"Princess of China" is a duet recorded by British rock 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 ...

and Barbadian singer

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 th ...

for Coldplay's fifth studio album ''

Mylo Xyloto ''Mylo Xyloto'' (pronounced ) is the fifth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 24 October 2011. The band worked closely with producer Brian Eno following their successful collaboration on ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His ...

''. The song was written by band members Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Chris Martin, with additional composition by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

and a sample from " Takk..." performed by

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fr ...

. The song was released as the fourth single from ''

'' and was sent to US Mainstream radio on 14 February 2012. It was later released as a digital download on 13 April 2012. A companion EP to the single, featuring an acoustic version of the song, was released on 1 June 2012. Influenced by the music genres of

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

and R&B, "Princess of China" met a mixed response from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, with some praising the collaboration between Martin and Rihanna, and others criticizing it as generic and uninspiring. The song performed well on international charts, peaking at number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It has also reached the top ten of the Australian and New Zealand charts and five other international charts. The song's accompanying music video, directed by Adria Petty and Alan Bibby, was filmed in March 2012 in Los Angeles and released on 2 June 2012. The video depicts a complicated love story of Rihanna and Chris Martin, scenes of which include a sword fight and Rihanna imitating a multi-armed goddess. The video received positive reviews, with critics praising the Asian theme. The song was performed live on the

54th Grammy Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted the ...

held at

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Writing, recording and release

"Princess of China" was written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion,

and Chris Martin. The production of the song was helmed by Markus Dravs, Dan Green and Rik Simpson. During the recording sessions for their fifth studio album ''

'', the frontman of

, Chris Martin confirmed the band had recorded a song with Barbadian recording artist

. Martin explained that the song was specifically written for Rihanna to be featured on, and hoped that she would like it enough to want to lend her vocals to the track, while further stating, "In like a dream scenario, we had a song that I'd secretly kind of written to see if Rihanna would want to sing it ... and then the rest of the band wanted to keep it, so we came up with the idea of asking her to sing it with us, and, to our great surprise, she said okay". Martin also explained how he approached the singer about collaborating on the song, saying, "The album ylo Xylotois designed as a whole piece. It has boy and girl lead characters and top of our list for the girl part was Rihanna, but it took a while to pluck up the courage to ask her. We did a show in Las Vegas and I met her and said, 'Do you think there's any chance?' I was very Hugh Grant-like and spluttering about it." The song was mixed by Mark Spike Stent, Rik Simpson, Daniel Green and Michael Brauer. In an interview with

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

Martin confirmed that the "Princess of China" is the band's favourite song on the album because of how it differs from their previous efforts in terms of genre and musical direction. When asked if fans would unite and react favourably to the song, Martin expressed that he was not concerned with how it would be received, and noted that Rihanna is always pushing the boundaries of the music industry. On 21 September 2011, reports surfaced online that Will Champion, who plays the drums in the band, had expressed interest in singing the lyrics that were ultimately delegated to Rihanna. Martin dispelled the suggestion that there was any tension between the bandmates and Rihanna, saying, "There's a bit of a love story thread so we really needed someone to sing higher than me. For all Will's good intentions, he can't do it. You need to be female." "Princess of China" premiered on Dutch radio on 16 October 2011 and was later uploaded to the band's official

VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

account on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, but it was removed by their record label, EMI. The song was made available to purchase via digital download on 25 October 2011.

Composition

"Princess of China" is influenced by the music genres of

,Reviews deeming the song's genre electropop: * * * * and R&B. The song starts with a sample of

' "Takk...", which is also featured throughout the song. As noted by Amy Sciarretto of Popcrush, it features a "moody" and heavy

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

throughout the duration of the song. The song also prominently features both Martin's and Rihanna's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

noted that both of the vocalists' falsettos matched each other perfectly, and that Martin's falsetto complemented Rihanna's higher register. Judah Joseph of ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' gave an explanation of the song's composition as part of his review, writing "The best way to describe the composition behind 'Princess of China' is to compare it to an old-school ''Zelda'' game's sound effects – but in the best way. The song is epic, Asia-influenced, and it exemplifies the adventurous vibe that comes from an alternative-hip-hop combination." According to the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

, the song is written in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

of common time, and is composed in the key of

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 84 beats per minute. The song follows a basic sequence of Am₇–C–Dm/F–G₆ as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

Critical reception

"Princess of China" received mixed reviews from music critics. A reviewer for '' NME'' commented that "Princess of China" is an attempt to sound as pop-oriented as possible and compared the effort to one of Coldplay's previous singles, " Viva la Vida", writing "Well, if you can get beyond the outrageously chart-hungry intro – that glossy synth sound wouldn't sound out of place on a Taio Cruz album – it's actually kind of awesome. For all the poppy surface sheen, this is a song with surprisingly hefty balls, possessed of a pounding momentum that recalls 'Viva La Vida." Josh Eells said, in his review of the album for ''

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

'', that "Princess of China" is a ballad about loss and regret, co-starring Rihanna. It's a partnership that probably came together over champagne brunch at

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

's, but its synth-fuzz groove is offhandedly seductive." Robbie Daw of Idolator praised the collaboration, writing "the marriage of Chris Martin and ihannas vocals is a solid one", but noted that he was not sure what to expect. Judah Joseph of ''The Huffington Post'' praised the song, calling it a "collaborative monster", and noted that the song was likely to be chosen as a single to gain airplay and because "it is simply too good". Neil McCormick of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' reviewed the song favourably, and labelled the collaboration as "effective", writing "the richly textured backing bringing out interesting nuances in her sweet but tough vocal, but it is the very English soulfulness of Martin himself that really adds depth to Coldplay." Jason Lipshutz, of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'', called the song "the most epic breakup song in recent memory: after Chris Martin warbles, "Once upon a time, we fell apart/You hold it in your hands, like two-halves in your heart," the verse is washed away in a sea of sinister synthesizer and pounding "Woh-oh-oh's". Mark Hogan of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' gave a mixed review of the song, writing that although the song is "inoffensive", it is not "inspiring".

Chart performance

Upon the release of ''Mylo Xyloto'', "Princess of China" debuted at its peak of number 20 on the US ''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart. The song sold 105,000 digital copies in its first week and debuted at number eight on

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally starte ...

for the chart issue dated 12 November 2011. However, the next week it fell 56 places to number 76, representing the biggest fall for the week. The single re-entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 11 February 2012 at number 98, following the announcement that Rihanna and Coldplay are set to perform the song together at the

. The next week it fell off the chart again, before re-entering again on 25 February 2012 at number 75. The single became Coldplay's fifth and Rihanna's twentieth top-twenty song in the US. "Princess of China" debuted at number 39 on the US

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

for the issue dated 14 February 2012 and later managed to peak at number 24 on 31 March 2012. "Princess of China" debuted at its peak of number 17 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record ...

on 12 November 2011 based solely on digital downloads. The next week it dropped to number 41 before falling of the chart. The song entered the

at number 33 on 5 November 2011, after the release of ''Mylo Xyloto''. The next week it dropped to number 49 before falling of the chart. "Princess of China" re-entered the chart on 19 May 2012 at number 61. After five weeks, the single reached its peak of number 4 and stayed on the position for one week. The song has sold 475,000 copies in the UK in 2012, and was ranked No. 25 in the year's best-selling single list. As of February 2016, the single has sold 560,000 copies in the UK, marking it Coldplay's 4th biggest-selling single in the country. "Princess of China" made its singles chart debut in Ireland and the Wallonia region of Belgium on 28 October 2011. In Ireland, the song debuted at number 22, which meant that Rihanna had four different songs from four different albums, including two of her own, in the top forty of the chart, with " We Found Love" ('' Talk That Talk'', 2011) featuring

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

at number one, "Princess of China" (''

'', 2011) at number 22, "

Fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

" ('' Pink Friday'', 2010) with

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...

at number 30 and "

Cheers (Drink to That) "Cheers (Drink to That)" is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her fifth studio album, '' Loud'' (2010). The song impacted American mainstream and rhythmic radio on August 2, 2011, as the seventh and final single release ...

" ('' Loud'', 2010) at number 39. In the Wallonia region of Belgium, the song debuted at number 45 on the singles chart. In Denmark, the song debuted at number 17 on 4 November 2011. The song re-entered the chart at number 20 on 15 June 2012 and reached its peak of seven after two weeks. It stayed for a total of 10 weeks on the chart. "Princess of China" debuted and peaked at number 14 for one week on the

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiell ...

. In Germany, the song debuted at number 97 in May 2012.

Music video

Background and release

The video was filmed in March 2012 in Los Angeles. It was directed by

Adria Petty Adria Petty (born November 28, 1974) is an American director, editor, art director, and artist. She is best known for her music video work with Beyoncé and Regina Spektor. She is the elder daughter of rock musician Tom Petty and his first w ...

and Alan Bibby. Rihanna described her look in the video as "gangsta goth geisha". Starting from 17 April 2012, a tour edition of the video started playing behind the band as they perform the song during their North American leg of their Mylo Xyloto Tour. The tour version of the video shows Rihanna wearing two different costumes and golden nail guards as she performs a choreography with her arms in front of a background with colorful effects. It contains visual references to various Chinese

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

films, including

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

's ''

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese ethnicity, including Chow Yun-fat, ...

'', and

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

's ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

'', ''

House of Flying Daggers ''House of Flying Daggers'' (Chinese: 十面埋伏) is a 2004 ''wuxia'' romance film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Unlike other ''wuxia'' films, it is more of a love story than purely a mar ...

'' and '' Curse of the Golden Flower''. It was confirmed that the full video would be finished by the third week of May 2012. During the second week of May, Coldplay released sketch drawings as teasers of "Princess of China" video. On 14 May 2012, Coldplay and Rihanna released a behind the scenes video of "Princess of China" via VEVO and their own YouTube channels. The video was officially released on 2 June 2012.

Synopsis

The video portrays Chris Martin and Rihanna as lovers with a complicated story. In one of the scenes Martin and Rihanna are seen kneeling in a desert, with their foreheads touching each other, as they bemoan the loss of their love. The scene then becomes violent as they engage in a sword-fight. The video closes on scenes of Chris Martin seated on a throne watching Rihanna dance with a red coloured drape surrounded by female dancers kneeling down and men beating the drums. At one point, Rihanna's hair was pinned up with chopsticks, and she is also depicted as a multi-armed goddess.

Live performances

Coldplay and Rihanna performed an acoustic version "Princess of China" for the first time at the

, held at the

. They performed the song in a medley with " We Found Love" and "

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...

". Starting from 17 April 2012, the song was also performed during Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto Tour with Rihanna on screen. Coldplay and Rihanna performed "Princess of China" together live at

's Paris show at

Stade De France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foo ...

on 2 September 2012. They also performed "Umbrella" during Encore. They once again performed "Princess of China " at the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Ga ...

at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 9 September 2012.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Personnel * Chris Martin ― lead vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar * Jonny Buckland - lead guitar, keyboards * Guy Berryman - bass guitar, keyboards * Will Champion - electronic drums *

― featured vocals * Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, Rik Simpson ― production *

Kuk Harrell Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk ...

– vocal producer for Rihanna *

Davide Rossi Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, composer, conductor and a record producer, perhaps best known for having been the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music duo Goldfrapp f ...

– strings *

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Shee ...

– mix engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Que ...

– mastering engineer *

Tappin Gofton Tappin Gofton is a graphic design agency consisting of Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton, best known for designing album covers. History Tappin Gofton was founded by Mark Tappin, who worked at Blue Source, and Simon Gofton of Tom Hingston Studio. They ...

– graphic design * Paris and Coldplay – album art Video credits *

, Alan Bibby ― direction * Sheira Rees-Davies ― executive producer * Clark Jackson ― line producer * Maura Naughton ― post producer * Stéphane Vallée ― direction of photography *

Hi-Hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

― choreographing * Annie Sperling ― production designer Costume design * Mel Ottenburg (

) * Lauren Bradley ( Chris Martin) * Ivy Jarrin (background talent) * Joe Gawler and Zak Tucker @ Harbor Picture Company ― color correction * Copa Network (Vico Sharabani, Yfat Neev, Steve Reiss) ― visual effects * QuietMan (Johnnie Semerad, Carey Gattyan, Anthony Ferrara) ― visual effects * Akiko Iwakawa @ Cut+Run ― editional ** Ashley Carrier ― production ** Rana Martin ― executive producer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2011 songs 2012 singles Coldplay songs Rihanna songs Electronic rock songs Electropop songs British contemporary R&B songs Song recordings produced by Markus Dravs Song recordings produced by Rik Simpson Songs written by Brian Eno Songs written by Chris Martin Songs written by Guy Berryman Songs written by Jonny Buckland Songs written by Will Champion Male–female vocal duets Songs about China