People of the Pride
"People of the Pride" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was produced by Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Bill Rahko, Rik Simpson, and Daniel Green. It appears as the seventh track on the band's ninth studio album, "Music of the Spheres", and is the only song on the album to contain profanity. It impacted American adult album alternative radio statios in the United States on 7 March 2022, and released as a radio-only promotional single to modern rock radio on 8 March 2022. Background. The opening lyrics of the track were originally  recorded during the "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (2008) sessions for a piano centered song titled "The Man Who Swears He's God". However, the band were inspired by movements including the Black Lives Matter and gay pride movements to finish the song. Chris Martin stated that the song "Is about human politics. This is the politics that believes that everyone on the planet has a right to be themselves. And I think whether you’re an old soft rock superstar, or a young whippersnapper, you’re allowed to believe that". The track is a heavily  hard rock song, with the band citing Muse, Depeche Mode and Rammstein as influences. The lyric video for the song was published at the same time as the album release date on 15 October 2021. The track samples Sam Sparro's 2008 single "Black and Gold" and an interlude used by Beyoncé during her performance of "End of Time" at the Global Citizen Festival in 2015. Critical reception. "People of the Pride" received generally mixed reviews from critics. Mikael Wood of the "LA Times" noted its reminder of Coldplay's early roots in Radiohead inspired music, but called it "by  far the album’s worst song, and the one that feels most unshaped by Max Martin’s touch." On the other hand, Abby Elizondo of "The Miami Student" praised its aggressive political lyrics, considering them especially relevant in today's political scene. Music video. A music video directed by Paul Dugdale, was released on 15 March 2022. It features audio from the original song, live performances and additional sound effects. The visuals include animations making nods to the lyrics and snippets from their live performance at the Climate Pledge Arena.