Magic

Album: Ghost Stories (2014)
Charted: 10 14
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Songfacts®:

  • The lead single from Ghost Stories is an intimate meditation on love sung by Chris Martin over minimalist, bass heavy instrumentation.

    Call it magic
    Call it true
    Call it magic when I'm with you


    The song was recorded by Coldplay in 2013 during sessions for Ghost Stories at their purpose-built studios, The Bakery and The Beehive in North London.
  • The artwork for the release depicts a white dove imposed onto a blue canvas. It was done by British etching artist Mila Fürstová, who also created a pair of wings in the shape of a broken heart for the Ghost Stories album cover.
  • The song's music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who has previously worked with Madonna, Lady Gaga and U2. The Swedish filmmaker and video director's best known achievement is his Grammy-winning contribution to the promo of Madonna's "Ray Of Light."

    The clip stars Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as a "beautiful young magicienne" in a 1920s traveling circus, with Chris Martin doubling up as both her loyal assistant and jealous husband.
  • Explaining the song to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, Martin said: "It's not a question of you either really love someone or you really hate someone, it's more nuanced than that - especially with the modern world's complications - like traveling and all the stuff that comes to life, and illness and addiction and all that sort of thing."

    It's just saying," he added, "ultimately there is magic between two people no matter what anyone else thinks."
  • Martin told Zane Lowe that the song came from a jam with the rest of Coldplay, making it one of the first band's songs not kick-started by the frontman himself.

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