Let Somebody Go

"Let Somebody Go"
General information
Main Artist	Coldplay
Featured Artist	Selena Gomez
Released	15 October 2021 (album) 7 February 2022 (single) 4 March 2022 (Single Version)
Recorded	2019-April 2021
Genre	Pop rock Soft rock
Length	4:01 (album) 3:33 (Single Version) 3:39 (radio edit)
Labels
Songwriter(s)	Guy Berryman Jonny Buckland Will Champion Chris Martin Max Martin Oscar Holter Bill Rahko Apple Martin Leland Wayne Olivia Waithe
Producer(s)	Max Martin Oscar Holter Bill Rahko Metro Boomin
Album	Music of the Spheres
Singles chronology
← Previous	"My Universe"
Current	"Let Somebody Go"
Next →	"Biutyful"
Music of the Spheres track listing
"Alien Choir"
"Let Somebody Go"
"Human Heart"

"Let Somebody Go" is a song by Coldplay from their ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres. It is the fifth track on the album and features American singer and actress Selena Gomez. It was released for digital download and streaming on 7 February 2022 through Parlophone and Atlantic Records as the album's third single and accompanied by its official music video; the single impacted the United States' adult contemporary radio on 14 February 2022. On the concept of the record, the track represents Calypso, the fourth planet on The Spheres solar system.

A live studio version of "Let Somebody Go" was released on the band's fifteenth EP, Spotify Singles.

Background

On 26 March 2021, Chris Martin was invited to host a singing competition on social live audio app Clubhouse; when asked to play something at the end of his interview, Chris briefly performed the first verse of a then-untitled new song. After the performance, he claimed the song would "be out sometime." The song would be revealed to be "Let Somebody Go" in late September 2021.

On September 2, Chris posted on Coldplay's social media a list of songs and artists he was loving at the moment and included the 2021 single "999" by Selena Gomez featuring Colombian singer Camilo. Gomez started following the band on Instagram soon afterward. Fans also claimed that Selena's voice could be heard on the album trailer "Overtura" during the snippet of "Let Somebody Go", as well as noticing Instagram interactions on Coldplay's Music of the Spheres album posts by Gomez's account, which sparked rumours over an eventual collaboration between both artists.

Prior to Coldplay's iHeartRadio album release party for Music of the Spheres on September 14, the band were interviewed on stage. Chris talked about "My Universe", their collaboration with South Korean K-pop band BTS, and was asked about other musicians in the music industry that the band would like to work with. He stated that the band has already worked with all the artists they would like and briefly mentioned they have recorded a song with Selena Gomez, not giving any further information about it. On September 29, Coldplay started following Selena back on Instagram.

On October 3, Simon Boyle from British tabloid newspaper The Sun reportedly revealed that Coldplay and Selena Gomez would be collaborating on the track, defining it as “a dream come true that [Gomez] is finally singing on a Coldplay record.” The following day, Selena Gomez confirmed her guest appearance on Music of the Spheres, teasing a preview video of "Let Somebody Go" on her social media.

Regarding how the band chose to collaborate with Gomez on the track, Chris stated, “It just felt like she's the perfect person to sing this together. Her voice has this warm rich emotion in it, so the song leads the way.” In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, he said Gomez' involvement would benefit the song by depicting “the two sides of the story”. Phil Harvey admitted in a broadcast on Stationhead that he initially tried to persuade Chris to include the song on their eighth studio album Everyday Life in 2019.

Official promotional photo of Coldplay with Selena Gomez for the release of "Let Somebody Go".

Speaking on the song and the collaboration with Gomez, Guy Berryman told Apple Music, “It's just a really lovely ballad. And quite early on we realized it needed a female counterpart to the vocal. And we were very grateful that when we asked Selena to sing on it, she loved the song and was happy to do so. Collaborations in general are something that we've done more of recently. We never really used to do it before. When we were younger, we kind of locked ourselves in a room and felt we had to prove everything ourselves. But I think as time has gone on, it's become more interesting for us to work with other people from different parts of the world, different genres. It just adds colour and character to the music.”

Writing and production

"Let Somebody Go" was written by all band members, Apple Martin, Olivia Waithe (better known by her stage name Livvi Franc), Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Bill Rahko and Leland Wayne (professionally known as Metro Boomin), and produced by the last four. Chris' daughter Apple was credited after she “gave me this amazing chord that I'd never thought of. So she's on there”.

Artwork

Differing from the visual aesthetic created by Pilar Zeta on the previous Music of the Spheres single covers, the artwork of "Let Somebody Go" was designed by Brazilian graphic designer Felipe Foster and adapted from the official music video poster, also designed by Foster. The art direction was held by Rahul.

Live performances

Coldplay and Selena Gomez performing the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

"Let Somebody Go" was first performed live on The Late Late Show with James Corden by Coldplay and Selena Gomez on the show's 18 October 2021 episode. On 2 February 2022, Chris Martin performed a piano solo version of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Lyrics

[Intro: Chris Martin]
(Let somebody, let somebody go)

[Verse 1: Chris Martin, Chris Martin & Will Champion]
We had a kind of love
I thought that it would never end
Oh, my lover, oh, my other, oh, my friend
We talked around in circles and
We talked around and then
I loved you to the moon and back again
You gave everything this golden glow
Now turn off all the stars 'cause this I know

[Chorus: Chris Martin]
That it hurts like so
To let somebody go

[Verse 2: Selena Gomez, Chris Martin & Selena Gomez]
All the storms we weathered
Everything that we went through
Now without you, what on earth am I to do?
When I called the mathematicians and
I asked them to explain
They said love is only equal to the pain
And when everything was going wrong
You could turn my sorrow into song

[Chorus: Chris Martin, Selena Gomez, Chris Martin & Selena Gomez]
Oh, it hurts like so
To let somebody go
To let somebody go (Body, body, body, body)
Oh, oh-oh (Oh-oh)
Oh, oh-oh
(Let somebody, let somebody go)
Yeah

[Bridge: Chris Martin & Selena Gomez]
Oh, oh-oh (Oh), when you love somebody (Oh)
When you love somebody (Oh)
Got to let somebody know
Oh, oh-oh (Oh), when you love somebody (Oh)
When you love somebody (Oh)
Got to let somebody know
So when you love somebody
When you love somebody

[Chorus: Chris Martin, Chris Martin & Selena Gomez]
Then it hurts like so
To let somebody go
It hurts like so
To let somebody go

[Outro: Chris Martin]
But you're still with me now, I know
(Let somebody, let somebody go)
Oh (Let somebody, let somebody go)
But you're still with me now, I know

Music video

The official music video for "Let Somebody Go" was announced on 3 February 2022 via Alien Radio FM and Coldplay's social media, and was released on February 7. It was filmed in October 2021 and directed by Dave Meyers, who had previously directed the music videos for "Higher Power" and "My Universe".

The official poster for the music video, designed by Felipe Foster.

Incorporating cinematographic references from Inception (2010), directed by Christopher Nolan, and Doctor Strange (2016), directed by Scott Derrickson, the black-and-white clip depicts Chris Martin and Selena Gomez as two love interests sharing one last embrace in a busy New York street before parting ways. The street they are at is across a cinema that displays the Music of the Spheres' album tagline ‘Everyone Is an Alien Somewhere’ placed on the marquee as a film title above the entrance. As Chris sings the first verse of lyrics, tears fall from Gomez' cheeks. In the same busy street — although now vertically mirrored — Chris and Gomez slowly separate as they float away from each other, channelling a visual metaphor that reflects the lyrics sung by Gomez.

At a certain moment, the two walk up a convoluted spiral of dystopian stairs, reaching dead ends before joining for a hug; as they float through the falling-apart city holding each other in the air, the couple sing the song's bridge. “When you love somebody (Oh) / Got to let somebody know.” By the end, the two float apart before, as they sing that “it hurts like so.”

Coldplay x Selena Gomez - Let Somebody Go (Official Video)

Behind the Scenes

Video

Coldplay x Selena Gomez - Let Somebody Go (Behind the Scenes)

Photos

Lyric video

The official lyric video or "Let Somebody Go" was uploaded on Coldplay's YouTube channel upon the release of Music of the Spheres on 15 October 2021. It was directed by Pilar Zeta and Victor Scorrano and depicts the fictional planet Calypso.

Coldplay x Selena Gomez - Let Somebody Go (Official Lyric Video)

Visualiser

Coldplay x Selena Gomez - Let Somebody Go (Single Version) (Official Visualiser)

Official audios

Let Somebody Go

Let Somebody Go (2)

Let Somebody Go (Single Version)

Critical reception

"Let Somebody Go" was considered by most critics as a highlight on Music of the Spheres. Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called the song a "soft-focus study in post-breakup solemnity that's got more warmth and grace than most artists' crushed-out valentines". It was also named one of the best songs of the year by Aftonbladet, citing it as a "delicious music with only one signal: Chris Martin's habit of writing howling and presumptuous arena signs", and Cosmopolitan, which considered the collaboration "unexpectedly awesome".