Paradise (Coldplay song)

Background and composition

In 2010, the producers of ITV reality show The X Factor originally approached singer Chris Martin to write a winner's song for the seventh series of the show in 2010. "Paradise" was originally conceived by Martin as a response to the show's request, but drummer Will Champion insisted that the song be included on Mylo Xyloto.

The song is composed in the key of F major and its relative key, D minor (for the verses), with Chris Martin's vocals range from A3 to A5.

Critical reception

The song was met with positive reviews from the majority of music critics. Billboard gave a positive review calling the track "another slice of hug-warm ecstasy" and gave praise to the "boiling strings, rattling synthesisers, and bass-heavy-beats" saying "it shows they know how to bring a few new tricks to the table". Both Q and Rolling Stone offered similar praise, and also noted that it was another step in the right direction. Altsounds.com gave a similar review remarking that there are "Drums that you would expect in a Rihanna song and melodies you would expect from a band like Friendly Fires and the "oohs" from 3OH!3 is what you first hear. That is, of course, until Chris Martin's vocals come into play and there is no doubt in your mind that this is Coldplay. A wonderful chorus of "para-para-paradise" reminds you just how good they really are. It will remain with you for weeks to come, like that new piece of clothing you just can't get enough of".

About.com said, in a three-and-a-half star review, that "even when Coldplay sound a bit like they are spinning their wheels musically, it can still have quite beautiful moments." The review called the opening fanfare "simply gorgeous" but felt the rest of the song did not hold up as well as it could have. NME gave a more mixed reaction to the song and felt that "It's hard to say what the band is aiming for with the song. To replicate the epic football stadium 'moment' of 'Yellow'? The energy of a 'Viva La Vida'? If so it doesn't quite work on either count" but continued "if you're going to have a mid-paced Coldplay-by-numbers single-single, you may as well have one as grand and gorgeous as 'Paradise'".

Rankings

Chart performance

"Paradise" became a top five hit in 16 countries. In the United States, it peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dating 5 November 2011. Following the release on 12 September 2011, "Paradise" was revealed to be chart ineligible in the United Kingdom, having been offered as an "instant grat" (immediate download) for anyone who pre-ordered the album, Mylo Xyloto. The release of the album on 24 October 2011 saw "Paradise" debut at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart with sales of 27,277 copies (the track had a total of 118,547 downloads in the six weeks of chart ineligibility). After being made purchasable at 59p (instead of 99p) on iTunes Store and being played on the X Factor final, "Paradise" regained momentum in the United Kingdom and climbed up to number two on 18 December 2011. On 1 January 2012, "Paradise" became the first number-one single of 2012 in the United Kingdom and Coldplay's second, after "Viva la Vida" in 2008. In 2024, PPL ranked it as their second-most played song on British radio and television. According to ECAD, "Paradise" was the most played song on Brazilian radio between 2013 and 2023.

Live performances

"Paradise" was first played live before an audience on the night of 9 September 2011: it was shot before the studio audience of the Parisian music TV show Taratata on French television France 2. The crowd's response to this first performance was described as "unmistakable" by one of the band's roadies.

Music videos

Coldplay initially announced that the single's music video would be directed by Hype Williams, but that version was scrapped after shooting and the band decided instead to record a new version directed by long-time collaborator Mat Whitecross. The band called Whitecross just a day before the shooting and the video's concept was finished just hours before the director travelled from London to South Africa. Frontman Chris Martin created the video's concept storyline, which was ultimately filmed in the style of a nature documentary. Due to a combination of time constraints in shooting the video and Martin's conceptualisation, the elephant suits were intendedly "lo-fi and spontaneous", and the unicycle had to be found in a hurry. The music video was released on YouTube on 18 October 2011.

In the video, Martin, dressed as an elephant, escapes from the zoo. He finds an abandoned sharing system bicycle, rides it to Belsize Park tube station, and takes the train to Heathrow Airport in an attempt to hitch-hike his way to another country, doing so finally by stowing away inside a suitcase. An aerial shot reveals that his initial destination was Cape Town, South Africa. He is then seen wandering around Johannesburg at one point, walking past Nelson Mandela Bridge and a set of railway tracks in Braamfontein. He then earns enough money, which appears to be ZAR 67.05 (roughly equivalent to GBP 5.34 or US$8.40), by busking on the street, which shows portions of the song's lyrics in sync, to buy transportation; he attempts to buy a bicycle, but the shopkeeper tells him he can only afford a unicycle. After a seemingly hopeless wander on his new unicycle (in which Martin takes off his elephant head for a second), he comes across three other elephants, who are the rest of Coldplay, playing the song in the veld. Drummer Will Champion is dressed as Snorky from the fictional band The Banana Splits, identifiable by his glasses and polka-dot ears. He starts playing with them, and the band eventually play a sell-out stadium concert together, before returning to the veld where they run towards the camera. The video was shot on location in London, Cape Town, the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape and Johannesburg. The zoo that Martin escapes from is Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. The bike shop shown is Woodstock Cycleworks in Woodstock, Cape Town. The concert segment was filmed during Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto Tour concert at the FNB Stadium on 8 October 2011. After performing this song live, the band donned their elephant heads and gloves and pretended to perform as the last minute of the studio recording played. The concertgoers were encouraged to cheer and sing along as if they were actually performing. As of January 2026, the video has over two billion views on YouTube.

Another music video was directed by Shynola, who had directed the video for "Strawberry Swing". The video was intended as the first incarnation for the video before the band came up with the elephant concept. The promo pictures the life of a little girl that comes out of jail. A special video of "Paradise" was created for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and shown between event breaks. This version featured clips of Paralympian athletes competing in events.

Track listing

Remixes

Personnel

• Chris Martin – lead and backing vocals, piano
• Jonny Buckland – guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
• Guy Berryman – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Will Champion – drums, backing vocals
• Brian Eno – synthesisers
• Davide Rossi – strings

Usage in media

• Mike Tompkins released an a capella version of the song on 8 November 2011.
• Tyler Ward released an acoustic version of the song on 15 December 2011.
• David Garrett performed the song at his concert in Hanover on 18 October 2014.
• The Piano Guys recreated the song under the title "Peponi" ("Paradise" in Swahili), featuring singer Alex Boyé on 9 January 2012.
• Anu and Anmol Malik recreated the song under the title "Lamhein" ("Moments" in Hindi) on 1 October 2015.
• The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra released an orchestral version of the song for the trailer of BBC series Mammals on 12 March 2024.

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

References

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