Idles Recreate Coldplay's 'Yellow' With a Little Help From Chris Martin (and AI)

Take a look at Idles' newest music video, released on Feb. 14, and straight away you'll notice a couple of strange things. For one, none of the band members appear in the video. Coldplay's Chris Martin does, however, looking much like he did in the 2000 video for "Yellow," only now he appears to be singing Idles' latest single, "Grace." We'll explain shortly. But first, have a look and listen below.

Created using deep-fake AI technology – and with the participation of Martin himself, more on that in a minute – the video features the voice of Idles frontperson Joe Talbot coming right out of Martin, as the then 23-year-old strolls along a very familiar-looking misty beach.

While the lyrics have absolutely zero to do with "Yellow," the video features the uncanny sight of a young Martin recreated to sing "Give me grace / Make me pure / When they're knocking at my door."

How did this all happen? Talbot said in a statement last year that the song concept came to him in a dream. "The song came from nowhere and everything. It was a breath and a call to be held. The only words or singing that came from our sessions with Nigel [Godrich] and I needed it, truly. All is love."

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This is the group's second single from the album Tangk, which drops Feb. 16. While "Grace" was unveiled back in December with a lyric "visualizer" video, this alternate universe version takes the song to whole other level.

Talbot brought the idea for the video directly to Martin himself. Not only did he give it the go-ahead, he offered input with the creation, and later helped train the AI to make his lip-syncing look more realistic.

Yet, the video for "Yellow" almost didn't happen back in 2000. During a 20th-anniversary throwback/celebration for their debut album Parachutes, Coldplay released a "demo" video on TikTok with some interesting (and revealing) captions.

"There were loads of extras in this version," Coldplay manager Phil Harvey said of the original video concept in the captions, "but it rained all day so we sent them home at 4 PM. Chris grabbed the cameraman and said 'let's just walk down the beach.' Worked out well in the end!"

Idles, who won the Q Award for Best Breakthrough Act in 2018, and were nominated for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Album at the 2023 Grammy Awards, are set for their European and North America 'Love Is The Fing Tour 2024.'

Explaining the album's unusual title, in a way, Idles wrote on the group's website: "Pronounced 'tank' with a whiff of the 'g' -- an onomatopoeic reference to the lashing way the band imagined their guitars sounding that has since grown into a sigil for living in love -- the record is the band's most ambitious and striking work yet." Co-produced with Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Paul McCartney), Idles guitarist Mark Bowen and Kenny Beats (Ed Sheeran, Bastille), the 11 tracks also feature LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and Nancy Whang on the previously released "Dancer."