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Orphans (Coldplay song)

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"Orphans"
Picture sleeve for (7-inch vinyl) double A-side single
Dual single cover
Single by Coldplay
from the album Everyday Life
Released24 October 2019 (2019-10-24)
GenrePop rock
Length3:17
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Coldplay singles chronology
"Miracles (Someone Special)"
(2017) 		"Orphans" / "Arabesque"
(2019) 		"Higher Power"
(2021)
Music video
"Orphans" on YouTube

"Orphans" is a song by British rock band Coldplay from their eighth studio album Everyday Life. It was released on 24 October 2019, along with the single "Arabesque" and appears on the second side of the album Sunset.[1] The song was written by the band members and produced by The Dream Team.[2][3]

Background and promotion

[edit]

On 24 October 2019, the band announced the release (on the same day) of the songs "Arabesque" and "Orphans" as a dual release and as the first singles of Everyday Life.[4] About the content of the songs, lead singer Chris Martin said in an interview with BBC Radio 1 that "some of it’s very personal, about real things in my life, and some of it’s about things that I see or we see, and some of it’s about trying to empathise about what other people are going through".[5] On the day of the release, the band set up a timer counting down to the release of the songs.[6]

The subject matter of the song includes the plight of refugees of the Syrian civil war. Martin told the BBC, “It seems to me that one of the things that might help people have a better time is to put themselves in other people’s shoes, whether that’s these kids who have to leave Syria, or who grew up in Baltimore, or whatever it might be. Rather than judging from afar, maybe to think ‘I wonder what it’s like to be there.'” Coldplay donated 10% of the worldwide proceeds from the song to the refugee charity Hopeland.[7]

Recording

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The song was recorded last-minute during the mixing of the album Everyday Life, for which it served as one of two lead singles.[8]

Music video

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The song's music video, directed by Mat Whitecross,[9] premiered on 25 October 2019.[10] The music video shows the development of the song from its earliest roots, a voice memo by Chris Martin in which the singer is heard talking about the tuning of his guitar before playing what would become the song's main riff, to the fully polished song that was released.[11] The music video won an award at the 2020 MTV VMAs for 'Best Rock' music video.[12]

Reception

[edit]

3voor12 (61),[13] Billboard (93),[14] and NME (41) included the track on their "Best Songs of 2019" lists.[15]

Live performances

[edit]

The song was performed live for the first time during NBC's Saturday Night Live on 2 November 2019. In a rehearsal, Martin explained to the dancers who accompanied the band's performance, "This song is about, you see all these pictures of young people like you and a bit older people like us, having to leave their countries and everyone calls them refugees or migrants rather than just people. So we were thinking about, this could be any of us who is in these camps or at the border or whatever. And that's what this song’s about, it's like people like us saying, 'I just want to go home and be normal.'"[16] "Orphans" was later played live on the Annie Mac Show on BBC Radio 1 on 27 November 2019 along with "Arabesque", "Everyday Life", "Lovers in Japan", and "Guns".

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the "Orphans / Arabesque" liner notes.[17]

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for "Orphans"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[72] Platinum 70,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[73] Gold 20,000‡
France (SNEP)[74] Gold 100,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[75] Gold 25,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[76] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[77] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 24 October 2019
Parlophone [78]
Australia 25 October 2019 Contemporary hit radio
[79]
Italy Warner [80]
United Kingdom Parlophone [81]
2 November 2019 Adult contemporary [82]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Moore, Sam (23 October 2019). "Coldplay announce tracklist for new album 'Everyday Life' in local Welsh newspaper". NME. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ Strauss, Matthew (24 October 2019). "Coldplay Share New Songs "Orphans" and "Arabesque": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Orphans / Arabesque / Coldplay – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  4. ^ White, Jack (24 October 2019). "Coldplay announce tracklist to new double album Everyday Life released on November 22". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. ^ Trendell, Andrew (24 October 2019). "Coldplay's Chris Martin explains the inspiration behind new tracks "Orphans" and "Arabesque" and new album Everyday Life". NME. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. ^ Cross, Alan (24 October 2019). "Coldplay has been quietly planting Easter eggs ahead of their new album". ajournalofmusicalthings.com. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Coldplay Supports Hopeland with the Song 'Orphans'". Our Homeland. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  8. ^ "Chris Martin gives a world-exclusive interview ahead of new Coldplay album Everyday Life". YouTube. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  9. ^ Ulitski, Rob (6 November 2019). "Coldplay 'Orphans' by Mat Whitecross". Promonews. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ^ DeVille, Chris (24 October 2019). "Coldplay – "Orphans" & "Arabesque"". Stereogum. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Chris Martin gives a world-exclusive interview ahead of new Coldplay album Everyday Life". YouTube. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  12. ^ Rabab Al-Sharif (31 August 2020). "Coldplay Win Best Rock Music Video at 2020 VMAs". Loudwire. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Merol Wint de Song Van Het Jaar 2019" [Merol Wins Song of the Year 2019]. 3voor12 (in Dutch). 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  14. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  15. ^ "Rocklist - NME End of Year Lists 2019". Rocklist UK. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  16. ^ @coldplay (November 5, 2019). "Chris explains what Orphans is about at last week's rehearsals with the band's SNL dancers. A #EverydayLife" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Coldplay (24 October 2019). Orphans / Arabesque (digital download). Parlophone. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
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  39. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2019/11/11". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 November 2019.
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  48. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 44, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  49. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
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  51. ^ "Top 50 – Radio San Marino RTV – 16/11/2019" (in Italian). San Marino RTV. 16 November 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  52. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  53. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 48. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
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  72. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  73. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Coldplay – Orphans" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  74. ^ "French single certifications – Coldplay – Orphans" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  75. ^ "Italian single certifications – Coldplay – Orphans" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 3 January 2022. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Orphans" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  76. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Coldplay – Orphans". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  77. ^ "British single certifications – Coldplay – Orphans". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  78. ^ Strauss, Matthew (24 October 2019). "Coldplay Share New Songs "Orphans" and "Arabesque": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
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