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A Head Full of Dreams (song)

Summary

"A Head Full of Dreams" is a song by British rock band Coldplay from its namesake seventh studio album. It was produced by Rik Simpson and Stargate, being released as the fourth single from the record on 19 August 2016 with an accompanying music video.[1]

"A Head Full of Dreams"
Promotional graphic for the song
Single by Coldplay
from the album A Head Full of Dreams
Released19 August 2016
GenreAlternative rock
Length
  • 3:43 (album version)
  • 3:29 (radio edit)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Coldplay singles chronology
"Up&Up"
(2016) 		"A Head Full of Dreams"
(2016) 		"Everglow"
(2016)

Background edit

The song was recorded by the band during sessions for their seventh studio album in 2014, at their purpose-built studios the Bakery and the Beehive in North London, England, both originally constructed for work on their three previous studio albums.[2] The song "fades in with distantly chiming bells, a synthetic dance pulse, a drum set shuffling complicatedly, and a guitar repeatedly drawing a high, short melody".[3]

Critical reception edit

 
The song drew comparisons to the work of U2 (pictured in 2017).

The song received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom compared its sound to that of U2. The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber called the song's arrangement "cool" and "unusual". Furthermore, he said that the bells, dance pulse, drums, and guitar parts "[drop] out for a bit before the two-minute mark, and you retroactively realized you just experienced the chorus, when Martin sang the title of the song twice to the tune of that guitar line you'd heard earlier. The second verse doesn't end in a chorus, but rather launches into an Arcade Fire-style 'ohh-ohhhh” refrain.'"[3] Janine Schaults of Consequence of Sound said the song "opens with chimes signaling entry into a magical land — like opening the door to Willy Wonka's gluttonous factory. But, the song wastes no time getting to its generic 'oh oh oh-a-oh' chorus, the kind of thing that a glowing sea of wailers will shout up to the rafters of the stadiums the band visits on tour next year. A bit lazy, one could argue, but as Martin told The Wall Street Journal, he doesn’t want 'anything to get in the way of the mood of the music … you can't translate the melody into words'".[4]

Adam Silverstein of Digital Spy wrote, "Before Martin's split from Gwyneth and the emotional Ghost Stories that followed, Coldplay were on their way to a poppier place with 2011's Mylo Xyloto. 'A Head Full of Dreams' gladly re-conjures those bright and shiny colours again, while also spinning a guitar line that could have fallen off U2's Joshua Tree. It's the first sign that Martin is ready to move on, joyfully hatching a world where dreams come to life. Welcome back, Chris - we missed you".[5] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis said, "The title track adds some pep to the tried-and-tested Coldplay formula – echoing guitars, bombastic piano, massed, stadium-rousing woah-oh vocals – by tying it to a disco pulse".[6] Pitchfork's Stuart Berman wrote, "The title track eases us into the album on a glistening groove but halts its momentum for a now-obligatory 'woah oh oh oh' breakdown that sounds like it was focus-grouped into the song."[7] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone mentioned that the song "sounds like U2 and New Order on a joint humanitarian mission".[8] Spin's Andrew Unterberger also drew comparisons to the former band.[9] Tom Breihan of Stereogum claimed that "A Head Full of Dreams" and "Adventure of a Lifetime" decorate the kickdrums with "spangled pseudo-Afropop guitars" and charts.[10] Panorama ranked "A Head Full of Dreams" among the best songs of 2015.[11]

Music video edit

A music video for the song was released on 19 August 2016. It was directed by James Marcus Haney and was filmed in Mexico City in April 2016 when the band performed there for their tour. The video shows the band biking around the streets of Mexico City and them performing the song at the Foro Sol.[12] The beginning of the video also features a voice-over of Charlie Chaplin's speech from the 1940 film The Great Dictator.[13]

Live performances edit

The song was performed on The Late Late Show with James Corden, along with "Adventure of a Lifetime", on 12 November 2015.[14][15][16] It was also performed at the X Factor Italy in Milan.[17] The song was the opening song for their A Head Full of Dreams Tour.

Track listing edit

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."A Head Full of Dreams"3:43
Digital download (Radio Edit)
No.TitleLength
1."A Head Full of Dreams" (Radio Edit)3:29

Credits and personnel edit

Credits are adapted from A Head Full of Dreams liner notes.[18]

Coldplay

Additional musicians

Charts edit

Weekly chart performance for "A Head Full of Dreams"
Chart (2015–2017) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[19] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[20] 14
France (SNEP)[21] 156
Iceland (RÚV)[22] 2
Italy (FIMI)[23] 58
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 60
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[25] 32
Slovenia (SloTop50)[26] 45
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27] 45
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 12
Switzerland Airplay (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 78
UK Singles (OCC)[30] 173
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[31] 26

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[32] Platinum 50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Worldwide 19 August 2016 Digital download Original Parlophone [12][13]
United Kingdom 31 August 2016 Contemporary hit radio Radio Edit [34]
Italy 7 October 2016 Warner [35]

References edit

  1. ^ "Watch The New A Head Full of Dreams Video!". Coldplay Official Website. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Coldplay's The Bakery Studio: NME get a private tour of the band's HQ". NME. January 28, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Review: Coldplay's 'A Head Full of Dreams' Is a Whole New Kind of Boring". The Atlantic. December 9, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. ^ Flynn, Katherine (December 4, 2015). "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams | Album Reviews". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  5. ^ Harp, Justin (December 3, 2015). "Coldplay's new album A Head Full of Dreams: Our track-by-track review". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Alexis Petridis (December 4, 2015). "Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams review – a failure to commit to pop". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Berman, Stuart (December 4, 2015). "Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  8. ^ Dolan, Jon (December 4, 2015). "Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  9. ^ SPIN. "Review: Coldplay, 'A Head Full of Dreams'". SPIN. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  10. ^ "Premature Evaluation: Coldplay A Head Full Of Dreams". Stereogum. December 4, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  11. ^ "Le 25 Migliori Canzoni del 2015 – La Classifica Definitiva" [The 25 Best Songs of 2015 – The Definitive Ranking]. Panorama (in Italian). December 31, 2015. Archived from the original on April 21, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (August 19, 2016). "See Coldplay Bike Around Mexico City in 'A Head Full of Dreams' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Bruner, Raisa (August 19, 2016). "Let Coldplay Take You on a Tour of Mexico City in New "A Head Full of Dreams" Music Video". Time. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  14. ^ Kreps, Daniel (December 8, 2015). "Watch Coldplay Jam With James Corden for 'Head Full of Dreams'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  15. ^ Geslani, Michelle (December 8, 2015). "Coldplay leave the Late Late Show with A Head Full of Dreams — watc". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  16. ^ "Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams". YouTube. December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  17. ^ Coldplay live @ Xfactor Italia - A head full of dreams, retrieved May 22, 2021
  18. ^ A Head Full of Dream (booklet). Coldplay. Parlophone. 2015. 1053933969.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  21. ^ "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Coldplay Chart History". RÚV. March 7, 2016. Archived from the original on May 24, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  23. ^ "Top Digital - Classifica settimanale WK 50 (dal 2015-12-11 al 2015-12-17)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  24. ^ "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  25. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201628 into search.
  26. ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  27. ^ "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  28. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 51, 2015" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  29. ^ "Schweizer Airplay Charts 39/2016 - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  31. ^ "Coldplay Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  32. ^ "Italian single certifications – Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "A Head Full of Dreams" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  33. ^ "British single certifications – Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  34. ^ "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC Radio 1. August 31, 2016. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  35. ^ Release date in Italian to contemporary hit radio:
    • "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams (Radio Date: 07-10-2016)" (in Italian). EarOne. October 7, 2016.
    • "Coldplay "A Head Full of Dreams" (in Italian). Radio Airplay s.r.l. October 7, 2016. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2017.

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