"Higher Power" is a song by British rock band Coldplay from their ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres (2021). It is the second track on the album and was released as the lead single on 7 May 2021, accompanied by a performance visual video. The song's official music video premiered on 8 June 2021. On the concept of the record, the track represents Kaotica, the first planet on The Spheres solar system.
"Higher Power" received generally positive reviews from music critics and was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[1] An acoustic version of the song was released digitally on streaming services on 15 June 2021.
Background and recording[]
"Higher Power" is the first new piece of music by Coldplay in a year and a half, as the band's eighth studio album, Everyday Life, was released in November 2019. Chris Martin stated that the song is “sort of the beginning of a chapter” where the band have abandoned old rules and concepts established on previous records during its creative process in favour of working much more freely and singing about how they feel about life, love, and the cosmos in general, not having any musical limitations or limitate themselves in any particular sound style.[2]
In interviews, Chris revealed that the song “dropped out of the sky”; although its title had already been written down for a while — as the band were waiting for the right song that might fit it —, the singer admitted he struggled to find the melody and lyrics to go with it. When officially announced, Coldplay posted on their social media that the song “arrived on a little keyboard and a bathroom sink at the start of 2020.” Chris explained, “I was trying some other songs with that title, and then one day, in December of 2019, I was playing a drumbeat on a sink, and I recorded it on my phone, and then went and played this keyboard and the song just fell out, landed in, like, ten minutes.” The original sink drumbeat percussion still can be heard on the final version of the track during its bridge.[3][4][5]
Coldplay stated that "Higher Power" served as the first “foundation stone” for the Music of the Spheres recording sessions, providing “something solid to build the rest of the album around.”[6] During the early stages, the song was recorded at Hansa Studios, located in Berlin, Germany; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris would regularly send the material to the studio where Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion were working together with the album producer Max Martin. Chris would join them later on. Most of the track was recorded during their first session with Max;[7] After that, it was properly recorded and mixed at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Production[]
"Higher Power" was produced by Swedish record producer Max Martin, whom the band called “a true wonder of the universe.” He has written or co-written 25 Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs, most of which he has also produced or co-produced, including Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" (2008), Maroon 5's "One More Night" (2012), Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" (2014), and The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" and "Save Your Tears" (2019-2021). He achieved his 25th Billboard Hot 100 number-one song with "My Universe", the second official single of Music of the Spheres. Max worked with Coldplay for the first time when he co-produced two tracks from their 2019 eighth studio album, Everyday Life: "Orphans" and "Champion of the World".
Chris and Max met for the first time in Sweden at a Rihanna concert in 2016 and shared their mutual feeling of wanting to work together someday; the rest of the band also shared the same feeling, making "Higher Power" the first time Coldplay has fully collaborated with him as the main producer. They consider him a new band member, as they acknowledged their intentions to keep working with him as their current producer in future projects.[8] He was later confirmed as the main producer of Music of the Spheres.
The song was co-produced by Swedish producer Oscar Holter and long-time band producer Bill Rahko. Additional production was held by long-time band producers Daniel Green and Rik Simpson.
Composition[]
"Higher Power" was written by all Coldplay members, album producer Max Martin, Federico Vindver, and Denise Carite; its sound was described as an “intergalactic synth-pop gem” with “a euphoric, high-energy bop anchored by buoyant rhythms and glistening synths.”[9] Regarding the new sound direction adopted by the band to the song, they have stated it originally was never intended for it to sound like that; Guy and Will revealed the song established itself naturally with the collaborative efforts of all the people involved coming together and that each different song they work on “dictates where it goes and how it gets treated.” Will add that Max Martin's old vintage synths and keyboards on the studio also influenced the new sound.[10] In another interview, Chris said that the band “have been imagining for the last couple of years what bands and artists might sound like in another galaxy and this is the first song from that.”[11]
The song features the musicians from The Love Choir: Denise Carite, Neka Hamilton, Dorian Holley, and Stevie Mackey. They worked previously with Coldplay on the song "Broken" from the album Everyday Life (2019), on the EP Coldplay: Reimagined (2020), and accompanied the band in a few live performances during the Everyday Life Era. Producer Max Martin also provides backing vocals for the song, while additional vocals are provided by producer Bill Rahko. The intro countdown features Chris' daughter Apple Martin.[12]
The album version of "Higher Power" features on its intro the ending of the last track, "Music of the Spheres", while its end segues into the next track, "Humankind".
Meaning[]
Chris explained that “the song is about trying to find the astronaut in all of us, the person that can do amazing things.” He later told Zoe Ball that "Higher Power" had intergalactic origins, explaining: “We've been trying to imagine what music might sound like on other planets, and try to imagine being those other acts, so we're not thinking of ourselves as being the band Coldplay from England.”[13] Will called the song “an allegory for life on Earth”[14] and “how we search for answers, whether it's to do, whether you look at religion or whether you think about the Universe or about just believing in people or whatever it is [...] It's about trying to find answers and perhaps looking at things from a wider perspective.”[15]
Promotion and release[]
"Higher Power" was extensively promoted before and after its release. On 18 April 2021, the Twitter account for the website Alien Radio FM shared its first post, which read, “Transmission incoming. Standby.” It had since posted audios over a static radio signal, images and videos captioned with coordinates from all around the world, where cryptic billboards and posters with an unknown language until then were placed, such as in New York and London, always linking to the alienradio.fm website. This was also listed as the official site on Coldplay's own account, which was retweeted these dispatches.
The website featured a rotating globe in the centre of the screen before the cursor was transformed into a four-pointed star. Moving the cursor across the globe allowed people to access a selection of multi-lingual messages, which ranged from advertisements for satellite launches to excerpts from classic literature. It also displayed cryptic language, which translated some of the song lyrics. Fans quickly deciphered the poster's language, which read: “Coldplay Higher Power May 7”. On 29 April 2021, Coldplay confirmed via social media that the new single would be in fact called "Higher Power" and it would be officially released on 7 May 2021.[16][17]
The CD reveals Kaotica's appearance
A limited edition CD single was made available to be pre-ordered from the band's website. The back cover shows a decoder of the now-revealed mysterious language called Kaotican, in which each logographic represents a letter in the Romanian alphabet, from A to Z. The band also included logographic characters and the pronunciation of each letter in the Kaotican alphabet on their website. The fictitious planet, Kaotica, is printed on the CD. The single and CD cover, as well as Kaotica visuals, were designed by Pilar Zeta.[18]
Prior and after the song's official announcement, lyrics in Kaotican started to appear quickly on Spotify canvases of the band's hit singles, such as "Yellow", "The Scientist", "Fix You", "Orphans", "A Sky Full of Stars", "Adventure of a Lifetime", "Hymn for the Weekend", "Paradise", "Higher Power", and "Viva la Vida", respectively.
On 3 May 2021, Coldplay shared a 25-seconds preview of "Higher Power" exclusively on video-sharing social networking service TikTok. NME reported the partnership allowed TikTok'ers to listen and use the clip on their own creations only for 24 hours before the single release date.[19] A 15-seconds snippet of the song was shared on 4 May on the band's social media.
On 6 June, German multinational corporation BMW announced “the start of a long-term relationship between BMW and the band with sustainability as the unifying element.” "Higher Power" became the official soundtrack for TV commercials for the debut of the new all-electric BMW models, such as BMW iX and BMW i4.[20]
Live performances[]
On 2 May, the song's first live performance was announced to be held at American Idol's 9 May Coldplay-themed episode, as the contestants performed the band's songs with Chris also mentoring them.[21]
The Official Charts Company informed on 3 May that the band would perform the track to open the 41st Brit Awards, which was recorded on a barge on the River Thames by The O2 Arena.[22] The same alien holograms from the first music video also joined the band during the performance.[23] The audio from the performance was later released digitally to stream exclusively on Amazon Music.[24]
Coldplay included the song, along with "Human Heart", another track from Music of the Spheres, on their set for Glastonbury Festival's special livestream event on May 22, which was filmed at Worthy Farm.[25] On May 28, BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend released the band's performance of "Higher Power" recorded at Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, England.[26]
On June 16, Coldplay performed the acoustic version of "Higher Power" live for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in New York City.[27] On 11 July, the band performed the song on ASAP Natin To as part of their debut on Philippine television.[28] On 25 September, Coldplay co-headlined the Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park, opening their set list with "Higher Power".[29] On 23 October, Coldplay opened their set with "Higher Power" during Audacy's 8th annual We Can Survive charity concert held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
Remixes[]
Zhu Remix[]
On May 20, 2021, the first official remixed version of "Higher Power" by American electronic music producer and singer Zhu was released under the title "Higher Power (Zhu Remix)". The remix was accompanied of a visualizer video and was live-streamed on Luminosity Gaming's Twitch channel before its official release due a partnership with Coldplay and Enthusiast Gaming making the band an honorary member of Team Luminosity.[30]
Tiësto Remix[]
The second official remix was announced by Coldplay on their social media two days before its release.[31] It was held by Dutch DJ and record producer Tiësto who had worked with the band before by remixing "Paradise"; the remix was used at the end of the live version of the song during the A Head Full of Dreams Tour. "Higher Power (Tiësto Remix)" was released on June 4, 2021, accompanied of a visualizer video.[32] This version was included as the second bonus track for the Japanese editions of Music of the Spheres.
Alyx Ander Remix[]
The third and last official remix of the song, held by American producer Alyx Ander, was released worldwide on July 9, although it was made available first in some countries on streaming platforms on July 5, 2021. On an Instagram post, Ander revealed Chris Martin himself blessed his remix to be put out.[33]
Lyrics[]
[Intro: Apple Martin]
Three, two, one
[Verse 1: Chris Martin; The Love Choir]
Sometimes I just can't take it
Sometimes I just can't take it
And it isn't alright
I'm not gonna make it
And I think my shoe's untied (Oh oh)
I'm like a broken record
I'm like a broken record and I'm not playing right
Drocer nekorb a ekil mi
'Til you tell me on my heavenly phone
[Pre-Chorus]
To hold tight (Hold tight)
Come on (Come on)
Come on (Come on)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Come on (Come on)
Come on (Come on)
Yeah, don't let go oh-oh-oh-oh
Hold tight (Hold tight)
Hold tight (Hold tight)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
"It's alright, it's alright" you said
I got my hands up shaking just to let you know
[Chorus]
That you've got a higher power
Got me singing every second, dancing every hour
Oh yеah, you've got a higher power
And you're really someone I wanna know (Oh oh)
[Verse 2]
This boy is electric (Mmm)
This boy is electric and you're sparkling light
The universe connected
And I'm buzzing night after night after night (Oh oh)
This joy is electric (Mmm)
This joy is electric and you're circuiting through
I'm so happy that I'm alive
Happy I'm alive at the same time as you
[Chorus]
'Cause you've got a higher power
Got me singing every second, dancing every hour
Oh, yeah, you've got a higher power
And you're really someone I wanna know
(I wanna know, oh oh)
[Bridge]
You got, yeah, you got a high
You got, yeah, you got a higher
You got, yeah, you got a high
You got
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You got, oh, you got a high
You got, yeah, you got a higher
You've got, oh, you've got a high
My hands up shaking just to let you know now
[Chorus]
You've got a higher power
You got me singing every second, dancing any hour
Oh, yeah, you've got a higher power
You're once in any lifetime
I'm going a million miles an hour
[Outro]
When for so long I'd been down on my knees
Then your love song saved me over and over
For so long, I'd been down on my knees
'Til your love song floats me on, ee-on-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh (Whooh)
Music videos[]
Extraterrestrial Transmission[]
The first clip for "Higher Power" is a performance video directed by Paul Dugdale, and premiered on Coldplay's YouTube channel at 12:01 A.M. BST on May 7, 2021, coinciding with the single's release. It features the band performing in an empty London car park as Kaotican alien holograms dance to the tune during the chorus. The Kaoticans are portrayed by the South Korean dance group Ambiguous Dance Company. After the video debut, they confirmed that Coldplay would be working with them on a long-term collaboration.[34]
Shot five days before the single's release[35] and branded as an "extraterrestrial transmission", the band previewed the video to French European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard the International Space Station (ISS) prior to its public release.[36][37] When asked about why Coldplay decided to premiere their song in space, Chris told PopCrush: "It's neutral territory, so we just were like... It just felt cool. I mean, who wouldn't wanna do that? When that offer came through — 'Do you want to debut your song from the Space Station?' — I think we'd be idiots if we said no."[38]The song and its performance video are the first media in history to be released first in space before their official debut on Earth.[39]
Coldplay - Higher Power (Official Audio -- Extraterrestrial Transmission)
Official music video[]
During the first interviews while promoting the debut of "Higher Power", Chris revealed that the second and "real" music video would come out in about "a month, or so". He also said the video was directed by Dave Meyers and shot "on another planet". On June 1, Coldplay confirmed on their social media that the official video would be released on June 8, 2021.
The official poster for the music video
The music video starts revealing to be the first part of a three-part "melodic orbit", entitled Music of the Spheres, which was, at the time of release, rumoured to be the title of their ninth album and intro track. The video was choreographed by Seoul-based Kim Boram, and features members of his dance troupe, Ambiguous Dance Company.[40]
On the clip, Chris finds himself on Kaotica, a dark and post-apocalyptic planet piled high with the wreckage and trash of a modern city. As he walk through the world, passing by neon signs in Kaotican, robot dogs and giant holograms, he starts booging alongside a street-gang of dancing Kaotican aliens (members of Seoul's Ambiguous Dance Company) in colourful outfits and bedazzled faces, synchronizing their dance moves in a town square kinda like. The Kaoticans' heads turn into fan blades and they hover above ground-bound Chris and the rest of the electrical storm-zapped band. Chris gets overloaded with electricity and begins to run fastly, making him reach Kaotica's atmosphere.[41][42]
In a statement, director Dave Meyers explained that the visual is a "metaphor for how, right now, we all feel alienated, far removed from our world, almost like we're on an alien planet. And ultimately we find love in the streets and that euphoria shoots us off into the stratosphere of our own energy and higher power."[43] On his Instagram, he said Chris invited him "to help shape the next Coldplay saga" on the Christmas Eve of 2020.[44] During the live premiere, he commented the influences for the clip started "with a mutual love for Star Wars, a chance to explore Chris's own process of melancholy to euphoria via the inspiration of others." He stated it was a three day filming: one with dancers, one day with Chris only, and one day with the rest of the band; as well as revealing the video "is an attempt to launch and expose fans to what's coming."[45]
On August 11, 2021, the music video was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). [46]
Coldplay - Higher Power (Official Video)
Dance video[]
On June 21, 2021, an official dance video was exclusively released on Coldplay's official Facebook page. On June 25, it was made available on the band's YouTube channel. The clip was filmed in Seoul, South Korea, with Ambiguous Dance Company members dancing to "Higher Power" on various locations and city streets.
Coldplay - Higher Power (Official Dance Video)
Lyric video[]
The official lyric video for "Higher Power" was released on 19 May 2021 and was directed by Pilar Zeta and co-directed by Victor Scorrano.
Coldplay - Higher Power (Official Lyric Video)
Official audios[]
Gallery[]
Artworks[]
All artworks designed by Pilar Zeta.
.jpg "Higher Power (Acoustic Version).jpg (80 KB)")
.png "Higher Power (ZHU Remix).png (610 KB)")
.jpg "Higher Power (Tiësto Remix).jpg (59 KB)")
.jpg "Higher Power (Alyx Ander Remix).jpg (299 KB)")
Critical reception[]
Ella Kemp from NME rated the song 4/5 stars, stating that it "is best appreciated through the sheer force of the melody, giving you the rush of hurtling into the atmosphere, feeling like electricity is coursing through your fingertips and noticing the goosebumps on your skin – rather than processing any kind of mournful mission statements. And by the time Martin really lets loose in the immense outro, you can't help but feel the same optimism and gratitude that he does." She also noted some positive sound similarities with band's 2011 album, Mylo Xyloto, wroting: "For a band so often shackled by their emotional transparency, "Higher Power" is an exciting leap forward. This new chapter has the potential to finally take Coldplay as high as they’ve always wanted to go. If ‘Mylo Xyloto’ was about a rose bursting through the concrete, "Higher Power" launches this green shoot of hope into the stratosphere."[47]
Halle Kiefer from Vulture noted similarities with Steve Winwood's "Higher Love", while also complimenting the song by saying that "[in] comparison, 'Higher Power' wins out by a few hundred kilometers".[48]
"Higher Power" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on November 23, 2021,[49] as well as ranked amongst the best songs of the year by Apple Music,[50] Stereogum,[51] NBHAP,[52] and NME.[53]
Trivia[]
- In the first verse, Chris plays on words, singing the line "I'm like a broken record" backwards.
- Chris revealed for Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1's New Music Daily he had fifteen abandoned "Higher Power"'s demos and voice memos on his phone.[54]
- The song and its music video are the first music release to take place on Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the first international song to be projected on the world's highest tower.[55]
References[]
- ↑ https://pitchfork.com/news/grammy-nominations-2022-see-the-full-list-here/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/sPT3mGNoULk
- ↑ https://youtu.be/7G_49JMPh3s
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57020862.amp
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/COQRaxdhETb/?igshid=4pz3tvrkwgzr
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/1450552678820503574
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/1450552977564000262
- ↑ https://youtu.be/u-fapoeNIv8
- ↑ https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/coldplay-higher-power/
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/episode/0lCbuGdTV2z6cNmyRdfoWc?si=JW1dLR1kR-KNV5UhQnHZ3A&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1
- ↑ https://youtu.be/O-pm6IWc1Pk
- ↑ https://mobile.twitter.com/coldplayxtra/status/1390447139143266313
- ↑ https://people.com/music/coldplay-drops-new-song-higher-power/
- ↑ https://areena.yle.fi/audio/1-50830395
- ↑ https://www.expresfm.cz/aktualne/hudba/coldplay-exkluzivne-meli-jsme-pocit-ze-pro-fanousky-nic-neznamename-ceka-nas-nejdivnejsi-koncert/
- ↑ https://www.stereogum.com/2145699/coldplay-alien-radio-higher-power/news/
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-tease-new-project-alien-radio-in-mysterious-social-media-clip-2928760
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/1388190364679524359
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-share-preview-of-new-song-higher-power-on-tiktok-2932299
- ↑ https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0335298EN/the-first-ever-bmw-ix-and-the-first-ever-bmw-i4:-joint-global-campaign-plays-to-the-rhythm-of-coldplay-s-new-hit
- ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/coldplay-american-idol-chris-martin-mentor-1163901/
- ↑ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/coldplay-will-perform-at-the-2021-brit-awards__33056/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9570707/coldplay-higher-power-brit-awards
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094JHD9LX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_XSTG43NP1NQG64NS0MYY
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-debut-new-song-human-heart-glastonbury-livestream-2946389
- ↑ https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1398172688011599875
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9588524/coldplay-higher-power-new-york-fallon/
- ↑ https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/music/coldplay-to-perform-asap-natin-to-show-july-11-2021/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhNsZk9plYY
- ↑ https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/05/18/2231412/0/en/Enthusiast-Gaming-Partners-with-Coldplay-on-New-Higher-Power-Remix-Launch.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/1400127065169575938
- ↑ https://www.youredm.com/2021/06/05/coldplay-higher-power-tiesto-remix/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplayxtra/status/1412160580455174146/photo/2
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/COjoVANp1Fs/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/1450553248117571591
- ↑ https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/coldplay-drops-new-single-higher-power-music-video.html
- ↑ https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-coldplays-new-song-higher-power/
- ↑ https://popcrush.com/coldplay-chris-martin-higher-power-interview/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Thom_astro/status/1390447244667719684
- ↑ http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210609000336
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9584251/coldplay-higher-power-video/
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-coldplay-head-to-a-new-planet-in-intergalactic-higher-power-video-2963786
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9584251/coldplay-higher-power-video/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3onn9BLEn/?utm_medium=copy_link
- ↑ https://twitter.com/coldplaying/status/1402303744927277068
- ↑ https://mobile.twitter.com/coldplayxtra/status/1425492392417931268
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/reviews/coldplay-new-song-higher-power-review-2935954
- ↑ https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/coldplay-drops-new-single-higher-power-music-video.html
- ↑ https://pitchfork.com/news/grammy-nominations-2022-see-the-full-list-here/
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/the-100-best-songs-of-2021/pl.2029108ba4834f0aa1e1c98f8b37c551
- ↑ https://www.stereogum.com/2170338/the-top-40-pop-songs-of-2021/columns/the-week-in-pop/
- ↑ https://nbhap.com/sounds/list-best-songs-of-2021
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/nme-best-songs-of-the-year-2021-3112636
- ↑ https://youtu.be/jb0lAo94CaY?t=738
- ↑ https://campaignme.com/coldplays-higher-power-is-higher-than-ever/
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