🎵 Listening to this playlist while reading will give you a fuller experience of this post

Frankly, I was never a Coldplay fan. 

When the band announced their Music of the Spheres world tour in Singapore, I remembered going "Oh". But clearly, my loved ones were thrilled. Just by reading, you can probably tell how starkly different our reactions were to the same event. 

Nonetheless, I was happy to join the party to see for myself what brilliant performers Coldplay are, as I've heard. 

We camped for the tickets and failed to secure  a n y  for all of the three nights (hurhur). We were disappointed; I was disappointed. 

Coldplay, for sure, heard our disappointment because not too long after, they added another three dates to our tour stop. We rejoiced, we fought against the bots, and we got them.

I was excited, but at that point, I was certain much of it was sheer excitement from securing a spot at the show. 

Boy, was I wrong. Six months later, I'm a convert.

I remember that heady feeling of being uplifted from their anthemic tunes, the fuzzy burst of warmth when Yellow and Fix You came on. I remember jumping to Viva La Vida and tearing up at Everglow – a song whose lyrics I've come to truly appreciate as I got older. 

But this isn't going to be a review of their performances because I'm positive the web must already be inundated with tons and tons of them. The show was out of this world, yet something else also took centre stage for me.

Music is an even more universal language than we think

When everyone was bobbing to Coldplay's music, one dedicated section was, too. 

Unlike many other concerts I've attended locally, theirs had a "Sign Language Area" carved out specially for the deaf and hard-of-hearing fans. There, sign language interpreters danced hard to the rhythms of the setlist, to offer as contextually accurate and as vivid visual interpretations of the lyrics as possible. 

Apparently, the interpreters did their homework beforehand: Every gesture was matched to the meaning of each song, and researched to a tee (cries). 

That wasn't all, though. What overwhelmed me with goosebumps was how fans with special needs could soak in the full experience, thanks to Subpac vests prepared by Coldplay. 

How these vests work is by sending vibrations that pulse right through the bones to the inner ear of those wearing it. That way, the user can feel the beat of the music just from wearing the vest.  

People have praised Coldplay for "setting game-changing standards" for the local deaf community. But to me, what Coldplay has done is life-changing. 

Go to a concert and power the performances

Again, this was something that threw me off my feet. Maybe I haven't been around enough but it doesn't seem very often that artistes stick to their ideals so much so that their performances are fuelled by these convictions.

In the band's words, they were willing to pause touring until they could find more sustainable ways to do it. That's some hardcore pledge. 

If, like me, you were at one of Coldplay's recent concert tour stops, you would have seen or even experienced for yourself the kinetic dance floors (jump pads) and energy-storing bikes. 

Show-goers could dance, jump, paddle and basically move around as much as they liked to generate energy captured in batteries that run elements of the concert. It was fun and honestly a very, very clever idea. It didn’t feel one bit out of place yet maximised the show experience for fans.

Here, Coldplay brings the concept of sustainability to their everyday life, as well as ours.

The band that knows what it's doing

From breathing inclusivity to infusing their performances with sustainable efforts, Coldplay knew what they were doing. 

They did it well, did it zestfully, and in a style that's uniquely theirs. 

Call them opportunists but I'm a fan of well thought-out executions and above all, a dedication to doing well at what they love and believe in.

– Denise

Media from: Coldplay, Spotify, 8dayssg