The Five Best Songs Featuring Chris Martin
Chris Martin, frontman for the Grammy Award winning band, Coldplay, is one of the most respected musicians in the industry. While attended school at University College London, Martin met his current band mate, Jonny Buckland, and by 1996 the two had recruited two other members and formed the band Coldplay. The four friends earned worldwide popularity in 2000 with the release of their debut album, Parachutes. Over the years, the band has become well-known for singles such as “Fix You” and “The Scientist.” However, even with the band’s incredible success, Martin has also done some work on his own. Although he has not released a complete solo project, he has often lent his vocals to other artists. During his solo endeavors, Martin has worked with some of the music industry’s biggest names; however, many listeners may be unaware of his work without Coldplay. Here are the best songs featuring Chris Martin.
5. Faultline – Where is My Boy?
Producer David Kosten, A.K.A Faultine, teamed up with Chris Martin in 2002 for the song “Where is My Boy?” The song was initially released on Faultline’s 2002 project Your Love Means Everything. The entire song features Martin’s vocals as he sings: “Where is my boy?/I saw you come out of a scene/Maybe in some kind of dream/Something that never comes/Time that I take/See over in arms I’ll raise/I’ll race in to find you…”
4. Ron Sexsmith – Gold In Them Hills
Canadian singer/songwriter, Ron Sexsmith, has been in the music industry for over 30 years. He has released over a dozen albums and worked with many artists throughout his impressive tenure. In 2002, Sexsmith collaborated with Martin on his album Cobblestone Runway. The album’s 14th track, a remixed version of Sexsmith’s “Gold In Them Hills,” features vocals from Martin. Initially, there were rumors that Martin had added his vocals without Sexsmith’s permission; however, in an interview Sexsmith stated: “it wasn’t so much him … I was touring when my record was being mixed in LA and the producer asked Chris to replace my piano part, because I’m a terrible piano player. That’s how it started, but he ended up singing on the record. I wasn’t around at the time so they couldn’t ask my permission. It sort of bothered me that they sent me this CD with “Gold in Them Hills Remix” written on it and I didn’t even know who it was singing. I thought it was me at first, but it didn’t sound like me. It took me a while to get anyone on the phone to explain who it was. Obviously the record company were desperate for me to release it once they knew it had Chris Martin on it.”
3. Nely Furtado – All Good Things (Come to and End)
Nelly Furtado rose to fame in 2000 with the release of her debut album Whoa, Nelly! The album earned Furtado four Grammy nominations and spawned the hit single, “I’m Like a Bird.” However, after Furtado’s second album, Folklore, failed to achieve the same level of success she decided to take a different, more provocative, approach to her third album, Loose. Furtado enlisted Martin’s help on the album’s last track, All Good Things (Come to and End). Although Loose was criticized for its suggestive content, the song, which featured Martin as a songwriter and vocalist, was considered one of the best songs on the album. During an interview, Furtado stated: “Chris Martin from Coldplay and I bumped into each other in Miami at the VMAs. I was recording with Timbaland. It’s kind of ironic, because just the week before, all Tim would play in the studio was [Coldplay’s album] X&Y — Tim actually listens to a lot of rock music — so I got [Martin] to come to the studio. At first he was nervous, because Tim kept calling Chris “Coldplay,” like, “Hey, Coldplay!” and “Coldplay’s here!” And “All Good Things (Come to an End)” is a fusion of Tim’s rough-sounding hip-hop beats with that melancholy Chris has mastered, and I’m in-between. Chris got to express his inner James Brown.”
2. Jay-Z – Beach Chair
Chris Martin, a self-proclaimed hip-hop fan, teamed up with hiphop’s most well-known star, Jay-Z, on 2006’s “Beach Chair.” The song features Martin’s vocals on the chorus as he sings: “I hear my angels sing/Life is just a dream and you really don’t wanna wake up, wake up…” Although Beach Chair was not released as a single, the album Kingdom Come received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. In the years since their first meeting, Martin and Jay-Z have become very close friends. In an interview with Pitchfork, Martin spoke of the friendship and said simply: “We’re from very different backgrounds. But we love the same stuff everyone else loves.”
1. Kanye West – Homecoming
Kanye West’s “Homecoming” is one of the Chicago native’s most popular songs. “Homecoming” features Martin’s vocals on the chorus and was released as the last single from Kanye’s third album Graduation. The song’s chorus, in which Martin sings: “I’m coming home again/Do you think about me now and then?/Do you think about me now and then?/Cause I’m coming home again” has become one of the song’s most memorable parts. West and Martin have also formed an unlikely friendship, and in an interview with Zane Lowe, Martin defended West by saying: “…he’s cool. That guy is amazing! I think he’s misunderstood by people who only look on the surface. I understand what he’s talking about. I understand what he means.”
(Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for (RED))
