Hymn for the Weekend

"Hymn for the Weekend"
Single by Coldplay
from the album A Head Full of Dreams
Released 25 January 2016
Format Digital download
Length 4:18
Label Parlophone
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Coldplay singles chronology
"Adventure of a Lifetime"
(2015)		 "Hymn for the Weekend"
(2016)
Music video
"Hymn for the Weekend on YouTube

"Hymn for the Weekend" is a song by British rock band Coldplay featuring uncredited vocals from American singer Beyoncé. It was released on 25 January 2016 as the second single from their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams (2015), where it appears as the third track.

Background

Chris Martin and Beyoncé in 2006, attending a party held by Jay Z

The song was debuted on Annie Mac's BBC radio show on 30 November 2015, and Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman dialed in after the song aired to talk about his brush with royalty. According to Berryman, lead singer Chris Martin originally wanted the song to be a party song with lyrics like "drinks on me, drinks on me", but his bandmates didn't think that would go well with their fans. Martin's longtime friend Beyoncé was asked to sing on the song, and she accepted the request.[1]

Martin corroborated Berryman's story about the band protesting him singing, "Drinks on me, drinks on me" in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. According to Martin, the original kernel was that he was listening to Flo Rida or something, and he thought, it's such a shame that Coldplay could never have one of those late-night club songs, like "Turn Down for What". "I thought I’d like to have a song called 'Drinks on Me' where you sit on the side of a club and buy everyone drinks because you're so fucking cool," Martin recalled. "I was chuckling about that, when this melody came, 'drinks on me, drinks on me', then the rest of the song came out. I presented it to the rest of the band and they said, 'We love this song, but there's no way you can sing "drinks on me."' So that changed into 'drink from me' and the idea of having an angelic person in your life. Then that turned into asking Beyoncé to sing on it."[2]

Critical reception

"Hymn for the Weekend" received mostly positive reviews, with Jody Rosen of Billboard calling it "the album's grooviest".[3] Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph wrote: "Beyoncé makes more of her appearance on Hymn for the Weekend, bringing her chunky harmonies and no-nonsense brass section to a peppy little excursion into indie r&b which opens with a paradisiacal fanfare and finds Martin dropping out of his falsetto autopilot into a more raw voice."[4] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote "... it's with the third track, 'Hymn for the Weekend', that the album truly lifts off on the wings of an angelic choir (including Beyoncé), a swaggering piano, and a euphoric, lightly funky track bolstering Martin’s exclamations of feeling high."[5]

In a mixed review, Carl Williot of Idolator wrote, "The Beyoncé-assisted 'Hymn for the Weekend' almost equals (the album's) energy, but it lacks the drama of 'Princess of China'", adding, as a track featuring Beyoncé "you'd expect a show-stopping moment." He concluded "the guys sound like total goobers trying to do the club swagger thing, like a drunk dad doing the rap dance du jour at a wedding."[6]

Music video

A screenshot from the video showing Coldplay performing.

According to The Times of India, the video was shot in October 2015 at various Indian cities including Varanasi Worli Village, Mumbai and Kolkata. The fort showcased at the start and in between is Bassein Fort aka Saint Sebastian's Fort located in Vasai, Mumbai. The video was filmed by Ben Mor, and was released on 29 January 2016.[7][8] The video features Beyoncé and Indian actress Sonam Kapoor.[9]

Some Indians took to social media to air their sentiments against the music video, calling it "an amalgamation of clichés about the country."[10]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from A Head Full of Dreams liner notes.[11]

Coldplay
Additional musicians

Charts

Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 32
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[13] 96
France (SNEP)[14] 95
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 41
Hungary (Single Top 40)[16] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 15
Italy (FIMI)[18] 41
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 45
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 7
Norway (VG-lista)[21] 21
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] 23
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 55
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 25
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 68
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[27] 13

References

  1. ↑ "Hear Coldplay, Beyoncé's Clubby, Dreamlike 'Hymn for the Weekend'". Rolling Stone.
  2. ↑ "Hear Beyonce on Coldplay's 'Hymn for the Weekend' Preview". Billboard.
  3. ↑ Rosen, Jody (4 December 2015). "Coldplay, A Head Full of Dreams, Billboard review". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Brown, Helen (3 December 2015). "Coldplay, A Head Full of Dreams, album review: 'Coldplay get their groove back with Beyoncé'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Rodman, Sarah (2 December 2015). "'Dreams' come true for joyous Coldplay". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Coldplay's 'A Head Full Of Dreams': Review - Idolator". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com.
  7. ↑ "Ben Mor - Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Black Dog Films - Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Sonam and Beyonce feature in new ‘Coldplay’ single". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Mallika Kapur (February 5, 2016). "Why India's annoyed with Coldplay and Beyoncé". CNN.com.
  11. ↑ A Head Full of Dream (booklet). Coldplay. Parlophone. 2015. 1053933969.
  12. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert {{{year}}}{{{week}}} into search. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Coldplay – Hymn for the Weekend" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – Coldplay Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 6, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Top Digital - Classifica settimanale WK 6 (dal 2016-02-05 al 2016-02-11)". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Coldplay – Hymn for the Weekend" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Coldplay – Hymn for the Weekend". VG-lista. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Coldplay – Hymn for the Weekend" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  23. ↑ http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/
  24. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Coldplay – Hymn for the Weekend". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2016-02-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "Coldplay – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Coldplay. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  27. ↑ "Coldplay – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Coldplay. Retrieved 26 December 2015.

External links

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