Lost!
Encyclopedia
"Lost!" is a song by the English alternative rock
band Coldplay
. The band co-produced it with Brian Eno
and Markus Dravs for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
. Several official versions of the song exist, including vocalist Chris Martin
's separate recording with a piano accompaniment, and a version that features American rapper Jay-Z
.
Although it didn't match the commercial success of the album's previous singles, the song was released on 10 November 2008 as the third official single (fourth overall) off the album to generally positive critical reviews. A live version was released via iTunes
following a performance of the band and Jay-Z at the 2009 Grammy Awards
, spurring high digital sales and giving "Lost!" a new peak at number 40 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 54 due to no physical release.
The accompanying music video to the single features a live performance of the band in the United States. Coldplay launched a contest through their website, in which fans submitted self-made music videos. The winning entries were posted on the band's website.
Canadian singer Lights has covered the song.
in a fan mailout, "Lost!" had been developed long before the band began recording tracks for their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
, and was not getting into completion. Champion recalls, "I was starting to get into using a particular drum programming programme. I was messing around with that and I built this beat up from scratch. ... Then Chris overheard it and played 'Lost!' over the top of it."
"Lost!" was one of the earliest songs the band worked on for the album. Coldplay revealed that "Sing" (a track off English alternative rock band Blur
's 1991 debut album Leisure
) was a source of inspiration in having provided a starting point for writing "Lost!". While in Detroit, Michigan
, for a concert tour, the band was listening to "Sing" in their dressing room. Once they went on stage for a soundcheck, they thought of writing a song based from it. According to guitarist Jonny Buckland
, "We recorded some of it in a church up the road that's now a studio. In a huge room with a piano and organ going at the same time." In an interview with The Sun
, Martin said, "The line in this song 'Just because I'm losing doesn't mean I'm lost' is what the whole record came out of because we were feeling down at the end of the last tour. That line arrived and it was, 'OK, that's how we kinda feel. We know we can improve." The ensuing track evolved in different versions.
The song's musicscape features a church organ
riff
, tribal drum-circle groove, and minimal handclaps. Towards the end of the track, it builds into a "rhythmically soaring, Edge
-like" guitar solo. Coldplay's use of "exotic" instruments for majority of tracks in the album, including "Lost!", was a result of a goal in wanting to present their songs differently, something "which have never been heard" in previous releases. In a review Alex Denney of The Guardian
, he described the music of "Lost!" as "tabla
-assisted gospel
-hop
". Kitty Empire
of The Guardian wrote in a review that "Lost!", "a great organ-driven tune, alive with handclaps and foot-stomps", is the most obvious homage to Canadian indie rock
band Arcade Fire among other tracks off the album.
According to Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly
magazine, the lyrics to "Lost!" are "a lament about spiritual bereftness". Rolling Stone
magazine's Will Hermes interpreted the lyrics as about "holding on against the odds that has the breathtaking loft" of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
", a song off Irish
band U2
's 1987 album The Joshua Tree
. The chorus to the lyrics is noted by Ian Youngs of BBC
"a typical Chris Martin chorus that mixes insecurity with determination".
The song has been well-received by critics. Will Hermes of Rolling Stone
magazine noted "Lost!" as "probably" the "album's most sublime pop moment". NME
s critic Mark Beaumont had the same view of Hermes, complimenting, "It's not until ['Lost!'] – all church organ funkiness, stomporific handclap rhythms and Chris pouting like a preacher in a jacuzzi full of strippers – that [Viva la Vida] really hits its stride." Chris Jones of BBC
writes, "... 'Lost!' seems to sport bongos in its mix, yet it's the plaintive voice with its vague sense of regret, the lifts from minor key piano forays into vast, pumping rock and also a strident optimism that people are going to come here for." Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media
had the same sentiment: "Thanks to a bubbling bit of exotic percussion that wouldn't sound out of place on Peter Gabriel
's latter-day LPs, 'Lost!' is transformed from Just Another Coldplay Song into a uniquely alluring smash and live staple for years to come." An article in The Guardian lambasted "Lost!": "This song is a deflated balloon, or, put another way, a used empty condom
. He has, I think, merged visual, audio and textual into a kind of polysensory jam; no part of it works without the other two."
Since it didn't match the commercial success of the album's previous singles, "Lost!" charted in some countries during the week of the album being released and due to high digital sales, despite not officially being a single at the time. It has charted most notably the United Kingdom where it peaked at number 54 in the UK Singles Chart
and in the United States where it debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The single has peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Its UK peak made the single Coldplay's first to fail to chart in the UK Top 40 although considering the fact that it was not physically released (though it was still available as a digital download at the time).
Buoyed by the band's success at the 2009 Grammy Awards, a live Grammy performance of the single featuring Jay-Z was released exclusively to iTunes, spurring digital download sales. As a result, "Lost!" achieved a new peak position on the Billboard Hot 100, re-entering at number 40. Billboard called the collaboration a "gloomy instrumentation with a series of drums and claps that perfectly fits the lyrical content of the song and makes the transition from Martin's singing to Jay's rapping seem effortless." This makes "Lost!" Coldplay's fifth career Top 40 hit on the chart to date.
in Chicago
, Illinois
. It shows views of different members of the band playing the song and Chris Martin actively moving around stage while singing. The video was filmed and directed by Mat Whitecross. According to Luke Lewis of NME
, the video is a tribute to U2
's tour documentary Rattle and Hum
. An alternative version was released for "Lost+". This video is the same as the original but with the camera angles slightly altered, primarily to show a screen on stage which features Jay-Z whose performance was added digitally.
Coldplay launched a contest in October 2008 in which fans submitted homemade music videos for the "Lost?" acoustic version. Open to all fans worldwide, the competition closed on 1 December 2008. All members of the band picked the finalists and judged the winning entries on 5 December. The winner was awarded a pair of "ultra-VIP" tickets to the band's show in O2 arena
in London in December 2008, and it included backstage passes. The winning video was announced on the 8 December 2008, with the winner being Paul O'Brien for a "Wonderful blend of Claymation and Computer Graphics". O'Brien's video and the runner up, made by Martin Buzora, are featured on Coldplay's official website.
3-track promotional CD
2-track promotional CD
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. The band co-produced it with Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
and Markus Dravs for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
. Several official versions of the song exist, including vocalist Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
's separate recording with a piano accompaniment, and a version that features American rapper Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
.
Although it didn't match the commercial success of the album's previous singles, the song was released on 10 November 2008 as the third official single (fourth overall) off the album to generally positive critical reviews. A live version was released via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
following a performance of the band and Jay-Z at the 2009 Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
, spurring high digital sales and giving "Lost!" a new peak at number 40 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 54 due to no physical release.
The accompanying music video to the single features a live performance of the band in the United States. Coldplay launched a contest through their website, in which fans submitted self-made music videos. The winning entries were posted on the band's website.
Canadian singer Lights has covered the song.
Writing and composition
According to Coldplay drummer Will ChampionWill Champion
William "Will" Champion is an English musician and the drummer of rock band Coldplay.-Early life:William Champion was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and was brought up in Highfield, Southampton, where his father, Timothy Champion, is a professor of archaeology...
in a fan mailout, "Lost!" had been developed long before the band began recording tracks for their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
, and was not getting into completion. Champion recalls, "I was starting to get into using a particular drum programming programme. I was messing around with that and I built this beat up from scratch. ... Then Chris overheard it and played 'Lost!' over the top of it."
"Lost!" was one of the earliest songs the band worked on for the album. Coldplay revealed that "Sing" (a track off English alternative rock band Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
's 1991 debut album Leisure
Leisure (album)
Leisure is the debut album by English alternative rock band Blur. The album was released on 26 August 1991 in the United Kingdom via Food Records, and peaked at #7 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the US a month later with a different track listing. The album was certified Gold in the...
) was a source of inspiration in having provided a starting point for writing "Lost!". While in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, for a concert tour, the band was listening to "Sing" in their dressing room. Once they went on stage for a soundcheck, they thought of writing a song based from it. According to guitarist Jonny Buckland
Jonny Buckland
Jonathan Mark "Jonny" Buckland is an English guitarist and musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay.-Early life:...
, "We recorded some of it in a church up the road that's now a studio. In a huge room with a piano and organ going at the same time." In an interview with The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, Martin said, "The line in this song 'Just because I'm losing doesn't mean I'm lost' is what the whole record came out of because we were feeling down at the end of the last tour. That line arrived and it was, 'OK, that's how we kinda feel. We know we can improve." The ensuing track evolved in different versions.
The song's musicscape features a church organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
, tribal drum-circle groove, and minimal handclaps. Towards the end of the track, it builds into a "rhythmically soaring, Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
-like" guitar solo. Coldplay's use of "exotic" instruments for majority of tracks in the album, including "Lost!", was a result of a goal in wanting to present their songs differently, something "which have never been heard" in previous releases. In a review Alex Denney of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, he described the music of "Lost!" as "tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
-assisted gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
-hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
". Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic.Empire was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain in 1988....
of The Guardian wrote in a review that "Lost!", "a great organ-driven tune, alive with handclaps and foot-stomps", is the most obvious homage to Canadian indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Arcade Fire among other tracks off the album.
According to Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
magazine, the lyrics to "Lost!" are "a lament about spiritual bereftness". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's Will Hermes interpreted the lyrics as about "holding on against the odds that has the breathtaking loft" of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...
", a song off Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's 1987 album The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...
. The chorus to the lyrics is noted by Ian Youngs of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
"a typical Chris Martin chorus that mixes insecurity with determination".
Song versions
The following songs are different variations of "Lost!":- "Lost?" is a separate recording of the song featuring only singer Chris MartinChris MartinChristopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
and a piano. It was initially released as the B-sideA-side and B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
on the CDCD singleA CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
version of "Violet HillViolet Hill (song)"Violet Hill" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends . Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany...
", later as a bonus track to the Japanese and iTunes StoreITunes StoreThe iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
editions of Viva la Vida or Death and All His FriendsViva la Vida or Death and All His FriendsViva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
and finally on the "Lost!" digital EP. - "Lost+" features a rapRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
section by Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, with whom the band recorded the reworked track in New York. This version was premiered on BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
on 16 October 2008. "Lost+" was released as the lead track from "Lost!"'s digital EP release, and was included on the Prospekt's MarchProspekt's March-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
. Jay-Z's rap was based on a freestyleFreestyle rapFreestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...
he performed on Funkmaster FlexFunkmaster FlexAston George Taylor, Jr. better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, musician and producer on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and host of the hit MTV show Funk Flex Full Throttle....
's show on the Hot 97 radio station. This took place on October 31, 2008, while Jay-Z was promoting his Kingdom ComeKingdom Come (Jay-Z album)Kingdom Come is the ninth studio album by American rap artist Jay-Z. It was released on November 21, 2006. It was considered a "comeback album" for the established rapper, as 2003's The Black Album was slated to be his final release...
album.- Coldplay performed the song at the 2009 Grammy Awards51st Grammy AwardsThe 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
. They opened it with a rendition of "Lost?" but Jay-Z joined singer Chris MartinChris MartinChristopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
on stage and rapped over the piano solo. This version is also referred to as "Lost+" by the website and was released digitally.
- Coldplay performed the song at the 2009 Grammy Awards
- "Lost-" is an instrumental track, identical to "Lost!" but without vocals.
- "Lost@" is a recording of the song performed live at the United CenterUnited CenterThe United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...
, Chicago on 22 July 2008. This version also forms the basis for the single's music video.
Release and reception
"Lost!" was released as a promotional CD single in September 2008. On 10 November 2008, Coldplay officially released a four-track digital EP of "Lost!", confirming the song's status as a single.The song has been well-received by critics. Will Hermes of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine noted "Lost!" as "probably" the "album's most sublime pop moment". NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
s critic Mark Beaumont had the same view of Hermes, complimenting, "It's not until ['Lost!'] – all church organ funkiness, stomporific handclap rhythms and Chris pouting like a preacher in a jacuzzi full of strippers – that [Viva la Vida] really hits its stride." Chris Jones of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
writes, "... 'Lost!' seems to sport bongos in its mix, yet it's the plaintive voice with its vague sense of regret, the lifts from minor key piano forays into vast, pumping rock and also a strident optimism that people are going to come here for." Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
had the same sentiment: "Thanks to a bubbling bit of exotic percussion that wouldn't sound out of place on Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
's latter-day LPs, 'Lost!' is transformed from Just Another Coldplay Song into a uniquely alluring smash and live staple for years to come." An article in The Guardian lambasted "Lost!": "This song is a deflated balloon, or, put another way, a used empty condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
. He has, I think, merged visual, audio and textual into a kind of polysensory jam; no part of it works without the other two."
Since it didn't match the commercial success of the album's previous singles, "Lost!" charted in some countries during the week of the album being released and due to high digital sales, despite not officially being a single at the time. It has charted most notably the United Kingdom where it peaked at number 54 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and in the United States where it debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The single has peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Its UK peak made the single Coldplay's first to fail to chart in the UK Top 40 although considering the fact that it was not physically released (though it was still available as a digital download at the time).
Buoyed by the band's success at the 2009 Grammy Awards, a live Grammy performance of the single featuring Jay-Z was released exclusively to iTunes, spurring digital download sales. As a result, "Lost!" achieved a new peak position on the Billboard Hot 100, re-entering at number 40. Billboard called the collaboration a "gloomy instrumentation with a series of drums and claps that perfectly fits the lyrical content of the song and makes the transition from Martin's singing to Jay's rapping seem effortless." This makes "Lost!" Coldplay's fifth career Top 40 hit on the chart to date.
Music video
The music video to "Lost!" was officially released on Coldplay's website on 26 September 2008. It features a live performance of the song at United CenterUnited Center
The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. It shows views of different members of the band playing the song and Chris Martin actively moving around stage while singing. The video was filmed and directed by Mat Whitecross. According to Luke Lewis of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, the video is a tribute to U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's tour documentary Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum is the sixth studio album by rock band U2 and companion rockumentary directed by Phil Joanou, both released in 1988. The film and the album feature live recordings, covers, and new songs...
. An alternative version was released for "Lost+". This video is the same as the original but with the camera angles slightly altered, primarily to show a screen on stage which features Jay-Z whose performance was added digitally.
Coldplay launched a contest in October 2008 in which fans submitted homemade music videos for the "Lost?" acoustic version. Open to all fans worldwide, the competition closed on 1 December 2008. All members of the band picked the finalists and judged the winning entries on 5 December. The winner was awarded a pair of "ultra-VIP" tickets to the band's show in O2 arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London in December 2008, and it included backstage passes. The winning video was announced on the 8 December 2008, with the winner being Paul O'Brien for a "Wonderful blend of Claymation and Computer Graphics". O'Brien's video and the runner up, made by Martin Buzora, are featured on Coldplay's official website.
Track listing
Digital download (EP)- "Lost!" – 3:55
- "Lost?" – 3:42
- "Lost@" (live at United Center, Chicago) – 3:55
- "Lost+" (feat. Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
) – 4:16
3-track promotional CD
- "Lost!" (album version) – 3:58
- "Lost?" (acoustic version) – 3:42
- "Lost-" (instrumental version) – 3:59
2-track promotional CD
- "Lost+" (with Jay-Z) – 4:18
- "Lost@" (live at United Center, Chicago) – 3:57
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
55 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
15 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
54 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
87 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Triple A Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
44 |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
40 |