Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
	Standard edition cover
Studio album by Coldplay
Released	12 June 2008
Recorded	November 2006–April 2008
Studio	The Bakery, London; Magic Shop, New York City; The Nunnery, Barcelona; A Church, Barcelona;
Genre	Alternative rock; art rock; pop rock; indie pop; art pop;
Length	45:49
Label	Parlophone; Capitol;
Producer	Brian Eno; Markus Dravs; Jon Hopkins; Rik Simpson;
Coldplay chronology
Singles from Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
	"Violet Hill"; Released: 6 May 2008; "Vila La Vida"; Released: 25 May 2008; "Lost!"; Released: 10 November 2008; "Strawberry Swing"; Released: 13 September 2009;

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva La Vida, is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 June 2008 on the Parlophone label. "Viva la vida" is a Spanish phrase that translates into English as "long live life", "live the life", or simply "live life".^[1]^[2]^[3] Lyrically, the album contains references to love, life, death and war.

Recording sessions for the album took place from November 2006 to April 2008 and featured production by Jon Hopkins, Rik Simpson, Markus Dravs, and Brian Eno. The album was Coldplay's first to be produced by Eno, and also their first album to not be produced by long-time Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. The band forced themselves to explore new styles, as Eno required every song on the album to sound different.^[4] Development of the album delayed the release date several times. The album cover of Viva la Vida is the 1830 painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix with the album title over it in bold lettering.

Viva la Vida was both a critical and commercial success. Five songs were released in promotion of the album: "Violet Hill" and "Viva la Vida" in May 2008, "Lovers in Japan" and "Lost!" in November 2008, and "Strawberry Swing" in September 2009. "Viva la Vida" became the band's first song to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It won Best Rock Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards and was also nominated for Album of the Year. It was the best-selling album of 2008.^[5] By 2011, the album had sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.^[6] Viva la Vida was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition containing the original album and the Prospekt's March EP, which contained another hit, "Life in Technicolor II".

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^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (1 October 2022). "The Meaning Behind French Revolution Roused "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay". American Songwriter. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
^ Chosic (12 June 2019). "Viva La Vida meaning and the story behind Coldplay famous Song". Chosic. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
^ Songfacts. "Viva La Vida by Coldplay – Songfacts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
^ "Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' Turns 10". Stereogum. Eno pushed the band to delve into different sounds and approaches from song to song, and as a result Viva La Vida is one of Coldplay's shortest and tightest albums yet also their most diverse. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ "IFPI Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
^ "Coldplay's 'Mylo Xyloto' to beat Adele's '21' in first-week sales? – Music News – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

[2] Benitez-Eves, Tina (1 October 2022). "The Meaning Behind French Revolution Roused "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay". American Songwriter. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

[3] Chosic (12 June 2019). "Viva La Vida meaning and the story behind Coldplay famous Song". Chosic. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

[4] Songfacts. "Viva La Vida by Coldplay – Songfacts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

[5] "Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' Turns 10". Stereogum. Eno pushed the band to delve into different sounds and approaches from song to song, and as a result Viva La Vida is one of Coldplay's shortest and tightest albums yet also their most diverse. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[6] "IFPI Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.

[7] "Coldplay's 'Mylo Xyloto' to beat Adele's '21' in first-week sales? – Music News – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

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