Coldplay and 'Princess' Rihanna Rally On Social 50 Chart

Coldplay made some significant strides in the online world this week as the group's newest video for its hit song "Princess of China" (featuring Rihanna) was released on June 2. That causes the rock band to make a big jump on Billboard's Social 50 chart, rising 30-22.

The Social 50 chart ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, using a formula that blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays.

"Princess of China," the fourth single from Coldplay's album "Mylo Xyloto," has so far peaked at No. 20 on the Hot 100. The song's featured guest, Rihanna, happens to also hold the No. 1 spot on the Social 50 this week.

Channeling audiences from two massive online fan bases (over 75 million combined fans on Facebook alone) the video was able to garner 7 million views in only seven days. That helped Coldplay rack up 14,732,000 views to its VEVO channel during the charting week.

The success of the video created a positive impact on both artists' fan bases. Coldplay added just over 147,000 followers across Twitter, Facebook and Myspace to their overall fan base (a 7% increase) while Rihanna added 407,482.

Coldplay wasn't the only group to experience online gains riding the coattails of the Rihanna Navy. The greatest gains on the Social 50 this week were the five sisters that make up Cimorelli. The act returns to the top 10, jumping 16-3, reaching a new chart high. The jump comes thanks to the group's video cover of Rihanna's "Where Have You Been." So far, it has earned more than 600,000 views since its debut on June 4.

Its release has helped push Cimorelli's YouTube channel over 200 million views. It's full steam ahead for Cimorelli, who experienced nearly 20% gains across all other metrics (fans, views) during the charting week.

Miley Cyrus received some love online this week as well, as people flocked to her online properties to follow her as news broke of her recent engagement. The lucky fellow? Her boyfriend of two years, "Hunger Games" co-star Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus received a 82% boost in fan acquisition over the previous week and, according to additional data provided by Next Big Sound, her Wikipedia page received a 118% increase in weekly viewership.

Other gains on the Social 50 include Eminem, who rose 19-13 correlating with activity (news releases and videos) surrounding the Shady Records Hot 97 Summer Jam BBQ. (The same Summer Jam where Nicki Minaj, who holds at No. 7, didn't show up after DJ Peter Rosenberg dissed her onstage before her scheduled performance.)

Selena Gomez has a fragrance and Spring Break to thank for her 24-21 climb this week. The June 9 launch of her fragrance with Macy's, and press surrounding her upcoming movie "Spring Breakers," helped earn her a 20% increase in profile views.

The rest of this week's top 10: Adele holds fast at No. 2, Justin Bieber steps down (3-4), as does Katy Perry (5-6). The latter swaps spots with Skrillex who rose a position (6-5). Linkin Park continues to climb (9-8), eclipsing Lady Gaga whose decrease in activity allowed her to sink (4-9). Rounding out the top 10 is One Direction, falling two rungs to No. 10.

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Hot Tours: Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay

by Bob Allen  |   May 04, 2012 1:50 EDT

Radiohead scores a No. 1 ranking on the latest Hot Tours tally with ticket sales reported from two concerts in Mexico City during April. Touring in support of its album "The King of Limbs" released in 2011, the English rock band performed at the outdoor sports stadium, Foro Sol in the Mexican capitol city on April 17 and 18.  Attendance for both nights totaled 87,986, generating more than 63.2 million pesos in ticket sales revenue ($4.7 million US$).  Opening acts for both performances were Caribou and Other Lives.  Radiohead launched its 2012 tour in Miami in late February and performed in 13 U.S. cities before playing the two shows in Mexico.  The band also appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California on April 14 and 21.
Coldplay, No. 3 on the current Hot Tours recap, has kicked off the North American leg of its "Mylo Xyloto" Tour that began with a European trek during the last three months of 2011.  The first concert this year was in Canada at Edmonton's 17,500-seat arena, Rexall Place on April 17. With Metronomy and The Pierces providing support, the Grammy-winning band grossed more than $1.2 million from 14,306 sold tickets.  The first U.S. venue on the current leg was the Rose Garden in Portland with a sold out performance on April 24.  With 12,966 sold seats, the arena box office reported ticket sales topping the $1 million mark.  The tour follows the 2011 release of the band's fifth studio album, "Mylo Xyloto," and will continue through late-September.

Canadian rock band Nickelback lands on the Hot Tours chart this week at No. 9 with the first performance reported from its Here and Now Tour that began in early April.  Montreal's Bell Centre garnered over $1 million in ticket revenue from a sold out concert on April 21 with a crowd totaling 13,688.  Bush, Seether and My Darkest Days were the show openers.  Nickelback will be performing at North American arenas through the end of June, followed by a string of outdoor amphitheater dates during July.  A European leg of the tour will begin in early September.

Artist/Event
Total Gross
Show Dates
Show Venue/City (Shows/Sellouts)
Total Attendance (Capacity)BRYAN ADAMS
Centre Georges-Vézina, Chicoutimi, Quebec (1/1)Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City (1/1)CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S MICHAEL JACKSON TOUR
Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pa. (1/0)Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, S.C. (2/0)ERICH CHURCH
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (1/1)Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky. (1/1)U.S. Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington, Ill. (1/1)NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS
PULP Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City (1/0)

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Coldplay launches fresh chart assault with fifth album

Coldplay lead vocalist Chris Martin performs at the Rock in Rio Music Festival in Rio de Janeiro October 1, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:42am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - You may not understand the title of Coldplay's new album let alone be able to pronounce it, but "Mylo Xyloto" is a name music fans may have to get used to as the group launches a fresh assault on the world's charts.

The English quartet's fifth studio album hits shelves in Britain on Monday and the United States on Tuesday, and early critical response is mostly positive for a record aided and "enoxified" by Brian Eno.

Judging by comments made during a blitz of interviews to publicize the album, Coldplay could do with a little love, something that might seem strange given their success.

Their last record, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," was released in 2008 and went on to become that calendar year's top-selling album at 6.8 million copies.

The one before that, "X & Y," claimed the same honor in 2005, shifting 8.3 million copies globally.

They are one of the world's biggest bands, have multiple Grammys and album sales of around 50 million to their name.

Yet that has not shielded the unusually unassuming rock stars from criticism that tends to focus on their clean-cut "middle class" image and music that naysayers label as "bland" and "Radiohead-lite."

Guitarist Joe Satriani also sued the band, alleging that their chart-topping and award-winning "Viva La Vida" contained elements of his "If I Could Fly." The two sides reportedly settled out of court in late 2009.

"We got to a very low place on the last record where we felt not very popular," lead singer Chris Martin told the Sun tabloid.

"But it was refreshing as it made us start from scratch. A clean slate. So many people had made up their minds about us already that we had nothing to lose."

YOUNG COMPETITION

That sense of defiance came with a realization that, in order to rule the charts again, Coldplay are not up against "stadium bands" like, say, U2 but teen sensation Justin Bieber and English singing sensation Adele.

"Now we have Justin Bieber and Adele to compete with and they're a lot younger," 34-year-old Martin, who is married to Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, said in a recent interview.

"We have to have the energy to put as much effort into our work as they do. If it's over, it's over and I can live with that. The most important thing always is to proceed as if every album is the last and not expect anything more."

Early reviews of Mylo Xyloto have been generally positive, with critics remarking that, while offering some fresh twists, the sound is essentially the Coldplay of old.

"It's a surging, chiming, upbeat epic, almost thunderously enthusiastic," wrote Neil McCormick of the Daily Telegraph in a four-star review.

He went on to call the album "irresistible," but voiced reservations, shared by Alexis Petridis of the Guardian in a three-star review, about the lack of depth in lyrics and music.

"Questioned about the title, Martin has insisted 'it doesn't have any meaning'," said McCormick. "His defiant inarticulacy feeds the notion that Coldplay are a pop group in rock clothing."

Rolling Stone magazine's Josh Eells gave the record three-and-a-half stars, commenting: "On Mylo Xyloto, the choruses are bigger, the textures grander, the optimism more optimistic. It's a bear-hug record for a bear-market world."

Martin, along with bandmates Jonny Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass) and Will Champion (drums), have produced a concept album loosely based on a love story set in a dystopian world.

In June, Coldplay released its first single "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" followed by "Paradise" in September.

Among the highlights of the 14-track album are "Princess of China," featuring Rihanna on vocals, and "Charlie Brown," which Billboard magazine called the record's best song.

Coldplay is signed to EMI Group Ltd.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Coldplay launches fresh chart assault with fifth album (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – You may not understand the title of Coldplay's new album let alone be able to pronounce it, but "Mylo Xyloto" is a name music fans may have to get used to as the group launches a fresh assault on the world's charts.

The English quartet's fifth studio album hits shelves in Britain on Monday and the United States on Tuesday, and early critical response is mostly positive for a record aided and "enoxified" by Brian Eno.

Judging by comments made during a blitz of interviews to publicize the album, Coldplay could do with a little love, something that might seem strange given their success.

Their last record, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," was released in 2008 and went on to become that calendar year's top-selling album at 6.8 million copies.

The one before that, "X & Y," claimed the same honor in 2005, shifting 8.3 million copies globally.

They are one of the world's biggest bands, have multiple Grammys and album sales of around 50 million to their name.

Yet that has not shielded the unusually unassuming rock stars from criticism that tends to focus on their clean-cut "middle class" image and music that naysayers label as "bland" and "Radiohead-lite."

Guitarist Joe Satriani also sued the band, alleging that their chart-topping and award-winning "Viva La Vida" contained elements of his "If I Could Fly." The two sides reportedly settled out of court in late 2009.

"We got to a very low place on the last record where we felt not very popular," lead singer Chris Martin told the Sun tabloid.

"But it was refreshing as it made us start from scratch. A clean slate. So many people had made up their minds about us already that we had nothing to lose."

YOUNG COMPETITION

That sense of defiance came with a realization that, in order to rule the charts again, Coldplay are not up against "stadium bands" like, say, U2 but teen sensation Justin Bieber and English singing sensation Adele.

"Now we have Justin Bieber and Adele to compete with and they're a lot younger," 34-year-old Martin, who is married to Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, said in a recent interview.

"We have to have the energy to put as much effort into our work as they do. If it's over, it's over and I can live with that. The most important thing always is to proceed as if every album is the last and not expect anything more."

Early reviews of Mylo Xyloto have been generally positive, with critics remarking that, while offering some fresh twists, the sound is essentially the Coldplay of old.

"It's a surging, chiming, upbeat epic, almost thunderously enthusiastic," wrote Neil McCormick of the Daily Telegraph in a four-star review.

He went on to call the album "irresistible," but voiced reservations, shared by Alexis Petridis of the Guardian in a three-star review, about the lack of depth in lyrics and music.

"Questioned about the title, Martin has insisted 'it doesn't have any meaning'," said McCormick. "His defiant inarticulacy feeds the notion that Coldplay are a pop group in rock clothing."

Rolling Stone magazine's Josh Eells gave the record three-and-a-half stars, commenting: "On Mylo Xyloto, the choruses are bigger, the textures grander, the optimism more optimistic. It's a bear-hug record for a bear-market world."

Martin, along with bandmates Jonny Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass) and Will Champion (drums), have produced a concept album loosely based on a love story set in a dystopian world.

In June, Coldplay released its first single "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" followed by "Paradise" in September.

Among the highlights of the 14-track album are "Princess of China," featuring Rihanna on vocals, and "Charlie Brown," which Billboard magazine called the record's best song.

Coldplay is signed to EMI Group Ltd.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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