October 17th, 2011 
Jacob Tender 
Artist: Coldplay
Song: Princess of China (Feat. Rihanna)
Genre: Pop
Label: EMI
One of the popular trends in pop music today is, of course, the featured artist. You see it in every Akon song title, “(Feat. anybody).” It get’s old, but it’s a money maker, so the trend persists. Many of these radio-ready singles are full of the same nonsense the learned music appreciator would expect. Techno beats and drop with candy-coated, autotune-heavy vocals are accompanied by a drop-in rap verse.
These “collaborations” aren’t always terrible capital garnering jingles however. Some turn out to be successful due to pure talent and creativity. For example, the new Coldplay single, which you can listen to here, is a result of a well thought out idea.
Chris Martin didn’t simply ask Rihanna to sing on this song for her name. I mean, come on, it’s Coldplay. You don’t get much bigger than Coldplay. Chris timidly asked the superstar to lend her vocal prowess to the song due to the contrast their vocals have with each other. The result of her consent is a solid waveform of ambiance and grace. In “Princess of China,” Rihanna shows a new side to her vocal ability. While maintaining the power and melody one would expect, she also croons a beautiful chorus and some alluring oriental tones in the background of a unquestionably honest track.
The dissimilarity between the two vocalists is flawless. The harmony is unexpectedly sweet and endearing. To say that the pairing is unorthodox is questionable. It isn’t one that is completely baffling, but not one that most would conjure in their heads. Regardless, I’m quite happy with the result and think the song will do quite well. As it should.
Overall score: 9/10
Review written by Jacob Tender (Follow him on Twitter)
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