# Paradise (Coldplay song)

"Paradise" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 September 2011 as the second single from their fifth studio album, *Mylo Xyloto* (24 [October](https://www.edgepedia.org/october-u2-album) 2011). Written by the four band members with [Brian Eno](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-eno) and produced by Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, and Rik Simpson, it became Coldplay's second UK Number 1 single and one of their best-selling releases.<sup>[1](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-209-1281049)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://timeline.coldplay.com/era/mylo-xyloto/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TEUMPIhk8)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/pop-hiss/story/2011-09-12/coldplay-debuts-new-single-paradise)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 12 September 2011, Parlophone; second single from *Mylo Xyloto*<sup>[1](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-209-1281049)</sup> |
| Writers | Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Brian Eno<sup>[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TEUMPIhk8)</sup> |
| Producers | Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, Rik Simpson<sup>[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/pop-hiss/story/2011-09-12/coldplay-debuts-new-single-paradise)</sup> |
| UK chart | Peak position 1, reached on 7 January 2012; first chart date 5 November 2011; 41 weeks in its first chart run<sup>[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/coldplay-paradise/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-210-1280572)</sup> |
| US chart | Number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 (October 2011)<sup>[7](https://chart-history.net/wp-content/uploads/arch-coldplay.pdf)</sup> |
| Sales | Over 1 million UK downloads, an Official million-seller; 3.6 million sales worldwide per Music Week<sup>[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/coldplays-official-top-40-biggest-songs-in-the-uk-revealed/?title=Coldplay%E2%80%99s)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2013/2013-02-16-Music-Week.pdf)</sup> |
| Album position | Track 3 on *Mylo Xyloto*<sup>[10](https://www.coldplay.com/paradise-is-here-pre-order-the-album/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://lyricsweb.com/song/coldplay/coldplay-paradise)</sup> |

## Release and single choice

Coldplay premiered "Paradise" on [BBC Radio 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-1) and on the band's website on the morning of 12 September 2011, making it available as an instant download with album pre-orders.<sup>[10](https://www.coldplay.com/paradise-is-here-pre-order-the-album/)</sup> Because it was offered as an "instant grat" track with the album, it was not initially chart eligible in the UK.<sup>[10](https://www.coldplay.com/paradise-is-here-pre-order-the-album/)</sup> Manager Dave Holmes risked a "pop approach" in releasing two singles, "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" (3 June) and "Paradise" (12 September), ahead of the album on 24 October, an unusual setup against a backdrop of declining sales for rock bands.<sup>[12](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/articles/coldplay-talk-to-musicweek-about-new-album-mylo-xyloto-includes-track-by-track-rundown/)</sup>

**Choosing the single.** According to a Billboard report from August 2011, the band debated whether to follow the summer single "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" with "Charlie Brown," which had been heard at festivals, or with "Paradise," described as "the big, bold narrative" and "a key plot advancer in the entire concept of Mylo Xyloto."<sup>[13](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2011/BB-2011-08-20.pdf)</sup> The band chose "Paradise." Drummer [Will Champion](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-champion) argued the song belonged on the band's own record, and it stayed with Coldplay rather than going elsewhere.<sup>[11](https://lyricsweb.com/song/coldplay/coldplay-paradise)</sup>

## Origin

Official Charts reports that the song was originally written by [Chris Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-martin) after the producers of [The X Factor](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-x-factor) asked him to pen the winner's single for the 2011 series of the show.<sup>[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/coldplays-official-top-40-biggest-songs-in-the-uk-revealed/?title=Coldplay%E2%80%99s)</sup> The track instead became part of *Mylo Xyloto*, the band's fifth studio album, a concept record on which Martin described the album as "designed as a whole piece" with boy and girl lead characters.<sup>[2](https://timeline.coldplay.com/era/mylo-xyloto/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[14](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/articles/what-did-you-think-of-new-single-paradise-early-coldplayers-thoughts)</sup>

## Music and lyrics

The Los Angeles Times described the track as piano-heavy stadium pop rock, "immediately identifiable as a Coldplay song," with Chris Martin singing about a woman longing to escape her life for paradise and one of the band's sticky choruses.<sup>[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/pop-hiss/story/2011-09-12/coldplay-debuts-new-single-paradise)</sup> NME's review, by Priya Elan, cataloged its elements: a dropped drum beat, a vaguely dubstep-like bassline, the "Para-para-paradise" chorus hook, strings, a simple piano riff, and a choir intoning a "Woah-oh-oh-oh" line.<sup>[15](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/coldplay-paradise-review-764931)</sup> The official lyrics on the band's site open with the lines "When she was just a girl / She expected the world / But it flew away from her reach so / She ran away in her sleep / And dreamed of Para-para-paradise."<sup>[16](https://www.coldplay.com/song/paradise/)</sup>

The song credits Brian Eno as a co-writer and on keyboards; Eno, who had reshaped the band's sound on the previous album, is the fifth name alongside the four band members in the writing credit.<sup>[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TEUMPIhk8)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[17](https://songfable.com/en/paradise-coldplay/)</sup> Davide Rossi plays strings, and the credits also list [Jon Hopkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-hopkins), Rihanna on vocals (for the album track "Princess of China"), and a large production and mixing team including Mark "Spike" Stent and Michael H. Brauer.<sup>[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TEUMPIhk8)</sup>

## Music video

**The elephant video.** The video was directed by Mat Whitecross, Coldplay's regular emergency choice for last-minute videos, and its central idea came from Martin himself: a roughly 400-line message saying he would dress up as an elephant on a unicycle.<sup>[18](https://www.coldplay.com/interview-director-mat-whitecross-on-the-paradise-video/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[19](https://timeline.coldplay.com/article/interview-director-mat-whitecross-on-the-paradise-video/)</sup> Filming took in [Cape Town](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-town) locations specifically requested by Martin, including the Woodstock Cycle Works bike shop,<sup>[20](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/background-to-coldplays-paradise-video-cycle-store-owner-originally-turned-filmers-away/)</sup> Nelson Mandela Bridge and the railway tracks beneath it in [Johannesburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/johannesburg),<sup>[21](https://www.jda.org.za/cameo-role-for-mandela-bridge/)</sup> London's underground system, and live footage from the band's concert at [FNB Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/fnb-stadium), Johannesburg, on 8 October 2011.<sup>[22](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/coldplay-release-new-video-for-paradise-online-after-the-first-shoot-was-scrapped/)</sup> Some scenes were also shot at Paradise Wildlife Park just outside London.<sup>[18](https://www.coldplay.com/interview-director-mat-whitecross-on-the-paradise-video/)</sup> An earlier shoot had been scrapped before the released version was assembled.<sup>[22](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/coldplay-release-new-video-for-paradise-online-after-the-first-shoot-was-scrapped/)</sup>

## Chart performance

The single entered the UK Official Singles Chart on 5 November 2011 and climbed to Number 1 on 7 January 2012, spending 41 weeks on the chart in its first run and returning to the Top 100 in later spells through 2013.<sup>[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/coldplay-paradise/)</sup> NME reported that the rise to the top spot on 1 January 2012 made it the first Number One single of 2012, the band's second UK chart-topper after "Viva La Vida" in 2008, with the climb partly attributed to the band's performance in The X Factor final the previous month.<sup>[6](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-210-1280572)</sup> In the United States it peaked at Number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2011.<sup>[7](https://chart-history.net/wp-content/uploads/arch-coldplay.pdf)</sup> With over 1 million digital downloads in the UK, it is an Official million-seller and one of the best-selling singles in the history of the Official Singles Chart; Music Week's global countdown placed it joint third among the biggest UK-sourced singles with 3.6 million sales.<sup>[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/coldplays-official-top-40-biggest-songs-in-the-uk-revealed/?title=Coldplay%E2%80%99s)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2013/2013-02-16-Music-Week.pdf)</sup>

## Reception and later life

Critical reaction at release was divided. NME's review judged the song "slightly listless and muddled," arguing its sonic treatments sounded dated and its chorus a weak version of the band's past crowd-uniting moments.<sup>[15](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/coldplay-paradise-review-764931)</sup> NME users split between praise ("best one yet") and dismissal, one commenter comparing the band unfavorably to [Cliff Richard](https://www.edgepedia.org/cliff-richard).<sup>[1](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-209-1281049)</sup> Pitchfork ran a track review by Larry Fitzmaurice on the day of release, noting the song was available for digital purchase that day as the album's second single.<sup>[23](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12385-paradise/)</sup> A campus paper reviewing the album in December 2011 reported that "Paradise" was the most popular song on *Mylo Xyloto* according to iTunes.<sup>[24](https://mccc-digital-collections.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/agora/id/2132/download)</sup>

**Later uses.** At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, the American ice dancers Maia and [Alex Shibutani](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-shibutani) skated to "Paradise" and won bronze medals in both the team and individual ice dance events.<sup>[25](https://time.com/5175565/figure-skating-songs-olympics/)</sup> The song remains a live staple: at the Rose Bowl in October 2023, Martin asked the 68,000-strong audience for the "quietest singalong ever," chanting the title in a whisper.<sup>[26](https://apnews.com/article/2495db40a6b335f1590a21aa0f5fd337)</sup> [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde)'s 2024 review of *Moon Music* described the keyboard-and-arena-chorus formula "profitably unrolled on the hits 'Paradise' and 'A Sky Full of Stars'" as the template for the band's later pop direction.<sup>[27](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2024/10/05/with-moon-music-coldplay-s-interplanetary-pop-goes-round-in-circles_6728244_30.html)</sup>

## References

1. [Coldplay's 'Paradise' divides opinion among NME.COM users, NME (12 September 2011)](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-209-1281049)
2. [Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay Timeline](https://timeline.coldplay.com/era/mylo-xyloto/)
3. [Paradise (audio), official YouTube upload with credits, Parlophone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TEUMPIhk8)
4. [Coldplay debuts new single 'Paradise', Los Angeles Times (12 September 2011)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/pop-hiss/story/2011-09-12/coldplay-debuts-new-single-paradise)
5. [PARADISE – COLDPLAY, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/coldplay-paradise/)
6. [Coldplay score first Number One of 2012 with 'Paradise', NME (1 January 2012)](https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplay-210-1280572)
7. [Coldplay Chart Chronology, Chart-History.net](https://chart-history.net/wp-content/uploads/arch-coldplay.pdf)
8. [Coldplay's Official Top 40 biggest songs in the UK revealed, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/coldplays-official-top-40-biggest-songs-in-the-uk-revealed/?title=Coldplay%E2%80%99s)
9. [Music Week, 15 February 2013 (global sales countdown)](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2013/2013-02-16-Music-Week.pdf)
10. [Paradise is here, pre-order the album, Coldplay.com (12 September 2011)](https://www.coldplay.com/paradise-is-here-pre-order-the-album/)
11. [Paradise by Coldplay, LyricsWeb](https://lyricsweb.com/song/coldplay/coldplay-paradise)
12. [Coldplay talk to MusicWeek about new album Mylo Xyloto, Coldplaying](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/articles/coldplay-talk-to-musicweek-about-new-album-mylo-xyloto-includes-track-by-track-rundown/)
13. [Billboard, 20 August 2011 (Singles vs. Sequencing)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2011/BB-2011-08-20.pdf)
14. [What did you think of new single 'Paradise'?, Coldplaying](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/articles/what-did-you-think-of-new-single-paradise-early-coldplayers-thoughts)
15. [Coldplay, 'Paradise' – Review, NME (Priya Elan, 12 September 2011)](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/coldplay-paradise-review-764931)
16. [Paradise, official lyrics, Coldplay.com](https://www.coldplay.com/song/paradise/)
17. [Paradise – Coldplay, Meaning & Story, Songfable](https://songfable.com/en/paradise-coldplay/)
18. [Interview: Director Mat Whitecross on the Paradise video, Coldplay.com](https://www.coldplay.com/interview-director-mat-whitecross-on-the-paradise-video/)
19. [Interview: Mat Whitecross on Paradise, Coldplay Timeline](https://timeline.coldplay.com/article/interview-director-mat-whitecross-on-the-paradise-video/)
20. [Background to Coldplay's Paradise video, Coldplaying](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/background-to-coldplays-paradise-video-cycle-store-owner-originally-turned-filmers-away/)
21. [Cameo role for Mandela Bridge, Johannesburg Development Agency](https://www.jda.org.za/cameo-role-for-mandela-bridge/)
22. [Coldplay release new video for Paradise online, Coldplaying](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/coldplay-release-new-video-for-paradise-online-after-the-first-shoot-was-scrapped/)
23. [Coldplay: "Paradise" Track Review, Pitchfork (Larry Fitzmaurice, 12 September 2011)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12385-paradise/)
24. [The Agora, December 2011, Mercer County Community College digital collections](https://mccc-digital-collections.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/agora/id/2132/download)
25. [These Were the Figure Skating Songs at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Time](https://time.com/5175565/figure-skating-songs-olympics/)
26. [Review: Coldplay brings empathy to the band's 2023 North American tour finale, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/2495db40a6b335f1590a21aa0f5fd337)
27. [With 'Moon Music,' Coldplay's interplanetary pop goes round in circles, Le Monde (2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2024/10/05/with-moon-music-coldplay-s-interplanetary-pop-goes-round-in-circles_6728244_30.html)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Alternative rock songs › 2000s and 2010s alternative songs*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license