Coldplay

On May 19th, Coldplay will release their sixth album entitled Ghost Stories via Parlophone/Atlantic Records. "Magic" is the lead single from the album. The track leads with a bass-heavy, almost electronic-inflected groove, making lead singer, Chris Martin's voice sound almost like vintage Coldplay. "Call it magic," he sings. "Call it true. Call it magic, when I'm with you." And even though the band includes thoughtful, deeply textured production touches like warbling synths and guitar reverb that lingers a little longer than usual, Martin intones the falsetto "woos" and a catchy "Yes, I do" hook that, along with a lush acoustic guitar buildup in the middle, prove it to be Coldplay through and through.

Coldplay was formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London (UCL). After they formed under the name Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a drummer, backing vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, completing the line-up. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998, before recording and releasing three EPs; Safety in 1998, Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999 and The Blue Room in the same year. The latter was their first release on a major label, after signing to Parlophone. They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000, followed by their debut album released in the same year, Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), was released to critical acclaim and won multiple awards, including NME's Album of the Year. Their next release, X&Y, the best-selling album worldwide in 2005, was met with mostly positive reviews upon its release. The band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely positive reviews, earning several Grammy Award nominations and wins at the 51st Grammy Awards. In 2011, they released their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, which received mixed to positive reviews, topped the charts in over 34 countries, and was the UK's best-selling rock album of 2011.The band has yet to announce live dates other than an opening night performance at Austin's iTunes festival during South by Southwest on March 11th. Fans who cannot attend the Texas gig will be able to watch the performance in a free live stream on iTunes.

Coldplay will headline opening night of the first US iTunes Festival at SXSW on March 11th. The performance will stream live and on-demand worldwide for free via the iTunes Store.

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