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| rowspan="1"| February 14, 2012<ref name="radio">{{cite web|url=http://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases|title=Future Releases on Top 40/Mainstream Radio Stations (February 14, 2012) |work=Allaccess.com|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/64pXqer9N|archivedate=20 January 2012|accessdate=20 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="digital">{{cite web|url=http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_usa_singles.htm|title=Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: U.S.A. Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples|publisher=Radio1 Greece|accessdate=February 4, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Capitolflyer"/>
| rowspan="1"| February 14, 2012<ref name="radio">{{cite web|url=http://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases|title=Future Releases on Top 40/Mainstream Radio Stations (February 14, 2012) |work=Allaccess.com|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/64pXqer9N|archivedate=20 January 2012|accessdate=20 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="digital">{{cite web|url=http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_usa_singles.htm|title=Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: U.S.A. Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples|publisher=Radio1 Greece|accessdate=February 4, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Capitolflyer"/>
|Mainstream radio
|Mainstream radio
|-
!scope="row"| United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_uk_singles.htm|title=Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples|publisher=Radio1 Greece|accessdate=March 27, 2012}}</ref>
| June 4, 2012
| [[Music download|Digital download]]
|}
|}


Revision as of 09:57, 27 March 2012

"Princess of China"
Song

"Princess of China" is a song by British alternative rock band Coldplay with guest vocals by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. It is the tenth track from Coldplay's fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto (2011). "Princess of China" was written by band members Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Chris Martin, along with Brian Eno, and draws influences from the music genres of electronic rock, electropop and R&B. The song was met with a mixed response from music critics, with some praising the collaboration between Martin and Rihanna, whilst others criticized it for being uninspiring. The song was released to US mainstream radio on February 14, 2012.[1]

Background and release

Chris Martin initially wrote "Princess of China" secretly hoping that Rihanna (pictured) would appear as a guest vocalist on the song, and was surprised when she agreed to lend her vocals to the track.[2]

In an interview with MTV News on 20 September 2011, frontman Chris Martin confirmed the band had recorded a song with Rihanna, and that it would be featured on Coldplay's fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto.[2] Martin continued to say that he had written a song specifically for Rihanna to be featured on, and hoped that she would like it enough to want to lend her vocals to the track, saying, "In like a dream scenario, we had a song that I'd secretly kind of written to see if Rihanna would want to sing it ... and then the rest of the band wanted to keep it, so we came up with the idea of asking her to sing it with us, and, to our great surprise, she said okay".[2] Martin also confirmed that "Princess of China" is the band's favourite song on the album because of how it differs from their previous efforts in terms of genre and musical direction.[2] When asked if fans would unite and react favourably to the song, Martin expressed that he was not concerned with how it would be received, and noted that Rihanna is always pushing the boundaries of the music industry.[3] Martin also explained how he approached the singer about collaborating on the song, saying, "The album is designed as a whole piece. It has boy and girl lead characters and top of our list for the girl part was Rihanna, but it took a while to pluck up the courage to ask her. We did a show in Las Vegas and I met her and said, 'Do you think there's any chance?' I was very Hugh Grant-like and spluttering about it."[4]

On 21 September 2011, reports surfaced online that Will Champion, who plays the drums in the band, had expressed interest in singing the lyrics that were ultimately delegated to Rihanna.[5] Martin dispelled the suggestion that there was any tension between the bandmates and Rihanna, saying, "There's a bit of a love story thread so we really needed someone to sing higher than me. For all Will's good intentions, he can't do it. You need to be female."[5] "Princess of China" premiered on Dutch radio on 16 October 2011 and was later uploaded to the band's official VEVO account on YouTube, but it was removed by their record label, EMI.[4] The song was made available to purchase via digital download on iTunes on 25 October 2011.[6][7]

Composition

"Princess of China" draws influence from the music genres of electropop,[8] alternative hip hop[9] and R&B.[10][11] The song starts with a sample of Sigur Rós' "Takk...", which is also featured throughout the song. As noted by Amy Sciarretto of Popcrush, the song features a "moody" and heavy synth throughout the duration of the song.[8][12] The song also prominently features both Martin's and Rihanna's falsetto register, which was praised by multiple critics. Gil Kaufman of MTV News noted that both of the vocalists falsetto's matched each other perfectly, and that Martin's falsetto complimented Rihanna's higher register.[13] Judah Joseph of The Huffington Post gave an explanation of the song's composition as part of his review, writing "The best way to describe the composition behind 'Princess of China' is to compare it to an old-school Zelda Gameboy game's sound effects – but in the best way. The song is epic, Asia-influenced, and it exemplifies the adventurous vibe that comes from an alternative-hip-hop combination."[9] According to the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is written in the time signature of common time, and is composed in the key of A minor with a tempo of 84 beats per minute.[14] The song follows a basic sequence of Am7–C–DmF–G6 as its chord progression.[14]

Critical reception

A reviewer for NME commented that "Princess of China" is an attempt to sound as pop orientated as possible and compared the effort to one of Coldplay's previous singles, "Viva la Vida", writing "Well, if you can get beyond the outrageously chart-hungry intro – that glossy synth sound wouldn't sound out of place on a Taio Cruz album – it's actually kind of awesome. For all the poppy surface sheen, this is a song with surprisingly hefty balls, possessed of a pounding momentum that recalls 'Viva La Vida'."[12] Robbie Daw of Idolator praised the collaboration, writing "the marriage of Chris Martin and [Rihanna]'s vocals is a solid one", but noted that he was not sure what to expect.[15] Judah Joseph of The Huffington Post praised the song, calling it a "collaborative monster", and noted that the song was likely to be chosen as a single to gain airplay and because "it is simply too good".[9] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph reviewed the song favourably, and labelled the collaboration as "effective", writing "the richly textured backing bringing out interesting nuances in her sweet but tough vocal, but it is the very English soulfulness of Martin himself that really adds depth to Coldplay."[8] Mark Hogan of Spin gave a mixed review of the song, writing that although the song is "inoffensive", it is not "inspiring".[16] Bernard Perusse of The Montreal Gazette criticized Rihanna's vocal performance in the song before having heard it, citing that the singer's contribution would be "dreaded".[17]

Music video

The video was filmed on March 22 and March 23, 2012 in Los Angeles. Rihanna described her look in the video as “gangsta goth geisha”.[18][19]

Chart performance

"Princess of China" made its singles chart debut in Ireland and the Wallonia region of Belgium on 28 October 2011. In Ireland, the song debuted at number 22, which meant that Rihanna had four different songs from four different albums, including two of her own, in the top forty of the chart, with "We Found Love" (Talk That Talk, 2011) featuring Calvin Harris at number one, "Princess of China" (Mylo Xyloto, 2011) at number 22, "Fly" (Pink Friday, 2010) with Nicki Minaj at number 30 and "Cheers (Drink to That)" (Loud, 2010) at number 39.[20] In the Wallonia region of Belgium, the song debuted at number 45 on the singles chart.[21] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, upon the release of the album.[22]

Live performances

Coldplay and Rihanna performed an acoustic version "Princess of China" for the first time at the 54th Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They performed the song in a medley with "We Found Love" and "Paradise".[23]

Charts

Chart (2011–12) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[21] 45
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24] 17
Denmark (Tracklisten)[25] 17
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[26] 14
France (SNEP)[27] 33
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 22
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 26
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 48
Norway (VG-lista)[30] 8
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[31] 39
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[22] 33
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 20
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[32] 25
Venezuela Pop Rock General (Record Report)[33] 9

Release history

Country Release date Format
United States February 14, 2012[34][35][1] Mainstream radio
United Kingdom[36] June 4, 2012 Digital download

References

  1. ^ a b "Coldplay & Rihanna "Princess Of China" official Pop Impact". Allaccess.com. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Rihanna Teases New Single 'We Found Love' On Twitter?". MTV News. Viacom. 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  3. ^ Lee, Ann (2011-09-20). "Chris Martin: Rihanna duet Princess Of China is best bit of Mylo Xyloto". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  4. ^ a b Lee, Ann (2011-10-16). "Coldplay and Rihanna duet Princess Of China debuts online to Twitter hype". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  5. ^ a b "Coldplay drummer wanted Rihanna's vocal". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  6. ^ "Mylo Xylto". iTunes Store. Apple. 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  7. ^ "Coldplay's 'Paradise' Video Stars Globe-Trotting Elephant". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  8. ^ a b c Reviews deeming the song's genre electropop:
  9. ^ a b c Joseph, Judah (2011-10-23). "Review of Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  10. ^ Corner, Lewis (2011-10-24). "Coldplay: 'Mylo Xyloto' – Album review". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  11. ^ Anderson, Kyle (2011-10-17). "Coldplay's Chris Martin on 'Princess of China' guest Rihanna: 'She's a much, much better singer than me'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  12. ^ a b "Coldplay feat. Rihanna, 'Princess Of China' – Review". NME. IPC Media. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  13. ^ Kaufman, Gil (2011-10-17). "Coldplay/Rihanna Duet 'Princess Of China' Leaks Online". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  14. ^ a b Martin, Chris; Fenty, Robyn (2011). "Digital Sheet Music – Coldplay – Princess of China". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  15. ^ Daw, Robbie (2011-10-17). "Coldplay & Rihanna 'Princess Of China': Listen". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  16. ^ Hogan, Mark (2011-10-17). "Hear Chris Martin Dump Rihanna in Coldplay's 'Princess of China'". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  17. ^ Perusse, Bernard (2011-10-17). "New music October 2011: Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto". The Montreal Gazette. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  18. ^ https://twitter.com/#!/TaikoCenterLA/status/182733227126030337
  19. ^ http://www.rap-up.com/2012/03/23/rihanna-goes-gangsta-goth-geisha-in-coldplay-video/
  20. ^ a b "Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 27 October 2011". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  21. ^ a b "Coldplay feat. Rihanna – Princess of China (Song)" (in French). Ulatratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  22. ^ a b "2011 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive – 5th November 2011". The Official Charts Company. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  23. ^ Mitchell, John (2012-02-12). "Rihanna Turns Grammy Stage Into A Rave, With Coldplay Assist". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  24. ^ "Coldplay Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Coldplay feat. Rihanna – Princess Of China". Tracklisten.
  26. ^ "Coldplay & Rihanna: Princess of China" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  27. ^ "Charts in France (SNEP)". SNEP. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  28. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Coldplay ft. Rihanna" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  29. ^ "Coldplay feat. Rihanna – Princess Of China" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  30. ^ "Coldplay feat. Rihanna – Princess Of China". VG-lista.
  31. ^ "Coldplay feat. Rihanna – Princess Of China" Canciones Top 50.
  32. ^ a b http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/pop-songs?order=gainer
  33. ^ "Pop Rock General". Record Report. 2012-03-10. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08.
  34. ^ "Future Releases on Top 40/Mainstream Radio Stations (February 14, 2012)". Allaccess.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  35. ^ "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: U.S.A. Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples". Radio1 Greece. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  36. ^ "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples". Radio1 Greece. Retrieved March 27, 2012.

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