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Violet Hill

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"Violet Hill"
Song
B-side"A Spell a Rebel Yell", "Lost?"

"Violet Hill" is a song by British rock band Coldplay from the band's forthcoming studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song was released as the first single from the album on 6 May 2008.[1] A music video for the song was filmed in Sicily, Italy. Lensed by acclaimed director/visual artist Asa Mader, "Violet Hill" premiered on VH1, MTV2, MTV Hits, mtvU, MTV Tr3s and The N on Monday, May 19th, and on MTV's "TRL" on Wednesday, May 21st .

It was the first video ever to receive a simultaneous premiere on MTV, VH1 and The N.

Song information

The band also announced on 28 April 2008 that the single would be released from the official Coldplay website on 29 April for a week free of charge before the paid download on 6 May.[1] The song received its first radio play on 29 April 2008, on Radio 1 at 12:13. "Violet Hill" was downloaded for nothing by over 600,000 people in the 24 hours since it was made available at 12:15pm on 29 April.[2] In the subsequent week, the single was downloaded 2 million times from the Coldplay website.[3]

In the 10 May issue of NME, a promotional 7" vinyl for the song with B-side "A Spell a Rebel Yell" was included.

Martin described the song as having a "chalky, pastel feeling" which he said reminds him of his childhood. "Imagine a pseudo guitar-like circus music with a pinch of Chicago... It's something new from us and you will be impressed."[4]

"Violet Hill" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 40, the same week, "Viva la Vida" debuted on the same chart at number 15. Also, the song debuted at number 17 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, the best debut in that chart since Weezer's "Pork and Beans".[citation needed]

On May 10, the song came in at #1 in the Dutch Mega Top 50 chart, before it even came out as physical single.

On May 15, the video was leaked onto video sharing site YouTube, but was soon taken down due to copyright violation. On May 19 the video was officially released on YouTube by Parlophone.

On May 17, an alternative, humorous music video was posted on their official website. The video is made up of clips, sometimes looped, featuring various politicians and scenes of war, as well as displays of fireworks at the end. It prominently features George W. Bush and presents clips of him in a mocking tone, it also features Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth. The video as a whole is criticizing war and all it entails.[citation needed] The official video for the single was released on May 18, a day earlier than expected.

Track listing

  1. "Violet Hill" [radio edit] – 3:21
  • 7" Given away with 7 May edition of NME Magazine
  1. "Violet Hill" – 3:50
  2. "A Spell a Rebel Yell" – 2:42
  • CD Continental Europe Only
  1. "Violet Hill" – 3:50
  2. "Lost?" [acoustic] – 3:40

Charts

Chart Peak
position
United World Chart[5] 15
Eurochart Hot 100 9
Euro 200 10
German Singles Charts 10
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[6] 31
Dutch Top 40 12
Dutch Mega Top 50 1
Austrian Singles Chart 23
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 17
Danish Singles Chart 28
Canadian Hot 100 6
Chilean Singles Chart[7] 51
Polish National Top 50 - Bubbling Under 1
Swedish Singles Chart 8
Swiss Singles Chart 17
Italian Singles Chart 9
UK Singles Chart 8
UK Official Download Chart 7
Norwegian Singles Chart 8
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Chart 10
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs 18
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 40
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 38

References

  1. ^ a b Brandle, Lars (2008-04-28). "Coldplay Prep Album With Free Download, Concerts". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-04-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Coldplay single downloaded by 600,000 people". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |acessdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Coldplay song downloaded 2m times". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |acessdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Hawthorne, Jackob (2008-04-28). "Coldplay Single is free from today". RTE. Retrieved 2008-04-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ http://www.mediatraffic.de/tracks-week21-2008.htm
  6. ^ ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on May 25, 2008.
  7. ^ Chilean Singles Chart
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