Mar 032025
 
best covers of february 2025
Bring Me the Horizon — Wonderwall (Oasis cover)

Screamo Oasis? That’s sure to piss some people off! Can’t wait for the Gallagher brothers to weigh in. This reminds me of Biffy Clyro’s highly divisive “Modern Love” a few years back. Not generally my genre of music, but I do love when a band takes a swing like this.

The Great Leslie — Fix You (Coldplay cover)

For a couple weeks this months, my Google Alerts were taken over by some TV-performance show called Chefsache ESC 2025. Which I’d never heard of, and still only vaguely understand what it is (some sort of Germany-only Eurovision?). It produced some wild covers though. The Feuerschwanz medieval-metal version of “Dragostea Din Tei” must be seen to be believed. But we’ve written about that song before—they released it on an album a couple years ago—so, instead, here’s a group called The Great Leslie performing Coldplay like they’re Franz Ferdinand. Continue reading »

Feb 172025
 
coldplay and laura mvula

In February, when funds are low for ticket buying and no sensible person would consider holding an outdoor gig in the UK, the BBC steps in to do the country a huge favour. They turn over their Maida Vale studios to bands and other performers to record live for their audience, sometimes helped by the considerable musical resources available to the BBC, and of course, friends where necessary. Everyone performs at least one cover. This year’s season kicked off with a coup. Coldplay, augmented by Laura Mvula, performed some cherished hits, songs from their most recent album and chose as their tribute The Proclaimers’ classic “Sunshine On Leith.” Continue reading »

Sep 042024
 
coldplay maggie rogers

One of my favourite things is seeing bands play tribute to other musicians as a part of their live shows, something Coldplay have a good track record of doing. While performing in Vienna, lead singer Chris Martin made reference to Taylor Swift‘s cancelled shows in the city, and asked Maggie Rogers and two dedicated Swifties from the audience to join him in a cover of Swift’s massive hit “Love Story.” Continue reading »

Jul 092024
 
Rachel Chinouriri

Rachel Chinouriri is an alt/indie singer-songwriter, who performed at the Glastonbury festival this year. Another act at Glastonbury? Coldplay. So she recored a cover of “The Scientist” to celebrate.

As it turns out, the artist has a large amount of reverence for Coldplay because of a personal experience. In an interview, she once stated:

“Coldplay, like, saved my life. I was 13 and going through that the worst time ever as I was in a racist secondary school, but Coldplay was one thing that kept me going,” she had told the publication The Forty-Five. “I have this love and connection with Coldplay that is just endless, and no one can ever change my mind. I don’t care what music that they put out; I don’t want to hear a single thing about them that is bad.”

As Chinouriri began singing, the notes flowed out effortlessly. Even if one didn’t know the relationship the artist has with Coldplay, the purity with which “The Scientist” was delivered told all. This version is a near-genre swap. The vocals have moments of light and airy jazz riffs, and the instrumental introduction is unexpected, with its panned electronic eighth notes (that tickle the brain just right). As we phase in, the beat gets solidified and the arrangement becomes more similar to the original, while the heartfelt and gentle vocals continue to offer a direct contrast to the Coldplay version.

Apr 172024
 
JXDN yellow

JXDN (AKA Jaden Hossler) is a well-known internet personality and singer-songwriter from Tennessee. The artist first took off from a video he posted on TikTok in 2019. Then, his debut album, Comatose came out in 2020. JXDN primarily hovers around the emo/pop-punk and rap genres. And now? The artist has taken on the iconic, anthemic Coldplay song “Yellow.” The pop-rock fusion cover of the song was created for Spotify Singles. Continue reading »

Jul 192023
 
coldplay backstreets back

At a recent show in Gothenburg, Sweden, English pop superstars Coldplay led the crowd in a rousing rendition of the Backstreet Boys’ 1997 hit, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” Played during the last quarter of their set, between an acoustic version of “In my Place” and the track “Humankind” from their most recent album, lead singer Chris Martin begins by playing around on the piano to arrive at the iconic melody line. Continue reading »