Two weeks after Taylor Swift was forced to cancel a string of concerts at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium after officials uncovered a planned terror plot, Coldplay's Chris Martin paid tribute to the singer by covering one of her best-loved songs during of his band's concert at the venue on Wednesday night (August 21).
Taking to the Music of the Spheres satellite stage on the floor of the 65,000 capacity stadium with opening act Maggie Rogers, Martin said“If this isn't good, please don't put it on YouTube because I don't want to get in trouble with Taylor.” He then asked the crowd to help him by singing along to an acoustic version of Swift's 2008 “wonderful” Fearless classic 'Love Story'.
“We sing this song with so much love for Taylor, so much love for the Swifties,” Martin said after finding two “genuine Swifties” to join him on stage to help with the tribute. “And we sing this song with love for young people who have been brainwashed to do stupid st and we send them our love too.”
Playing an acoustic guitar, Martin sang the Romeo & Juliet-inspired lyrics as the stadium crowd provided vocal support, with Rogers joining him on the second verse before taking on the dreamy chorus. She even briefly handed over her microphone to the pair of excited fans for some vocal help during the special moment which came on the same day Swift addressed the “catastrophic” terrorist threat for the first time in a statement.
“The word about the cancellations filled me with a new sense of dread and an enormous amount of guilt because so many people had planned to come to these shows,” Swift said of the failed plot to target shows scheduled for August 8-10. According to authorities, the main teenage conspirator allegedly admitted that he had planned to attack Swifties with knives and explosives outside the venue to cause maximum casualties.
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them we were grieving concerts and not lives,” Swift added. “I was moved by the love and unity I saw in the fans who came together. I decided that all my energy should go into helping to protect the almost half a million people who had come to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand-in-hand with the stadium staff and the British authorities every day in pursuit of this goal and I want to thank them for everything they have done for us.”
According to a fan videosMartin acknowledged the reason he chose to cover the song in the intro, noting, “We haven't mentioned that Vienna was in the news around the world for all the wrong reasons. But what got to us was the beauty and camaraderie and kindness of all Taylor Swift fans. So we felt – of course Taylor's in America, she's not here – but we're here, so we've got to do the best we can. So I don't want to let you think that we don't care about Swifties in our band.”
Last month, Coldplay dedicated a performance of their 2016 song “Everglow” to Swift while playing in Dusseldorf, just days after Taylor performed in nearby Gelsenkirchen. “This is for Taylor Swift because she left town,” Martin said during the concert at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. “This is for all of you who are feeling sad today because Taylor had to go to the next city. So we're singing this love song, this heartbreaking song, and sending it to Taylor wherever she is today.”
Swift wrapped up her five-show run at London's Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, bringing the European leg of her Eras tour to a close. Officials in Vienna said they had arrested three suspects in the case, the main suspect, a 19-year-old who was allegedly radicalized online and had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, and an 18-year-old man who had also pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group and a 17-year-old youth who was allegedly hired by a company that provides services to the venue for the performances just a week before.
Rogers shared a snippet of the cover on her Instagram, writing: “From Vienna with love [three heart emoji] @coldplay @taylorswift.”
Check out some of the 'Love Story' cover art below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/coldplay-chris-martin-maggie-rogers-cover-taylor-swift-love-story-vienna-1235758524/