A Head Full of Dreams
A Head Full of Dreams is the seventh studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 4 December 2015, by Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and by Atlantic Records in the United States.[8] Coldplay recorded the album from early to mid 2015, right after the completion of their previous album Ghost Stories, with a markedly different style and sound from its predecessors. For various songs, Coldplay collaborated with Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo, Khatia Buniatishvili and Merry Clayton. The album was produced by Rik Simpson and Stargate.[8][9] The album also features a sample of President Barack Obama singing "Amazing Grace" at Clementa C. Pinckney's funeral on the song "Kaleidoscope".[10]
For the song, see A Head Full of Dreams (song). For the film, see Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams.A Head Full of Dreams
4 December 2015
February–August 2015
- Henson, Hollywood
- Village Recorder, Los Angeles
- Woodshed, Malibu
- AIR, London
- The Bakery, London
- The Beehive, London
45:45
A Head Full of Dreams received generally mixed reviews from critics. Nevertheless, it was a commercial success as it topped the UK Albums Chart, and peaked at number two in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Italy, where it was held off the top spot by Adele's 25.[11][12] At the 2016 Brit Awards the album was nominated for British Album of the Year. It was the eighth-best-selling album of 2015 with 1.9 million copies sold worldwide, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[13] It was the ninth-best-selling album of 2016, with 1.4 million copies sold worldwide, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[14] As of November 2017, the album has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.[15] It was supported by five singles: "Adventure of a Lifetime", "Hymn for the Weekend", "Up&Up", the title track, and "Everglow". A 5.1 Surround Blu-ray Audio version of the album was released via the band's website on 23 September 2016.[16]
The album was promoted by the successful A Head Full of Dreams Tour, that lasted nearly two years. The following year after the tour's conclusion, the band released Live in Buenos Aires, which was recorded on the final two nights of the tour in La Plata, Buenos Aires.[17] A concert film and a documentary were also included in a deluxe edition of the CD.[18] A second live album entitled Love In Tokyo was also released as a Japanese exclusive album which featured recordings from multiple legs of the tour.[19]
Background[edit]
Coldplay began working on A Head Full of Dreams in late 2014 after promoting their sixth album Ghost Stories. The album has a markedly different style and sound from its predecessors. In an interview with Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley in December 2014, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bass guitarist Guy Berryman gave a hint as to the difference between A Head Full of Dreams and its predecessor – Buckland called it the "night to the day", comparing the style of Ghost Stories to the expected uplifting theme of A Head Full of Dreams. Lead singer Chris Martin hinted at the style of the album by saying that the band was trying to make something colourful and uplifting. He also stated that it would be something to "shuffle your feet" to.
On 26 September 2015, the band performed at the Global Citizen Festival 2015 in New York City, playing a six-song set, including a new song called "Amazing Day".[20] The band's producer Rik Simpson confirmed that the song would be on the new album. On 21 November 2016 frontman Chris Martin announced new material to be released for 2017 via Twitter, it would be named Kaleidoscope EP.[21] The album was produced by Rik Simpson (the band's longterm collaborator) and Norwegian duo Stargate (Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen). Mixing duties were carried out predominately by Rik Simpson. Stargate executive produced the album.
Singles[edit]
"Adventure of a Lifetime", was released on 6 November 2015 as the album's lead single,[8] the music video came out on 29 November 2015.[31] "Everglow" then premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show on 26 November 2015 and released as a promotional single on the following day.[32] "Hymn for the Weekend" was released as the second single for the album on 25 January 2016.[33] The band received criticism from certain media outlets for the portrayal of Indian society in its music video.[34] The third single, "Up&Up", was released on 22 April 2016,[35] while "A Head Full of Dreams" arrived on 19 August 2016 with an accompanying music video.[36] A stripped-down version of "Everglow", which was inspired by Martin's unrehearsed solo performance of the song due to a technical mishap at Glastonbury Festival, was released as the fifth and final single on 11 November 2016.[37]
Commercial performance[edit]
A Head Full of Dreams debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with 235,975 copies sold, behind Adele's 25.[73] It was their highest first-week album sales since 2008's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, which sold 302,074 copies in its first week.[73] Had A Head Full of Dreams debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, it would have made Coldplay only the second band in the UK chart history (after Oasis) to do so with their first seven albums.[73] The album did, however, manage to top both the UK Album Downloads Chart and the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.[74] On 12 February 2016, following the positive reception and exposure from Coldplay's headlining set at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show, the album rose to number one in the UK after selling 30,146 copies that week. This secured them a seventh number one album in the UK, thus putting them second in the list of acts with the most UK number one albums in the 21st century; only Robbie Williams has more, with 10.[75]
The album also reached number two in Australia,[76] Canada, the Netherlands, and Italy, held off number one by Adele's 25 in all territories. In the Netherlands, however, the album eventually managed to reach the number one position in its 30th week on the charts, the week following Coldplay's two concerts in Amsterdam. Following their tour stint in Ireland, the album reached a new peak at number two in its 84th charting week.[77] The album sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide as of November 2017.[15]
In the United States, A Head Full of Dreams debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with 210,000 equivalent album units, behind Adele's 25.[78] It was the second-best-selling album of the week, selling 195,000 copies in its first week,[78] which is a drop from the 383,000 copies sold in the first week by Ghost Stories. In its second week, the album fell to number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 61,000 copies.[79] On the chart dated 27 February 2016, the album returned to the top 10 of the US Billboard 200, peaking at number four, selling 90,000 units (71,000 in pure album sales).[80] On 4 March 2016, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined album sales, streaming-equivalent and track-equivalent of half-million units.[81]
The only country where A Head Full of Dreams managed to debut at number one was Norway, replacing 25. This enabled Coldplay to achieve there what Adele prevented them from doing in other territories; all of their studio albums reaching the top spot.[82] As per International Business Times, the album's released helped streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify enjoy a revenue boost of £83 million.[83] Singles "Adventure of a Lifetime" and "Hymn for the Weekend" charted at number 95 and 75, respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in 2016, making A Head Full of Dreams their first album to earn two entries on said ranking.[84]
"Colour Spectrum" is stylised as "".
Coldplay's songwriting members are Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin. Stargate are Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen.
Notes