Coldplay’s Chris Martin just debuted a surprise, music-first cover of the Backstreet Boys hit, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”
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Coldplay is currently on their Music of the Spheres World Tour, which began back in 2022 and boasts their biggest hits across nine albums. And as of their second concert in Gothenburg, Sweden, they are also playing a 90s hit too. Singer and frontman Chris Martin performed Backstreet Boys’ anthem “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” on solo keyboard and vocals. The song was number 22 out of their 25-song setlist, giving the cover a quite prominent position in the concert.
Beginning with a keyboard intro, Martin starts to play what sounds like a classical fugue, without any audience reaction. It wasn’t until Martin sang the famous title line that the audience recognized the song and adamantly sang it back to him, “Everybody- yeaaaah.” Adding in an extra level of sultriness to his voice, Martin heighted the pop song with additional musical complexities. Having a great time performing, the 46-year old was smiling ear to ear for the majority of the song.
Martin and his audience weren’t the only ones that enjoyed the cover. The Backstreet Boys themselves were amazed and took to their socials to publicly thank the musician. “Buzzing from @coldplay’s cover of Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)! Truly an honor,” the band wrote.
Linking Coldplay to the Backstreet Boys may seem like a reach, but as it turns out, the bands have a mutual connection through Swedish record producer and songwriter Max Martin. He wrote “I Want It That Way” and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” for the boy band back in the 90s, and brought them to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Max Martin also began working with Coldplay as a keyboardist on both singles for 2019’s Everyday Life before becoming their producer for the Music of the Spheres album. Thus, Chris Martin covering “Everybody” was certainly a nod to the versatility of his co-creative.
Check out the fan-filmed video of the cover below, and be sure to watch out for the Music of the Spheres World Tour, as Coldplay is set to return to the states in September of this year.
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