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"Under this pressure, under this weight,
we are diamonds taking shape."

You can see the change you wanted
Be what you want to be
And you get a head, a head full of dreams
Into life, I've just been spoken
With a head full, a head full of dreams

A Head Full of Dreams is the seventh album by English Alternative Rock band Coldplay, released in late 2015.

Recorded one year after the release of Ghost Stories, the album drastically differs from the previous' reflective tone, containing brighter and more upbeat pop songs with more optimistic lyrics. It also features guest contributions, the most notable names including Beyoncé, Tove Lo and Noel Gallagher.

Notable songs from the album include "Adventure of a Lifetime", "Hymn for the Weekend" and "Up&Up", the former two becoming smash hits worldwide.

In 2017, Coldplay released a companion piece for the album, the Kaleidoscope EP, which features four additional songs and a remix of "Something Just Like This", a song the band made in collaboration with The Chainsmokers.


Tracklist

  1. "A Head Full of Dreams" (3:43)
  2. "Birds" (3:49)
  3. "Hymn for the Weekend" (4:18)
  4. "Everglow" (4:42)
  5. "Adventure of a Lifetime" (4:23)
  6. "Fun" (feat. Tove Lo) (4:27)
  7. "Kaleidoscope" (1:51)
  8. "Army of One" (6:16)
  9. "Amazing Day" (4:31)
  10. "(Colour Spectrum)"note  (1:00)
  11. "Up&Up" (6:45)


You showed me a trope, where you can be what you are

  • Advertised Extra:
    • Tove Lo in "Fun". Though given a feature credit, she never sings any lines on her own and is really just a glorified backup singer.
    • Beyoncé, who provides backing vocals in a few of the songs, has a notable appearance in the "Hymn for the Weekend" music video.
  • Alliterative Title: "Up&Up"
  • Audience Participation Song: The Title Track.
  • Call-and-Response Song: "Adventure of a Lifetime" turns into this in its outro.
  • Call-Back: "Adventure of a Lifetime" is the band's second video involving animals discovering instruments and playing them after "Paradise" (although the "Paradise" video was just the band members in suits, "Adventure" has motion-capture monkeys).
  • The Cameo: Noel Gallagher provides the epic second guitar solo on the outro of "Up&Up".note 
  • Epic Rocking: "Up&Up", which clocks at 6:45.
  • Fading into the Next Song: "A Head Full of Dreams" — "Birds".
  • Hidden Track: "X Marks the Spot", which starts playing after "Army of One" ends.
  • Lighter and Softer: Especially in comparison to the moody and introspective Ghost Stories that preceded it and the dark, political Everyday Life that came afterwards, A Head Full of Dreams is in general a brighter and more peppy album.
  • Longest Song Goes Last: "Up&Up".
  • Lucky Charms Title: The "(Colour Spectrum)" is listed on the CD and vinyl as a literal colour spectrum.
  • Miniscule Rocking: "Kaleidoscope" and "(Colour Spectrum)".
  • Non-Appearing Title: "Hymn for the Weekend", "Adventure of a Lifetime" and "X Marks the Spot".
  • One-Word Title: "Birds", "Everglow", "Fun" and "Kaleidoscope".
  • Product Placement: The Beats Pill in the music video for "Adventure of a Lifetime".
  • Serkis Folk: Coldplay in the video for "Adventure of a Lifetime", where they are depicted as monkeys.
  • Surreal Music Video: Exaggerated with the video for "Up&Up", where they take the whole surreal factor to a whole another level, which includes Chris Martin and the band being absolute giants and lying on mountains and islands, a football match being played on a sponge, a volcano spewing popcorn, a boat travelling over New York, a plane dropping the solar system via parachute, horses galloping on water, a butterfly lying on a oil rig, dolphins swimming while a city is upside down above them, a man sunbathing on the moon, a turtle swimming in a New York subway station, two skaters skating on the second stage of a Saturn V rocket, a diver diving 30,000 feet in the bloody air, skiers skiing on a bed pillow, two planes flying either up or down with mountains above them and water below them, a man ironing on top of clouds, cars racing on the rings of Saturn, seals flying over New York, divers diving sideways off a building while walking sideways and a kid on a swing that is being suspended from the International Space Station!
  • Talkie Bits: American poet Coleman Barks recites part of a poem called "The Guesthouse" on "Kaleidoscope", followed by Barack Obama singing "Amazing Grace". The last recited verse of "The Guesthouse" is reprised in "(Colour Spectrum)".
  • Textless Album Cover
  • Title Track: "A Head Full of Dreams", which opens the album.
  • The World Is Just Awesome: The album focuses on this theme. Many songs talk about all the little things people appreciate in their lives, like "Adventure of a Lifetime," "Hymn for the Weekend," and "Amazing Day." It references Rumi's poem "The Guesthouse," a poem about embracing and appreciating everything that happens to you. Even the sadder songs, like "Fun" and "Everglow," have a message to appreciate good things while they last. It ends with "Up&Up" a song urging people to "never give up." The music videos showcase celebration and joy from many cultures.

So if you love someone, you should let them know
Oh, the light that you left me will everglow

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