By Daisy Rosario
If you got 99 problems, but enjoying emotional British rock ain’t one, good news! Jay-Z and Coldplay will co-headline a concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn this New Year’s Eve.
To the uninitiated, this might seem like an odd pairing. But Jay-Z and Coldplay fans know that Hova and the band’s frontman Chris Martin are best friends. Beyonce has even talked about how much she looks up to Martin’s wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
This won’t be the first time the famous friends share the stage. They did a New Year’s Eve concert in Las Vegas two years ago and performed at the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony.
With Jay being so proud of the opening of Barclays Center this year, it’s no surprise he’d want to do something special to close out 2012.
Details of the event are limited so far, but one would guess that Coldplay would play the first half of the show, followed by Jay-Z. With Hova’s heavy beats and rapid-fire lyricism, it would be unwise to drop the energy level by going from a song like “Dirt on Your Shoulder” to “Yellow.”
When Jay co-headlined a show with Eminem at Yankee Stadium in 2010, Slim Shady went onstage first. During Jay’s set, he brought Martin onstage to sing the hook on “Heart of the City.” Martin then played the piano riff from Coldplay’s “Clocks,” to a screaming audience, but not the whole song.
However, he did perform the song “Viva La Vida,” from the album of the same name, proving that he can successfully share the stage with Jay. As Martin sang, Jay stood by laughing mischievously at the crowd singing along. It was as if getting the audience at a hip hop show to sing along to Coldplay was an elaborate joke. If that’s any indication, it should be a great way to start off the new year.
