James Blake’s Plea Against Coldplay Criticism
James Blake called for the cessation of people who criticized Coldplay, saying that it was “no longer cool” to express hatred of the group.
Blake’s Thoughts on Coldplay
Speaking at the BBC Sounds podcast, assigned to Annie and Nick, Blake shared his disappointments about the negative comments regarding the group. “Coldplay Bashing should stop. This is no longer cool! This is no longer cool to be like ‘Coldplay is not cool.’ Just fall off,” said Blake. “There are so many amazing Coldplay songs. And Chris Martin is clearly a melodic genius.”
The musician elaborated on his stance, adding: “(if) you do not like the sound of their last records, good…? When you go and see them in Glastonbury, did you enjoy a lot of songs? Likely. Maybe the group changed the way they dressed? Is it not allowed to change the way of dressing? Isn’t it possible for us to write songs in another genre? Like, who is worried, dude? I am very angry about this!”
Meeting Stevie Wonder
During the podcast, Blake also recounted his encounter with Stevie Wonder at the post-Oscar party. “I could not speak. I just kept saying thanks again and again, although he did not tell me anything profound,” he said to Annie Mack and Nick Grimshaw. “I believe that we talked about playing music. But I was actually too afraid to approach him. I’m not usually like that, because it was almost too stunning. He is number one. This is not like meeting some other musician for me. I cried later. It was just overwhelming and impossible!”
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin recently addressed online criticism in the cover story for Rolling Stone in 2025, saying: “It would be terrible if we lived in a society where everyone was supposed to like the same things. We are a very, very easy, safe target. We are not going to be boring. We are four white, middle-class men from England. We deserve to take some heat for what our people did. There is a reason why we can play around the world, and some of this is not necessarily very cool.”
