Released 22 April 2016 Label Parlophone | Format Digital download Producer(s) Rik Simpson
Stargate | |
Length 6:45 (album version)
3:58 (radio edit)
4:10 (music video) Writer(s) Guy Berryman
Jonny Buckland
Will Champion
Chris Martin | ||
"Up & Up" (stylised as "Up&Up") is a song by British rock band Coldplay from their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams (2015). It was released as the third single of the record on 22 April 2016 by Parlophone. Background vocals in the song are provided by Beyoncé, Annabelle Wallis and Merry Clayton. A music video for the track was released on 16 May 2016.
Contents
Map of Uttar Pradesh
Background
The song is characterized by the chorus choir, which was attended by almost all the artists who have collaborated with the album group, including Beyoncé, Brian Eno and the children of the four musicians. In the album there is also the participation of guitarist and singer Noel Gallagher, who runs the second guitar solo (omitted in the radio version of the individual).
Music video
The band had released teasers on their social media accounts leading up to the video release. The music video directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia was released on May 16, 2016. It has been described on the band's website as a "poignant, surrealist montage which alludes to contemporary issues." The video itself consists of over-layered visuals, and has the band playing the song in various landscapes and locations. One of the locations used in it is Croatian mountain range called Biokovo; Chris Martin appears seated on it.
A writer of the website MTV UK stated the video is "weird and wonderful in every respect", and "magical yet poignant". Chris Payne, writing for Billboard magazine, called it an "appropriately epic music video" with "a heady, shoot-for-the-stars type of statement". Idolator writer Carl Williott, who was reserved towards the song itself, felt that its video "elevates it thanks to some artfully trippy visuals".
Scenes and visual effects for the video were created by GloriaFX, a Ukraine-based visual effects company, headed in Ukraine by Anatolii Kuzmytskyi and Max Colt in the US. Chris Martin called it "one of the best videos ever made". Some scenes were cut from the video to make it shorter, including a man with a volcano in place of his head.
The music video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Live performances
After giving fans a live performance preview of the album on 21 November 2015 in Los Angeles, frontman Chris Martin said: "This is kind of the song we've been waiting to write for 15 years." The band performed the song at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show held on 7 February 2016 in Santa Clara, California. They were joined by Bruno Mars and Beyoncé while singing the last verses.
During the performance at Glastonbury Festival on 26 June 2016, the band were joined on stage by Chris Martin's children Apple and Moses who helped with the backing vocals.
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from A Head Full of Dreams liner notes.
Coldplay
Additional musicians