"A Sky Full of Stars" is a song by the British
rock band
Coldplay. It was released in May 2014 as the second single from their sixth album, Ghost Stories (2014). An exclusive digital
EP version of it, with the B-sides "All Your Friends", "Ghost Story" and "O (Reprise)", came out in the following weeks, being considered the band's eleventh
extended play.
The band co-wrote and co-produced the song with
Avicii and received production assistance from
Paul Epworth, Daniel Green and
Rik Simpson. It was recorded at
the Bakery and the Beehive in North London, England. Upon its release, "A Sky Full of Stars" garnered mostly positive reviews from music critics and charted inside the top 10 in over 16 countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States.
A music video for the song was directed by Mat Whitecross and was released on 19 June 2014. The single peaked at number one in Italy, Israel, Luxembourg, Portugal, Lebanon, and the Walloon region of Belgium. It also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It was nominated for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the
57th Grammy Awards.
"A Sky Full of Stars" marks the band's first
dance track, being outlined as an
EDM track with
house influences.[2][3][4] A
piano-centric song which is written in the key of
G♭ major, the track opens as a
piano ballad, with
progressive house-influenced
electronic music that plays out in between verses. The song follows a chord progression of E♭m7– C♭maj9 –G♭–B♭m with a tempo of 125 beats per minute,[5] and the vocals span from A♭3 to G♭5. The track has been described as "[falling] in line with the synth-heavy soundscapes of '
Midnight', but with more danceable flavor".[6] The song's repeating chord sequence and varied melody was inspired by the work of American pop singer
Katy Perry and
Nirvana's "
Smells Like Teen Spirit" (1991).[7]
Swedish record producer
Avicii was invited by the band to collaborate on "A Sky Full of Stars". In addition to producing the track, he was also asked by lead singer
Chris Martin to play and record the piano parts. However, Martin later stated in a
BBC Radio 1 interview with
Zane Lowe that he felt that he had "cheated" on the band by asking Avicii to play the piano instead of playing it himself.[8]
Release
On 2 May 2014, "A Sky Full of Stars" was released early through Ghost Stories on the
iTunes Store worldwide and on
Spotify.[9][10] On 5 May 2014, the single was released at
Google Play store in Australia. On 26 June,
Coldplay announced the A Sky Full of Stars EP, which features the
radio edit of the song and three bonus tracks from the
Target version of Ghost Stories: "All Your Friends", the title track "Ghost Story" and "O (Reprise)". The
extended play was then released on 29 June 2014 worldwide, with exception of the United States, given that those songs are already available through their exclusive deluxe edition,[11] although in 2021, the EP was made available in the United States on all streaming platforms.
Packaging
The
single art for "A Sky Full of Stars" was
etched by UK-based, Czech etching artist Mila Fürstová.[9][12] The artwork continues the motif of artworks in the Ghost Stories album cycle, which feature a scene occurring in a larger, enclosed body. Multiple figures such as
angels with wings like of the Ghost Stories artwork, buildings such as a
church, and objects such as a maze and a chair, also alluding to those in the Ghost Stories artwork, are depicted encased in a
three-dimensionalstar chart. The artwork is reminiscent of Fürstová's earlier work, Other Skies, which also features various figures, buildings and objects imposed onto a star map.[13]
Critical reception
"A Sky Full of Stars" received generally positive reviews upon release. Carl Williott of
Idolator gave the track a positive review, stating: "Quite honestly it sounds more like a
Zedd or Avicii offering than a Coldplay one, and it's certainly the loudest and most joyful cut we've heard from the album so far".[14] Melinda Newman of HitFix had similar thoughts, calling the song "the most commercial and dance-y track so far" from the album.[15] Chris De Ville of
Stereogum gave "A Sky Full of Stars" an overwhelmingly positive comment, stating that the song is "the most energetic and classically Coldplay song we've heard from the album so far".[16] Chris Martins of Spin magazine also commented relatively positively, writing that "The big-tent EDM offering is pretty satisfying in all of the ways that those things are".[2]
Consequence of Sound's wrote the song "starts off as a heartfelt piano ballad before flourishes of pounding electronics take over the chorus" and noted that it "falls in line with the synth-heavy soundscapes of 'Midnight', but with more danceable flavor."[17]Zane Lowe of
BBC Radio 1 named the track his 'Hottest Record' for 29 April 2014.[18] However, a negative review came from Carolyn Menyes of Music Times who criticized the song for "lack[ing] a personality or heart, something that the best Coldplay songs are chock full of".[19] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club panned it as a "blatantly pandering, album-interrupting, mood-f*cking-up [track]".[20]3voor12 ranked it among the best songs of 2014,[21] while
iHeartRadio added the song to their list of the "30 Alternative Rock Songs That Defined the 2010s".[22] In 2023,
NPO Radio 2 placed it at number 68 on their annual Top 2000.[23]
Chart performance
Within 24 hours of its iTunes release, the track had sold 121,690 units worldwide,[24] peaking at number one in 86 countries on the iTunes Store Charts.[citation needed] As of July 2014, the song reached the Top 10 of nearly every country it charted in, including the bands' homeland country, the United Kingdom where it reached number 9 on
UK Singles Chart.[25] The single enjoyed massive commercial success in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, the song reached number two on the
ARIA Charts,[26] their highest-charting single since 2008's "
Viva La Vida",[27] and became one of their three highest-charting singles in the country.[28] In the week starting 27 November 2023, the single once again returned to the same charts, entering at number 43.[29] In New Zealand, the song reached number two on
New Zealand Singles Chart,[30] becoming the band's highest-charting single to date and their fifth top-ten single in the country.[31]
On the issue dated 21 May 2014, the song reached number ten on the
Billboard Hot 100, making it their third top 10 hit and first since their number-one single "
Viva la Vida" in 2008.[32] It also became their first number-one single on the BillboardHot Rock Songs chart. "A Sky Full of Stars" was the band's second number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[33] The song has sold over a million digital copies in the U.S. as of November 2014.[34]
At the beginning of the video, Martin walks down King Street dressed as a
one-man band, singing the first verse of the song. Then he reaches the other members of the band (also dressed as one-man bands) and, together, they play the instrumental refrain. Martin is then seen walking through the street, without the other members, while he sings the second verse. At the end of the video the band reunites in a square, singing and playing the final part of the song with a crowd of fans. While Martin is singing the final part, many paper-made stars are blown into the square.
An alternate music video, produced by design studio Artisan, shows the band performing the song in a dark room where an animation of stars is projected onto the floor. The musicians interact with the projection and the stars swirl and fly around following their movements.[36] During an interview, Martin revealed this version was actually the original idea for the music video, but was later scrapped and they decided to shoot a new video in Sydney.[37] However, snippets from the Artisan video were included in the official one and they can be seen playing on the TV screens in a shop's showcase.[38]
Live performances
"A Sky Full of Stars" was first played in closed-audience performances. The band, when performing the song before the release of the "A Sky Full of Stars" single, would routinely ask the audience not to record their performance of the song, in an attempt to prevent the song from leaking ahead of its release. Despite their intentions, the song was leaked after their performance of the song during the opening night of their Ghost Stories Promotional Tour at
E-Werk in
Cologne, Germany on 25 April 2014.[39] The song was premiered live on the 29 April 2014 airing of
BBC Two music television show Later... with Jools Holland.[40] The band then performed the song on Saturday Night Live on 3 May 2014. The band also performed the song on The Graham Norton Show, in the UK, on 30 May 2014.[41]
At the
Apple 2014 Event held on September 9 of that year, "A Sky Full of Stars" was the song of choice when the first introduction video unveiled the
Apple Watch.
At the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, this song is played after the national anthem of two teams in every matches.
The song was also played during the 3-Point Shootout of the
2015 NBA All-Star Game weekend.
It was also chosen by the players of English football team
Liverpool F.C. to play during the celebrations as they lifted the
2019–20 Premier League, their first league title in 30 years.[43]
Taron Egerton performed the song as his character Johnny for the 2021 animated film, Sing 2; the song was also included on the film's soundtrack.
On
Paulo Dybala's presentation day at his new club
AS Roma in 2022, the song was played in front of massive crowd of Roma fans;[44] it was also previously played during the post-match celebration of
Juventus F.C. after their game against
S.S. Lazio – Dybala's final match with the club.
In 2023, American television station
CBS, and its sports division
CBS Sports, included the song in a six-minute long video tribute to the SEC on CBS that they posted on social media, as the network's contract with the conference expired following the
2023 SEC Championship Game. The tribute video, which also included
High Hopes by
Panic! at the Disco and
Hall of Fame by
The Script, later aired during CBS's pregame show.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^"Top 2000 – Jaar 2023" [Top 2000 – Year 2023]. NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). 31 December 2023.
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 2014110 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201427 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201430 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201429 into search. Retrieved 21 July 2014.