"My Universe" is a song recorded by British rock band Coldplay and South Korean pop group BTS.[4] It was released on 24 September 2021, through Parlophone and Atlantic Records, as the second official single from Music of the Spheres, Coldplay's ninth studio album.[5] It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming BTS' sixth US chart-topper and Coldplay's second after 2008's "Viva la Vida". The single is also the first track by two co-billed lead groups to top the chart and the first song by a British group to debut at number one in the United States' history.[6]
"My Universe" received positive reviews from music critics. It premiered at number three in the UK Singles Chart, claiming the second-biggest week of the year in downloads,[7] and eventually becoming the most downloaded song of 2021 by a group in the country.[8] The track also reached number one in Hungary, Malaysia and Singapore; the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Canada, India, Ireland, and South Korea; and the top twenty of twelve other countries, including Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and New Zealand.
The official music video, directed by Dave Meyers, was released on 30 September 2021 and features both groups performing on different futuristic planets (Floris, Calypso, and Supersolis) alongside a fictional band named "Supernova 7" via the "Holoband" technology developed by DJ Lafrique, set in an era where music is banned around the universe.
Background
"About 18 months ago I got a message from somebody, they said, ‘BTS want to a do a song with you’ and I said, ‘How would that work? I didn’t understand how that could be possible. [...] My friend said the phrase ‘my universe’ one day and I wrote down ‘my universe’ and I felt that’s a cool title. Then I took it to my friend and said, ‘OK let’s do a demo with BTS’.”
— Chris Martin mentioned how "My Universe" started out, Coldplay X BTS Inside 'My Universe' Documentary[9]
The title of the song was first announced as part of the track listing release of Music of the Spheres in July 2021 without any mention of the song featuring BTS.[10] A snippet of the song was included in a trailer titled "Overtura", also omitting any evidence of the Korean group being involved.[11] On 13 September 2021, the song was revealed to be a collaboration between Coldplay and BTS.[12] The single was announced through a coded message on Coldplay's Alien Radio FM social media account.[13] Following the release of the "Permission to Dance" music video in early July 2021, the groups first collaborated during an episode of the YouTube series Released, during which they joined a discussion with Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin on what inspired the "#PermissionToDance Challenge".[14] However, speculations about a collaboration between the two groups had already started circulating in February 2021, after BTS covered their 2005 hit song "Fix You" on MTV Unplugged.[15] On 26 September, the Inside My Universemaking-of documentary of the song was released, alongside a "Supernova 7" remix and an acoustic version.[16] A third remix, done by Suga of BTS, was released on 18 October.[17] Additional remixes by Galantis and David Guetta were released in November.[18][19] Following the collaboration, Coldplay also wrote a song with BTS member Jin titled "The Astronaut".[20]
Music and lyrics
"My Universe" is a synth-pop track, co-written by Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, and Will Champion of Coldplay, as well as BTS members J-Hope, RM, and Suga, as well as Bill Rahko, Oscar Holter, and Max Martin. The lyrics are in both English and Korean. Coldplay originally wrote the song for BTS, but the songwriting process was revised to include the South Korean septet.[21][22] My Universe is set to a 4 4 common time signature, with a moderately fast tempo of 105 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E major, with the BTS vocal range spanning from the note F♯3 to the note B5.[23] The upbeat gives the synth-rock of Coldplay and the dance-pop of BTS an EDM twist.[24] Coldplay introduces a loud electro-dance outro just before the song ends.[21] Lyrically, the song discusses choosing love above differences with a line like, "And they said that we can't be together because, because we come from different sides." But in the chorus, they dismiss doubters: "You, you are my universe, and I just want to put you first."[25]
Commercial performance
"My Universe" debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with 11.5 million streams, 5.5 million audience impressions from radio airplay, and 127,000 downloads and physical single sales combined.[26] It became BTS' fifth song to achieve the feat, breaking the record for the most first-week number-ones by a group. They also tied Ariana Grande and Drake overall. "My Universe" was also the first track by two lead groups to reach the top of the ranking. Furthermore, Coldplay became the first British group in history to debut at number one on the Hot 100 and scored their first chart-topping single since "Viva la Vida" (2008).[27]
In addition, "My Universe" topped both the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl charts. U.S. charts. Between September 24 and September 30, the song received 95.4 million streaming and 142,400 downloads globally, with 84.4 million streams and 90,500 downloads occurring outside of the United States. It is BTS's fifth No. 1 on the Global Excl. chart and sixth on the Global 200. Coldplay's debut at No.1 on both charts comes in the U.S.The song also debuts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales list, making BTS the group with the most consecutive No. 1 songs on the chart with nine. The song debuted at the top of the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts and peaked at No. 21 on the Streaming Songs list, No. 23, Alternative Airplay, No. 29, Adult Pop Airplay, and No. 33 on Pop Airplay.[28]
"My Universe" was the top new entry for the week of October 1–7 which debuted at No. 3 on the Official Singles Chart. Notably, with a total of 27,000 pure sales, the single was the best-selling of the week in both physical CDs and digital downloads. The song's 21,400 digital downloads gave it the largest week of downloads of any song this year in the UK. On Oricon's weekly digital singles chart, the song debuted at No. 1. The day after it was released, the song debuted on Spotify's Global Top 200 at No. 3.[29][30]
Music video
A space-themed lyric video, featuring animated handwritten lyrics from both bands in English and Korean, was released together with the song on 24 September 2021.[31] Additional visualizers for the instrumental and three remix versions of the track were published in the following days.[32][33]
A scene in music video where BTS, Coldplay, and Supernova7 are able to play together using the Holoband.
A music video directed by Dave Meyers was released on 30 September 2021.[34] Set in the Spheres planetary system, where music has been banned by the "Silencers", who appeared in Coldplay's 2011 album Mylo Xyloto.[35][36] The video depicts Coldplay, BTS, and the fictional alien band Supernova 7 performing "My Universe" together. Though located on different planets, the three groups are united as holograms through "HOLOBAND" technology controlled by alien DJ Lafrique, who broadcasts their performance throughout the system from her radio ship while being hunted by the Silencers.[37] Coldplay filmed the video at an empty, abandoned municipal swimming pool complex in Rubí, Barcelona, in July 2021. The BTS portion was shot on a green-screen stage at a studio in Seoul, South Korea, two weeks after the Barcelona shoot.[38][39] The green screen was useful to make the visual effects, such as the groups' holographic versions, and to unite the scenes from both groups.[40]
Critical reception
Rhian Daly from NME rated the song four out of five stars and called it "a celestial ode to unity, hope and the power of love".[41] She also mentioned while some might view the track as an unusual pairing, the two acts "makes complete sense" together because "both share a predilection for a poetic and heartfelt approach to their music; as well as being two of the biggest bands in the world, they are also two of modern pop's deepest thinkers, imbuing their lyrics with touching statements on love and life".[41]Rolling Stone (62) and Billboard (45) have both ranked "My Universe" among the best songs released by BTS.[42] Similarly, Billboard Italy named it one of the best international collaborations of 2021.[43]
Accolades
The song received five non-consecutive Melon Weekly Popularity Awards in South Korea.[44]
On 23 September 2021, a day before the song was officially released, Coldplay performed "My Universe" on Pandora's Small Stage Series at the Apollo Theater in New York City.[71] Chris Martin performed a short acoustic rendition of the song as a preview during his guest appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, which aired the following day.[72] On 25 September, the band performed the song at the Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park, with BTS appearing virtually via a pre-recorded video that played onscreen behind them. Martin also attempted to sing some of BTS' Korean verses.[73] The following month, the band performed the song during their guest appearance on The Graham Norton Show on 15 October,[74] at the 2021 Earthshot Prize ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London two days later (in which 60 cyclists pedalling on bikes provided the power for their performance),[75] and as part of their closing set for Audacy's 8th annual We Can Survive charity concert held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on 23 October.
^The Buenos Aires Music Video Festival was established in 2019 to honour excellence in music video craft around the world based on a peer-voted selection process.[45]
^Coldplay received a 3× Platinum plaque from Warner Music Mexico for selling 420,000 units of "My Universe" in the country. However, AMPROFON did not update their database.[200]
^South Korea physical sales figures for "My Universe" as of May 2022.[205]
^멜론 주간 인기상 (12월) [Melon Weekly Popularity Award (December)]. Melon (in Korean). 26 December 2021. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^"Buenos Aires Music Video Festival 2021". Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (in Spanish). 9 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
^"BTS 8관왕·아이유 5관왕… 가온차트 최고의 별 [종합]" [BTS 8 Wins, IU 5 Wins... Gaon Chart's Best Star Overall]. Naver TV Entertainment (in Korean). 27 January 2022. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
^"Delta i GAFFA Priset 2022!" [Participate in the GAFFA Prize 2022!]. GAFFA Sweden (in Swedish). 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
^第36回 日本ゴールドディスク大賞 [36th Japan Gold Disc Awards]. The Gold Disc Awards (in Japanese). 2022. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
^"Gold & Platinum Program". National Music Publishers' Association (The NMPA Awards honors songwriters for achieving RIAA certifications with their work). 26 September 2022. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 3. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 42. týden 2021 in the date selector. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 10. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 46. týden 2021 in the date selector. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
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