Coldplay‘s Chris Martin always acts in the name of love. And he did just that during his latest tour stop in Vienna, Austria when he sang a cover of Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story” with opener Maggie Rogers. He dedicated the song to Swift and her fans following the forced cancellation of her shows in the city earlier this month after an attempted terror plot.
“Of course, we haven’t mentioned that Vienna was in the news all over the world for all the wrong reasons. But what reached us was the beauty and the kindness of all of Taylor Swift’s fans,” Martin said, addressing Ernst Happel Stadium, the same one Swift was set to play two weeks prior.
On August 7, the day before Swigt’s three-night stint was set to start in Vienna, the shows were canceled after Austrian police thwarted a planned terrorist attack targeting concertgoers. The next day, Swift’s dedicated fanbase, aptly named Swifties, made headlines as they gathered together on Corneliusgasse Street in Vienna, where they hosted an impromptu gathering where they sang Swift’s songs and traded friendship bracelets.
“I don’t want to let you think that we don’t care about Swifties in our band,” Martin continued just before orchestrating his own sweet moment. With help from the crowd, Martin found the biggest Swifties he could and brought them onstage so they could have a front row seat to his duet with Rogers. “If this is not good, please don’t put it on YouTube,” he begged his fans. Of course, Martin and Rogers delivered honeyed harmonies to a rousing crowd that sang every word of the Fearless track right back to them.
Coldplay is currently on the road for the Music of Spheres Tour ahead of their upcoming album Moon Music, while Rogers is supporting them after the release of her album Don’t Forget Me.
The dedicated cover came on the same day that Swift spoke out about the Vienna terrorist threat, calling the cancellation “devastating.” Swift remarked on her fear and guilt following the events but was also moved by her fans’ celebration after the fact. “I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together,” she wrote on Instagram.
“We sing this song with so much love for Taylor, with so much love for Swifties, and we sing this song with love for young people who are brainwashed into doing stupid shit and we send them our love too,” Martin said. He continued with the theme of love: “This is only love for all people.”
