NEWS
Coldplay
James Marcus Haney*U.K. superstars Ed Sheeran and Coldplay joined forces Tuesday night (Oct. 12) to perform each other's hits at the band's new album launch event.
Held at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, the British rock band celebrated the upcoming release of their Max Martin-produced ninth studio album Music of the Spheres, due Friday via Parlophone/Atlantic Records. They enlisted the help of the English pop singer to sing their 2005 hit "Fix You," which peaked at No. 18 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart.
Later, Chris Martin & co. returned the favor by strumming along to Sheeran's 2017 smash "Shape of You," which ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 nonconsecutive weeks and remains the most-streamed song on Spotify with nearly 3 billion streams.
Both acts have recently scored Hot 100 No. 1s with K-pop supergroup BTS. Sheeran co-penned "Permission to Dance,"which was released on the same CD as the band's other leader "Butter," which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in July. Meanwhile, Coldplay and BTS took the throne last week when their out-of-this-world collaboration "My Universe" landed at No. 1, earning Coldplay its second chart-topper and BTS its sixth. "My Universe" was released as the second single from Music of the Spheres, which the band has been teasing with mysterious lyric billboards in London's Westfield Shepherd's Bush shopping center that spelled out its eighth track "Biutyful."
In promotion of the album, Coldplay and Amazon Music also hosted an immersive two-day event starting last Friday called "The Atmospheres," which, according to a press release, was a "custom-built installation [where] fans will be transported to The Spheres – the distant solar system that plays host to the band’s latest album, where each of the twelve tracks is twinned with a different planet." The sensory experience was held at four venues in London, New York, Berlin and Tokyo.
Watch their Sheeran and Coldplay's performances of "Fix You" and "Shape of You" below.
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
