The title of Coldplay’s second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, is a pretty apt description of what their effect has been on the general music listening public. They arrived in the public consciousness with the hit single “Yellow” and have quickly shot up in notoriety, now filling stadiums full of adoring fans who love their brand of uplifting, soaring pop. Much of their popularity has to do with frontman Chris Martin’s amazing vocals, which have often been compared to those of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. But the band is anything but a copycat, creating catchy tunes that you can’t get out of your head.“Yellow” was Coldplay’s starting point in America, where they released Parachutes in 2000 to great critical acclaim. The song became an inescapable constant on the radio that year, and the album went on to sell more in the U.S. than it did in the U.K., where the band was a hit first. It would later be nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.But the warm welcome Coldplay received for that first outing was nothing like the explosive reception of 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, which featured the singles “The Scientist,” “Clocks” and “In My Place.” The latter two earned Grammy awards, and the first two were omnipresent on the airwaves. People had found their new favorite band and were almost rabid in their appreciation of them. A world tour supporting the album followed, and throngs left each concert satisfied by a band that had become superstars.Not surprisingly, their third album was eagerly anticipated when it came out in 2005. X&Y was a major hit, selling more than eight million copies in its first year. Coldplay fans were satiated once again by the output of arena-filling band that was on top of the world.Most recently, in 2008, the band released a fourth outing, entitled Viva La Vida! With the aid of legendary producer Brian Eno, the album proved to be an experimental record that sees the band pushing the boundaries of their sound.
