The Year in Rock 2014 — Coldplay Turns Heartbreak Into a Number-One Album

Image Courtesy of Phil HarveyChris Martin's 2014 didn't have the best start. On March 25, actress Gwyneth Paltrow announced on her website, Goop.com, that she and the Coldplay frontman have ended their 10-year marriage. Paltrow wrote that the she and Martin had decided to "consciously uncouple" -- a phrase that was heavily mocked during the ensuing months.

However, Martin took that feeling of heartbreak and turned it into Ghost Stories, Coldplay's sixth studio album. With hits like "Magic" and "Sky Full of Stars," Ghost Stories gave the band their fourth straight number-one album on the Billboard 200. The new album sat well with Grammy voters, too -- it was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, and "Sky Full of Stars" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group.

Coldplay also received a Grammy nomination in the Best Music Film category for their live CD/DVD, Ghost Stories Live 2014. Shot in Los Angeles by Grammy-nominated director Paul Dugdale, the film documents the band's intimate March 2014 performance of Ghost Stories, two months prior to the album's release.

Ghost Stories Live 2014 wasn't Coldplay's only contribution to film and television this year. In May, the band performed on Saturday Night Live, and in December, they unveiled "Miracles," a song Martin wrote especially for the Angelina Jolie-directed drama, Unbroken.

Martin finished out 2014 with a performance in New York City's Times Square in commemoration of World AIDS Day alongside the members of U2. U2 frontman Bono was injured in a bicycling accident and couldn't play, so U2 took the stage as U2 Minus 1, with Martin and Bruce Springsteen as frontmen. Martin performed the U2 classics "Beautiful Day" and "With or Without You."

Coldplay look to have an equally eventful 2015, which could see the release of the band's next album, A Head Full of Dreams. That also may be it for the band: Martin has characterized A Head Full of Dreams as "the completion of something," hinting that the band could call it quits.


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