It was released on 6 November 2015 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams (2015).

It also reached the top 20 in a number of countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

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.

[14][15] The CGI animated video features a group of chimpanzees that come across a Beats Pill speaker under a pile of leaves.

The opening verses begin after a chimpanzee (played by Jonny Buckland) finds a Beats Pill speaker under a pile of leaves.

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

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.

[16] The animation, visual effects and motion design of the video was carried out by Mathematic – a Paris-based production company.