Let Somebody Go

"Let Somebody Go" is a song by British rock band Coldplay and American singer Selena Gomez, recorded for the band's ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres. The song was produced by Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Rik Simpson, Daniel Green, and Bill Rahko, and co-produced by Metro Boomin. The song was released for digital download and streaming through Parlophone as the third single from Music of the Spheres on 7 February 2022.

Writing and production
Creative director Phil Harvey stated both him and Martin have been fans of Gomez, commenting she has a "unique, evocative and mysterious" tone. He initially tried to persuade the band to include the song in their eighth album Everyday Life (2019). Meanwhile, Martin noted "she's an angel" and her voice is in what he "would call 'the Rihanna bag' which are voices that are gifts to humanity". Bassist Guy Berryman explained the collaboration: "'This is just a really lovely ballad. And quite early on we realized it needed a female counterpart to the vocal.' He added, 'And we were very grateful that when we asked Selena to sing on it, she loved the song and was happy to do so. Collaborations in general are something that we've done more of recently. We never really used to do it before. When we were younger, we kind of locked ourselves in a room and felt we had to prove everything ourselves. But I think as time has gone on, it's become more interesting for us to work with other people from different parts of the world, different genres. It just adds color and character to the music'."

They finished the track together in April 2021. Martin credited his daughter Apple in the writing, saying she "gave me this amazing chord that I'd never thought of. So she's on there".

Music video
A space-themed lyric video featuring animated handwritten lyrics was released on 15 October 2021. The video was directed by Pilar Zeta and Victor Scorrano and depicts Calypso, one of the celestial bodies in the fictional solar system The Spheres. A music video directed by Dave Meyers was announced on 3 February 2022, and was released on 7 February 2022. The music video was filmed in October 2021.

Live performances
"Let Somebody Go" was first performed live on The Late Late Show with James Corden by Coldplay and Selena Gomez on the show's 18 October 2021 episode. On 2 February 2022, Chris Martin performed a solo version of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On November 1, 2022, Coldplay performed the song together with Argentine singer Tini, at Estadio River Plate during their Music of the Spheres World Tour. On October 4, 2023, Coldplay & Selena Gomez performed the song at the Rose Bowl.

Critical reception
"Let Somebody Go" received positive reviews by most critics, who considered it a highlight for the album. Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called it a "soft-focus study in post-breakup solemnity that's got more warmth and grace than most artists' crushed-out valentines". The track was also named one of the best songs of the year by Aftonbladet (#24), as they cited it as a "delicious music with only one signal: Chris Martin's habit of writing howling and presumptuous arena signs". Similarly, Cosmopolitan included it on their "55 Best Songs of 2021" list at number 21 and mentioned the collaboration was "unexpectedly awesome". The New York Post, on the other hand, ranked "Let Somebody Go" as the fifth worst song of 2021, considering it the anti-"Yellow".

Personnel

 * Coldplay
 * Guy Berryman – bass
 * Jonny Buckland – guitar
 * Will Champion – drums, backing vocals
 * Chris Martin – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar


 * Additional musicians
 * Selena Gomez – vocals


 * Technical personnel
 * Max Martin – programming, production
 * Oscar Holter – programming, production
 * Rik Simpson – additional production
 * Jon Hopkins – production
 * Daniel Green – production
 * Bill Rahko – production