Coldplay touring North America this year

Coldplay has been compared to super-bands like U2 and Oasis, both of which come from the UK. This comparison is unavoidable since the music and subject matter are often similar. Coldplay have similar political convictions of Bono and the rest of U2 and the melodic and hauntingly abrasive rock songs of Oasis.

Coldplay released their first full-length album in 2000 titled Parachutes which shot through the top of the Albums Chart in the UK. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and earned the Best Alternative Music Album award in the 2002 Grammys. It contained their most popular single "Yellow".

The second album, A Rush of Cold Blood to the Head was released two years after in August 2002. It was named the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and the single "Clocks" was named Record of the Year. Coldplay's second album was both critically and commercially acclaimed and was full of passionate themes of love and longing. It opens with the thoroughly political song "Politik" written in response to the 9/11 New York bombings. It follows with the hauntingly sad "In My Place", "Scientist" and "Clocks". Although the songs can be very vague in terms of what they want to tell their listeners, the melody helps in delivering the message.

Hitting the heights in 2005 Coldplay released X&Y which become the best-selling album of the year. It garnered almost 4 million record sales worldwide and went straight to the number 1 spot in 22 countries. The single "Fix You" became the theme song for the hopelessly in love while "Speed of Sound", with its upbeat tempo was a commercial success.

The current album, titled Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was released April of 2008. Coldplay continues to dominate the charts and record sales with the album selling 302,000 copies in three days. It has since been tagged as one of the "fastest-selling records in UK history". Its carrier single, "Violet Hill" earned a place in UK's Top 10 and the US Top 40. "Viva la Vida", based on download sales alone became the UK number 1.

Coldplay are about to tour UK, Europe and North America this year to promote their latest album. A number of fans were able to win free Coldplay tickets for their free shows in New York and London. The band is slated to perform in more than 90 shows this year and Coldplay tickets for July to September shows in the US and Canada are already available online.

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