Coronavirus: Chris Martin goes live on Instagram, covers David Bowie and performs Coldplay songs for charity
Amid all the concerts and shows shutting down due to coronavirus, at least Coldplay fans got to see their favorite band perform, albeit virtually. The British band's frontman Chris Martin went on Instagram live on March 16 and covered David Bowie songs. He later answered questions from fans too.
Martin's broadcast comes as the first installment of 'Solidarity Sessions: Together, At Home', an ongoing virtual music series that aims to unite the world during the global COVID-19 pandemic. 'Together, At Home' is a collaboration between Global Citizen and the World Health Organization (WHO). They have launched the Solidarity Response Fund, which is a campaign that aims to raise $675 million throughout April towards coronavirus relief.
Martin is a world-famous artist who has produced chart-topping hits such as 'Fix You' and 'Trouble'. He is also a Global Citizen Festival curator. Sharing some insight on the virtual platform, he said, "Maybe 9/11 was the last time I felt like we were all together." He was seen sitting at a piano and intently reading users’ comments, according to Rolling Stone.
David Bowie was an iconic English singer-songwriter who had produced a host of hits since the start of his highly successful musical career in the '60s. Bowie, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, passed away in 2016 and is still regarded as one of the world's most highly influential artists.
Martin took song requests from fans, including a performance of Coldplay's 2000 hit 'Yellow' as well as a cover of David Bowie's 'Life on Mars' where he stopped at the chorus because it was too early for his voice to reach that octave. "I feel like I'm on 'Celebrity Big Brother'," he said, laughing that everything he did was visible to nearly 50 thousand people. He added, "I was never asked to go on one of those things."
At the end of the Instagram Live broadcast, Martin announced that John Legend is next in line as an artist to perform in 'Together, at Home'. "You can see a real piano player who doesn’t need fireworks to play," he said.