On Friday, Coldplay released “My Universe,” their first-ever collaboration with K-pop superstars BTS, after a clip of the track leaked online in July 2021. The song is the second promotional single off the U.K. band’s upcoming ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres, which is slated to drop on October 15. Produced by pop hitmaker Max Martin, Oscar Holter, and Bill Rahko, “My Universe” originated with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin after BTS reached out to him about collaborating on a song together.
Martin says the chorus was inspired by a “loving text” he received that included the song’s titular phrase, “My Universe”:
You (You), you are (You are) my universe
And I (I), just want (Just want) to put you first
And you (You), you are (You are) my universe
And you make my world light up inside
On the bridge, BTS' j-Hope and SUGA trade bars in Korean:
나를 밝혀주는 건
너란 사랑으로 수 놓아진 별
내 우주의 넌
또 다른 세상을 만들어 주는 걸
너는 내 별이자 나의 우주니까
지금 이 시련도 결국엔 잠시니까
너는 언제까지나 지금처럼 밝게만 빛나줘
우리는 너를 따라 이 긴 밤을 수놓을 거야
In English, j-Hope and SUGA’s rapped bridge translates to:
What brightens me up
Are the stars embroidered with your love
In my universe, you
Make another world for me
Because, you are my stars and my universe
These hardships are just temporary
Just shine as bright as you shine now
We will follow you to adorn this long night
Martin flew to Korea for two days to record the vocals for “My Universe” alongside BTS. In a behind-the-scenes video about the experience, Martin admitted he was nervous for the collaboration at first. “It turned out to be one of the most fun things ever,” Martin said.
Coldplay performed “My Universe” for the first time with a virtual appearance from BTS during the Global Citizen Live concert in New York City on September 26.
You can read all the lyrics to “My Universe” on Genius now.
