Coldplay’s Chris Martin Deepfaked Himself for Idles’ New ‘Grace’ Video

Jon Blistein
·2 min read
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Idles - Credit: Daniel Topete
Idles - Credit: Daniel Topete

U.K. post-punks Idles enlisted Chris Martin — both the real one from now and the one from 24 years ago — to help them put together the video for their new song, “Grace.”

The clip is basically the same one Coldplay released all the way back in 2000 for their hit song, “Yellow,” with Martin walking along a dreary, empty beach in the rain. Only in the “Grace” clip is he mouthing along to the Idles song, a feat accomplished with a bit of AI deepfake technology.

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The idea for the video came to Idles frontman Joe Talbot in a dream, and the band not only got Martin’s approval, but his assistance in making the clip a reality. Martin took the time to help train the AI and make sure his vocal “performance” in the video looked as real as possible.

(Idles aren’t the first act to pay homage to the “Yellow” video: A couple of years back, Tegan and Sara aptly recreated that famous, lonesome walk on the beach for their own song, also called “Yellow.”)

“Grace” is set to appear on Idles’ upcoming fifth album, Tangk, out this Friday, Feb. 16, via Partisan Records. The album was produced by Nigel Godrich, Kenny Beats, and the band’s guitarist Mark Bowen; it follows their 2021 LP, Crawler. Prior to releasing “Grace,” Idles teased the album with the singles “Gift Horse” and “Dancer,” the latter featuring guest vocals from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang.

Idles have a whole bunch of tour dates coming up in support of Tangk. Dates in the U.K. and Europe are scheduled through March, while a North American run launches May 2 in Vancouver. Additional shows in the U.S. and Canada are scheduled in June (including a set at Bonnaroo) as well as September.

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