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Cover of Parachutes by Coldplay
Cover: Parachutes

Song · Coldplay

“Yellow” by Coldplay

From the album Parachutes (2000)

“Yellow” by Coldplay appears on 98 radio countdowns from 38 stations between 2000 and 2026. It was first released in 2000 on the album Parachutes. Its best result is #3 on the WBER Listener Countdown 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #20 alternative song of 2001, #274 alternative song of all time and #44 of the '00s.

98countdowns
38stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
9top 10 finishes
2000–2026years charted

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Yellow

Video from YouTube (Coldplay - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Yellow" was the song that carried Coldplay out of Britain: the second UK single from their debut album Parachutes, released in the summer of 2000 after "Shiver", and their lead single in America that November. The band wrote it and produced it with Ken Nelson, who also engineered, and it was recorded at Rockfield Studios.

Chris Martin sings lead and plays acoustic guitar, piano and keyboards, but the song belongs to Jonny Buckland's electric guitar, a big, bleary, bright chime. Guy Berryman's bass and Will Champion's drums and percussion keep it rolling at a lazy stroll, Buckland and Champion fill out the harmonies, and Michael Brauer mixed it.

It went to number four in the UK, the band's first top-five hit there, and it broke them abroad: top of the chart in Iceland, a peak of five in Australia and nine in Ireland, and 48 in the United States, with radio play and spots in films and television doing the heavy lifting. It remains one of the band's best-loved songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2000 17 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2000 107
2000 17 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2000 91
2000 78 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2000 105
2000 55 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2000 100
2000 63 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2000 107
2000 83 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2000 89
2000 32 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2000 99
2000 34 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2000 102
2000 45 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2000 100
2000 5 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2000 100
2001 15 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2001 107
2001 24 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2001 106
2001 21 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 101
2001 23 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2001 100
2001 58 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2001 100
2001 27 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2001 89
2001 32 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 101
2001 4 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 30 Songs of 2001 30
2001 9 93XRT Chicago, IL WXRT Listener Poll: Top 30 Songs of 2001 30
2001 20 99X Atlanta, GA 99X Top 99 Songs of 2001 99
2001 9 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001 103
2001 25 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 41 Songs of 2001 40
2001 35 WHTG Monmouth-Ocean, NJ G106.3 Top 106 Songs of 2001 106
2001 3 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2001 191
2001 17 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2001 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2001 172 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 74 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 1916 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 360 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 140 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 19 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2003 17 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 134 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 80 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2003) 100
2004 56 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 117 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 41 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2004 98 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2004) 100
2004 712 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 29 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium 96
2005 193 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 25 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 17 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005) 100
2005 48 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 61 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2005) 100
2006 7 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2006 192 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 105 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 323 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 13 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2006 82 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2006) 100
2007 278 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 189 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 200 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 265 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 27 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 2009) 101
2009 5 WYEP WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade 913
2009 276 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 256 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 158 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2009 9 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 87 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2009 175 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 10 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 200
2010 167 94.1 The Zone 94.1 The Zone 210 Most Played Songs of the Decade 210
2010 250 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 54 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of the 2000s 102
2011 240 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 249 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 799 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 237 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 41 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) 100
2014 237 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 401 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 408 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2015 432 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 54 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2018 342 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 113 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 113 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2020 714 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 71 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2022 80 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 338 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 319 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 87 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2022) 100
2023 72 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2023) 100
2023 329 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 20 ALT 104.5 ALT 104.5 Top 104 of ALT Time 104
2024 87 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2024) 100
2024 141 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 389 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 42 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 91 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2025) 100
2025 34 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714
2025 262 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 581 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 246 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 2001

Best songs of 2001 →
  1. 1Hash PipeWeezer
  2. 2SchismTool
  3. 3How You Remind MeNickelback
  4. 4Smooth CriminalAlien Ant Farm
  5. 5It's Been AwhileStaind
  6. 6Fat LipSum 41

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