Christmas Lights (song)

"Christmas Lights" is a song by British alternative rock band Coldplay released on 1 December 2010, as a digital download single.[1] According to lead singer Chris Martin, it was written in December 2008.[2] The morning after he began work on the single, he performed a segment of the still in-progress song for journalist Steve Kroft during an interview for the newsmagazine program 60 Minutes that was aired on February 8, 2009.[2][3] Described by the band as "a mid-tempo number" in the key of G major, "Christmas Lights" was released to positive reviews and later named one of the best Christmas songs of the 21st century by Cleveland.[4] The cover art is by Yu Matsuoka Pol.[5]

"Christmas Lights"
Single by Coldplay
WrittenDecember 2008
Released1 December 2010
Genre
Length4:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Coldplay singles chronology
"Strawberry Swing"
(2009)		 "Christmas Lights"
(2010)		 "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall"
(2011)
Music video
"Christmas Lights" on YouTube

Release and promotion

The single's release date was announced through the official Coldplay website on 24 November 2010.[1] A countdown in minutes and seconds to 1 December 8pm GMT, appeared on the homepage of the website, accompanied by an animated GIF of the album art.

Coldplay released three 'making-of' videos through their iTunes Ping page, showing the creation of the music video. Another video was also released on their website, giving a preview of the music video and the song itself, plus more 'making-of' footage. It was originally thought that "Christmas Lights" would be a song from the band's fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto, but this was confirmed not to be the case by Coldplay's official fan-question answer system The Oracle on two occasions.[6][7]

For the week ending 18 December 2010, "Christmas Lights" both debuted and peaked at position number 25 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and position number 12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart. A live recording of the song was also featured as the closer track on the band's Live from Spotify London EP, released exclusively on Spotify in December 2016. A physical release of "Christmas Lights" was released on 4 December 2020, to mark the song's tenth anniversary. It was made available in a limited-edition blue 7-inch vinyl with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" as its B-side.[8][9] It reached number 1 in the UK's Official Vinyl Singles Chart in December 2020,[10] and was the 15th best-selling vinyl single of 2021.[11]

Music video
Screenshot from the video

The discussions of plans for the song's music video started about one month before its release. The original plan was to film a simple video at Oxford Street, as the place is mentioned in the song's lyrics. After that, many other options were analysed, like a similar video to the Beatles' video for "All You Need Is Love", with the band and friends at the studio, but that idea was left out as Coldplay were in the middle of the production of Mylo Xyloto, and that could disrupt the flow of the recording. Another idea for the video included filming at the Willesden Music Hall. Finally, they decided to invite the designer Misty Buckley to the project and the ideas for the final video began to take shape. After a meeting at the studio called The Bakery, all the ideas had been set up and the only thing missing was the location for the shooting. Some places suggested were the tunnels under Waterloo and the roof of John Lewis. However, they opted for the South Bank just five days before the shooting of the video, to tie in a line about the meeting of the sea and the city.[12]

Coldplay began filming the music video on 24 November. The video appears to be one continuous shot, and while it might have been filmed with a single camera, the amount of takes in the video is unknown. Whether this means the finished product is a mix of many clips seamlessly stitched together is unknown.[13] It begins with the starting up of a record player, and the camera panning across a multicoloured player piano, then the four members of the band lying on a wooden floor. Martin begins to sing the first verse as the camera pans and zooms out to show the piano—which is now next to him—and then back. Martin has changed his position, and the rest of the band are now nowhere to be seen. Martin rises up from the floor, then begins to play the piano, which is revealed to be on an outdoor stage in front of the Thames. Curtains open to reveal the rest of the band, who join in playing the song, accompanied by fireworks and three violin-playing Elvis impersonators (who are played by friends of the band: actor Simon Pegg, the 'fifth member' of Coldplay Phil Harvey, and Tim Crompton - friend of the band and frontman of The High Wire).[14][15] One hundred fans of the band appear in the music video; they release coloured balloons from a boat on the Thames whilst singing along to part of the song. "Credo Elvem Etiam Vivere" is written across the top of the stage. In Latin this means "I Believe Elvis Yet Lives".[16] This is likely connected to the three Elvises appearing in the video, which is, in turn, connected to the lyrics of the song.

The video was directed by Mat Whitecross, a long-time friend of the band and director of several of Coldplay's other music videos, such as "Bigger Stronger", "Lovers in Japan", "Paradise", and subsequently "Adventure of a Lifetime", as well as the 2018 documentary Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams. Just hours after the release of the video it was removed from YouTube after the IFPI claimed a breach of copyright,[17] despite the video being on one of Coldplay's official channels. However, it was eventually uploaded once again.

Cover versions
See also: List of cover versions of Coldplay songs

Track listing
Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Christmas Lights"4:02
Limited-edition blue 7-inch vinyl[9]
No.TitleLength
1."Christmas Lights"4:02
2."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Jo Whiley, BBC Radio 1 Session)2:19

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Christmas Lights"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[54] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[55] Platinum 300,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[56] Platinum 70,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Christmas Lights"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 1 December 2010 Digital download Parlophone [1]
4 December 2020 7-inch vinyl [9]

References
  1. "Coldplay - Christmas Lights release". Coldplay.com. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  2. "Coldplay's "Christmas Lights" Unplugged". 60 Minutes. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  3. Kroft, Steve. "A Look At The "Mystery" Of Coldplay". 60 Minutes. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  4. "23 Best Christmas Songs Since 2000". Cleveland. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  5. "Coldplay Oracle". 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  6. "Coldplay Oracle - What Did You Mean..." Coldplay.com. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  7. "Coldplay Oracle - Is Christmas Lights..." Coldplay.com. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  8. "The Coldplay Messenger: No. 12 - Vol. 15". Coldplay. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. "Christmas Lights - 7" Vinyl (+ Exclusive Art Print)". Coldplay Store. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  11. "The Official Top 40 Best-Selling Vinyl Albums and Singles of 2021". Official Charts Company. 5 January 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  12. Slender Fungus (11 December 2010). "News - Interview with Mat Whitecross (Christmas Lights video director) - pt 1". Coldplay. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  13. "Coldplay Oracle". 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  14. "Coldplay Oracle". 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  15. "Coldplay Oracle". 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  16. "Latin Mottos, Latin Phrases, Latin Quotes and Latin Sayings". Yuni.com. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  17. "Image of Coldplay.com Home". 2 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  18. Horansky, TJ (31 October 2013). "Fearless Records release 'Punk Goes Christmas' commercial". Alternative Press. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
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  20. "Coldplay – Christmas Lights" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  21. "Coldplay – Christmas Lights" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
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  23. "Coldplay Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201751/52 into search. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
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  29. "Coldplay Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
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  32. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Coldplay". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  33. "Coldplay – Christmas Lights". Top Digital Download.
  34. "EHR top 40". Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  35. "2021 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
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  38. "Coldplay – Christmas Lights". Top 40 Singles.
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  40. "Coldplay – Christmas Lights". AFP Top 100 Singles.
  41. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 20185152 into search. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  42. "Coldplay – Christmas Lights" Canciones Top 50.
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  50. "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Ricerche e dati di mercato". Fimi.it. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
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  52. "Single Top 100 - eladási darabszám alapján - 2020". Mahasz. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  53. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  54. "Danish single certifications – Coldplay – Christmas Lights". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  55. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Coldplay; 'Christmas Lights')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  56. "Italian single certifications – Coldplay – Christmas Lights" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 April 2021. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Christmas Lights" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  57. "British single certifications – Coldplay – Christmas Lights". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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