Everglow (song)

"Everglow"
Single by Coldplay
from the album A Head Full of Dreams
Released 11 November 2016 (single version)
Recorded 2014–15
Genre Soft rock
Length
  • 4:43 (album version)
  • 5:01 (single version)
  • 3:48 (single version radio edit)
Label Parlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Coldplay singles chronology
"A Head Full of Dreams"
(2016) 		"Everglow"
(2016) 		"Something Just Like This"
(2017)
Music video
"Everglow" on YouTube

"Everglow" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It is the fourth track from their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams. It features uncredited guest vocals by Gwyneth Paltrow, who at the time was married to Chris Martin despite their separation being announced in 2014. The track premiered during Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show on 26 November 2015 and was originally released as a promotional single for the album on 27 November 2015.

On 11 November 2016, however, the song was released as the fifth single from the album through a newly recorded stripped-down version, which was inspired by Martin's unrehearsed solo performance of the song at the recent Glastonbury Festival. This recording ends with a sample of Muhammad Ali's 1977 speech in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Composition

The track revolves around a heartfelt piano riff and was written in the key of C# Minor at 73 BPM and a chord progression that alternates between C#m-A-E-G#m7 and C#m-A-E-B.

Background

Martin came up with the idea for the title of the song from a slang word he heard from a surfer. In an interview with Zane Lowe, he explained the origin of the phrase: "I was in the ocean one day with this surfer guy, who spoke just like you'd imagine a surfer guy to speak … This guy spoke like Sean Penn's character from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He was like, 'Yo dude, I was doing this thing the other day man, it gave me this total everglow!'"

Live performance

The song was debuted during the iHeartRadio album release party of A Head Full of Dreams, on 19 November 2015. On June 26, 2016, Coldplay performed at Glastonbury Festival and after introducing the band, Chris Martin announced they were going to play Everglow. Chris' piano was out of tune causing Martin to stop and do the song in a key down, so he played the song with the piano, without the other members of the band. Days later, on July 3, 2016, the band started to play that stripped back version of Everglow, and on November 11, 2016 it was released as the final single of the album because of how much they liked the live performance.

Music video

An initial video directed by Joe Connor was filmed at the Eisstadion am Pferdeturm in Hanover on 30 June 2016, but was unreleased. This video was leaked online in 2017. Another video filmed by Ben Mor, featuring Chris Martin performing the song on a grand piano, was released on 9 December 2016.

Track listing

Digital download
No. Title Length
1. "Everglow" 4:43
Digital download
No. Title Length
1. "Everglow" (Single Version) (Radio Edit) 3:47
2. "Everglow" (Single Version) 5:01

Personnel

The song features Martin's ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow.

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

Coldplay
Additional musicians

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) Gold 40,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI) Platinum 50,000‡
Poland (ZPAV) Gold 25,000‡
South Korea — 278,078
Spain (PROMUSICAE) Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Worldwide 26 November 2015 Digital download Parlophone
11 November 2016
United Kingdom 24 November 2016 Contemporary hit radio