Adventure of a Lifetime

"Adventure of a Lifetime" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was released on 6 November 2015 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams (2015).[5][6]

"Adventure of a Lifetime" received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the song's new direction. It was also a commercial hit, reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, and Switzerland.

Contents 1 Reception 2 Music video 2.1 Background and production 2.2 Release 2.3 Synopsis 3 In popular culture 4 Track listing 5 Personnel 6 Charts 6.1 Weekly charts 6.2 Year-end charts 7 Certifications 8 Release history 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Reception
Upon its release, "Adventure of a Lifetime" received general acclaim from critics, with praise being drawn towards the previously unseen disco style by the band. Filippo L'Astorina of the British entertainment website The Upcoming rated the song four out of five stars. L'Astorina praised the structure and sound saying "its effortless pop structure lies on a funky groove with electric guitars mimicking Indian sitar sounds".[7] Writing for Idolator, Bianca Gracie and Robbie Daw rated the song 7/10 and 8/10 respectively, stating that the song is "incredibly vibrant in an almost childlike, blissful way that gives such an energetic rush" and that it is "the best Coldplay single in seven years".[8] Rolling Stone ranked "Adventure of a Lifetime" at number 41 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015.[9]

Music video
The official music video was directed by the band's long-time collaborator, Mat Whitecross. It was released on 27 November 2015. The concept for the video was hatched after Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and British motion capture expert/actor Andy Serkis met on a plane and discussed ideas. It took about six months in the making of the music video.[10]

Background and production

According to The Guardian, the video was shot at The Imaginarium Studios, where the reboot series of Planet of the Apes and parts of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens were filmed.[11][12]

Hannah Clark, the producer of the video commented, "As creatures go, chimps are one of the more difficult to animate. Not only are they quite human in their movement, but they are covered in hair. Add to this that we had no backgrounds shot, and we were asking an awful lot of any post-collaborator." The band's faces were covered in a special, reflective and light-catching make-up that allowed the computers to appropriately interpret the video feed and create renders of the chimpanzees' characters. The band members weren't playing real instruments, but similarly-shaped objects that enabled creation of realistic body positions.[11]

The animation, visual effects and motion design of the video was carried out by Mathematic – a Paris-based production company. Mat Whitecross filmed the band using a special camera. Each of band members also wore a head-mounted camera system that was configured into a three camera solution. The camera systems provided multiple video streams from which the production team was able to recreate 3D points.[11]

Release

A 15-second teaser named "#AOALvideo November 27" was uploaded on the band's official YouTube account on 12 November 2015. The teaser consisted a short excerpt of the video, behind-the-scenes video and animated video of the single artwork. The geometric pattern and the representative pattern of the album, Flower of Life appeared at the end of the teaser.

The music video was uploaded on the official page of the band at 8:00 a.m. (UK time) on 27 November 2015. On 29 November 2015, the video was uploaded on the official YouTube account.

Synopsis

The CGI animated video features a group of music-loving chimpanzees that come across a Beats Pill speaker under a pile of leaves. The primates then discover the power of music and form a band that resembles the band members.

The video begins with a similar layout with Coldplay's 2011 music video, "Paradise". As it opens, four chimpanzees (played by the band members) are sitting in a forest. The opening verses begin after a chimpanzee (played by Jonny Buckland) find a portable speaker under a pile of leaves while it's playing the song. Another chimpanzee (played by Chris Martin) listens to the music and calls the rest of the group (played by Guy Berryman and Will Champion) to gather. It then slaps its chest and jumps to a path inside the forest alone.

The character sings the song and swings on the willow tree vines. Then, the four chimpanzees dance together during the chorus. After the chorus, they find an electric guitar, a bass and a drum set. The chimpanzees bang on the instruments before they realize their proper use. The characters play the instruments and form an "ape band". A hat is added on Buckland's character and an earring is added on Berryman's character after they have formed a band.

During the bridge of the song, the band is surrounded by other chimpanzees (also played by themselves). The rest of the video features the dance movements of the other chimpanzees and the performance of the ape band. At the end of the video, Martin's character climbs up to a tree and overlooks the view of the forest which also features some Indian temples, a reference to the Indian inspiration of the associated album, A Head Full of Dreams.

In popular culture
On 29 December 2015, the song was made available for download in Rock Band 4.[13]

Track listing
Digital download[14]

No.

Title

Length

1. "Adventure of a Lifetime"  4:24

Digital download (Radio Edit)[15]

No.

Title

Length

1. "Adventure of a Lifetime" (Radio Edit) 3:43

Digital download (Matoma Remix)[16]

No.

Title

Length

1. "Adventure of a Lifetime" (Matoma Remix) 4:11

Personnel
Credits are adapted from A Head Full of Dreams liner notes.[17] ColdplayGuy Berryman – bass guitar, keyboards Jonny Buckland – lead guitar, keyboards Will Champion – drums, programming Chris Martin – lead vocals, piano Additional musiciansMerry Clayton – backing vocals Mikkel S Eriksen – additional instruments, production, mixing Tor Erik Hermansen – additional instruments, production, mixing Phil Tan – audio mixer

Charts
Weekly charts

Chart (2015–16)

Peak position

Australia (ARIA)[18] 20

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 14

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 5

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[21] 2

Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[22] 11

Canada AC (Billboard)[23] 1

Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[24] 6

Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[25] 9

Denmark (Tracklisten)[26] 16

Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 13

France (SNEP)[28] 2

Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 5

Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[30] 27

Hungary (Single Top 40)[31] 5

Ireland (IRMA)[32] 8

Israel (Media Forest)[33] 1

Italy (FIMI)[34] 3

Latvia (Latvijas Top 40)[35] 1

Netherlands (Single Top 100)[36] 11

Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[37] 8

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 12

Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[39] 1

Norway (VG-lista)[40] 22

Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[41] 3

Scotland (Official Charts Company)[42] 8

Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[43] 20

Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[44] 18

Slovenia (SloTop50)[45] 1

South Africa (EMA)[46] 2

Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] 2

Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 23

Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 3

UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[50] 7

US Billboard Hot 100[51] 13

US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[52] 2

US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[53] 1

US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[54] 1

US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[55] 7

US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[56] 12

US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[57] 35

US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[58] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2015)

Position

Italy (FIMI)[59] 88

Certifications
Region

Certification

Sales/shipments

Australia (ARIA)[60] Gold 35,000^

Belgium (BEA)[61] Gold 15,000*

Canada (Music Canada)[62] Platinum 80,000^

Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[63] Gold 30,000^

Italy (FIMI)[64] 2× Platinum 100,000double-dagger

New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] Platinum 15,000*

Poland (ZPAV)[66] Gold 10,000*

Spain (PROMUSICAE)[67] Platinum 25,000^

Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68] Gold 10,000x

United Kingdom (BPI)[69] Gold 400,000double-dagger

^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone
 * sales figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region

Date

Format

Label

Worldwide 6 November 2015[14] Digital download Parlophone 4 December 2015[15] Digital download (Radio Edit)