Coldplay and Beyoncé share Hymn for the Weekend: Listen to the Head Full of Dreams track.

Coldplay’s New Single With Beyoncé Continues the Band’s “Free and Happy” Phase

Coldplay’s New Single With Beyoncé Continues the Band’s “Free and Happy” Phase

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Slate's Culture Blog
Nov. 30 2015 9:24 PM

Coldplay’s New Single With Beyoncé Continues the Band’s “Free and Happy” Phase

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Coldplay perform onstage during the 2015 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 22, 2015.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Coldplay’s latest album, A Head Full of Dreams, has been described by Chris Martin as a “free and happy” record. That description bore out in the album’s first single, and it’s even more applicable to its second one, a Beyoncé collaboration called “Hymn for the Weekend” that was recently shared on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show.

Honestly, the best description for the track is its title: It’s a prayer-like party tune that melds a tinkling piano riff, a full-force symphony, and Jonny Buckland’s chiming guitar into a peppy slice of club pop. Queen Bey’s involvement is limited to some sublime backing, but bassist Guy Berryman notes that the singer came into the studio and “did her thing” in a mere five minutes. Praise be.

Sharan Shetty is on the editorial staff of the New Yorker. You can follow him on Twitter