Chris Martin On Coldplay Criticism: “We’re A Very, Very Easy, Safe Target”
Chris Martin, frontman of Coldplay, knows the band isn’t everyone’s cup of tea—and he’s okay with that. In a candid interview with Rolling Stone, the 47-year-old rocker shared his thoughts on Coldplay’s reputation as one of the most loved and criticized bands in the world.
“We’re a very easy, safe target,” Martin said. “We are four white, middle-class men from England. We deserve to take some s—- for what our people have done. There’s a reason we get to play all around the world, and part of it is not necessarily very healthy.”
Despite the jabs, Coldplay has solidified its place in music history. Their Music of the Spheres tour, which began in March 2022, has shattered records, selling over 12 million tickets and grossing more than a billion dollars, making it the highest-grossing rock tour of all time. The band, which includes Johnny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion, is far from finished, with tour dates scheduled through September 2025.
Criticism isn’t new for Coldplay. Back in 2005, The New York Times labeled them “the most insufferable band of the decade” in a harsh review of their album X&Y. Rather than crumble, Martin took it as motivation to improve.
“Anything you do, someone says it’s great and someone says it’s terrible,” Martin told Rolling Stone in 2006.
“I think [The Times is] correct [and we’re] doing what we can to change that… We’re obsessed with getting better and better. So criticism is essential and although we kind of had some hardcore stuff I now, nine months later, I love the fact that we’ve got it and we just want to try to make us a bit more sufferable,” he added.
The effort paid off. Coldplay’s next album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, was a global hit, winning Best Rock Album at the Grammys and becoming the best-selling album of 2008.
Fast forward to 2023, Coldplay’s latest album, Moon Music, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts. During a SiriusXM show in October, Martin joked about how new songs often confuse fans at first.
“I know that’s annoying for some of you,” he quipped. “But once upon a time, even Viva La Vida was new and everyone in the room was like, ‘What the f— is this? They got s— already.’ And so, it is amazing that every new song we have lots of people say is terrible. And then 10 years later, it’s a worldwide super classic smash. That’s happened maybe three times. So, the other 76 songs were just terrible.”
Martin also revealed Coldplay’s plans for the future. The band intends to release just two more albums: one as part of an animated musical and another, simply titled Coldplay. The cover of their final album, he shared, is already decided and features a photograph taken by the same artist who shot the cover of their first EP in 1999.
