"Let Somebody Go" is a song by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

and American singer

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

, recorded for the band's ninth studio album, ''

Music of the Spheres The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...

''. The song was produced by

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

Oscar Holter Oscar Thomas Holter (born 26 February 1986) is a Swedish record producer and songwriter based in the United States. He is best known for his work with record producer and fellow Swede Max Martin and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd on the ...

Rik Simpson Rik Simpson (a.k.a. Rikademus) is a multi Grammy Award-winning British record producer, sound engineer, musician, and songwriter. He is most recently recognised for his production work with Coldplay on ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Frien ...

, Daniel Green, and Bill Rahko, and co-produced by

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap. R ...

. The song was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

through

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from ''Music of the Spheres'' on 7 February 2022.

Writing and production

Creative director Phil Harvey stated both him and Martin have been fans of Gomez, commenting she has a "unique, evocative and mysterious" tone. He initially tried to persuade the band to include the song in their eighth album ''

Everyday Life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal. Human diurnality means most peop ...

'' (2019). Meanwhile, Martin noted "she's an angel" and her voice is in what he "would call 'the

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

bag' which are voices that are gifts to humanity". Bassist

Guy Berryman Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he began to play bass from an early age, ...

explained the collaboration: They finished the track together in April 2021. Martin credited his daughter Apple in the writing, saying she "gave me this amazing chord that I'd never thought of. So she's on there".

Music video

A space-themed lyric video featuring animated handwritten lyrics was released on 15 October 2021. The video was directed by

Pilar Zeta Pilar Zeta is an Argentine multimedia artist, graphic designer, and creative director currently residing in the United States. She is best known for her surrealist album covers, mystical-futurism artwork and long-time partnership with British roc ...

and Victor Scorrano and depicts Calypso, one of the celestial bodies in the fictional solar system ''The Spheres''. A music video directed by Dave Meyers was announced on 3 February 2022, and was released on 7 February 2022. The music video was filmed in October 2021.

Live performances

"Let Somebody Go" was first performed live on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

'' by Coldplay and Selena Gomez on the show's 18 October 2021 episode. On 2 February 2022,

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...

performed a solo version of the song on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

''.

Critical reception

"Let Somebody Go" received positive reviews by most critics, who considered it a highlight for the album. Jon Dolan from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called it a "soft-focus study in post-breakup solemnity that's got more warmth and grace than most artists' crushed-out valentines". The track was also named one of the best songs of the year by ''

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...

'' (#24), as they cited it as a "delicious music with only one signal: Chris Martin's habit of writing howling and presumptuous arena signs". Similarly, ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' included it on their "55 Best Songs of 2021" list at number 21 and mentioned the collaboration was "unexpectedly awesome". The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', on the other hand, ranked "Let Somebody Go" as the fifth worst song of 2021, considering it the anti-"

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

Personnel

;Coldplay *

– bass *

Jonny Buckland Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English-born Welsh musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he began to play guitar from an early age, being in ...

– guitar *

Will Champion William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned various instruments during his childhood, being influenced by ...

– drums, backing vocals *

– vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar ;Additional musicians *

– vocals ;Technical personnel *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

– programming, production *

– additional production *

Jon Hopkins Jonathan Julian Hopkins (born 15 August 1979) is an English musician and producer who writes and performs electronic music. He began his career playing keyboards for Imogen Heap, and has produced but also contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Co ...

– production * Daniel Green – production * Bill Rahko – production

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 songs Coldplay songs Selena Gomez songs Atlantic Records singles Parlophone singles Songs written by Chris Martin Songs written by Guy Berryman Songs written by Jonny Buckland Songs written by Will Champion Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Oscar Holter Songs written by Metro Boomin Song recordings produced by Max Martin 2020s ballads Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) 2022 singles Pop ballads Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Metro Boomin