song Award to a band as globally respected and prolific as Coldplay. They continue to build their legacy and, with 'Atlas' marking the first time they have recorded for a motion picture, we cannot think of an artist better deserving of this honor."

On 7 December 2013, "Atlas" received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category. On 12 December 2013, it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.