SINGAPORE - Whether you love or loathe Coldplay, it is hard to remain indifferent and not get caught up in the British pop-rock band’s live performances.

The quartet, fronted by singer Chris Martin, brought their famously big, bold and colourful show to the National Stadium on Jan 23.

It was the first of their unprecedented six sold-out nights – until Jan 31 – at the venue, one of the largest for gigs in Singapore. According to concert organisers Live Nation, 52,000 attended the show.

The Singapore leg is also the band’s longest Asian stopover in their Music Of The Spheres world tour, named after their latest album released in 2021.

Coldplay – which also comprise guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion – last performed two nights at the same venue in 2017.

Martin reminded the audience that the group’s first performance in Singapore took place more than two decades ago, in 2001 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The band returned there in 2006 and 2009.

He also complained about the hot and humid weather.

“I’m sweating so much,” he said, later apologising to fans who got up close because he “smells bad”.

Here are three highlights from Day 1’s show, which lasted a little over 110 minutes.

1. An aural and visual feast

Coldplay are not the first music act to use interactive LED lights sported by the audience, but the sheer scale of the show takes the spectacle to another level.

The wrist bands changed colours and blinked in time with the tempo and mood of the songs, and transformed the crowd into a dynamic canvas.

There were pyrotechnics, confetti showers and giant balloons resembling planets, and the band made full use of the massive main stage and a catwalk that led out to a smaller stage in the middle of the stadium floor.

There was also a third stage closer to the audience at the opposite end of the venue.

Bizarrely, there were also singing muppets and, at one point, the band donned alien-like masks as Martin did a goofy dance and performed Something Just Like This, their 2017 hit with American dance-music duo The Chainsmokers, in sign language.

2. A rapturous audience

All the pageantry would be meaningless if the stadium did not have a full house and receptive fans – which it most certainly did.

Most were familiar enough with Coldplay songs – or at least hits like Fix You (2005), Yellow (2000) and A Sky Full Of Stars (2014) – and sang every word with gusto, at times drowning out Martin’s voice.

They gamely put away their phones when he asked them to during A Sky Full Of Stars, fully immersing themselves in the moment as they raised their hands and jumped up and down to the euphoric track.

And, in the most emotional moment of the show, Martin pulled up a man and a woman from the audience who held up a sign that said, “Can you sing Everglow for our Papa in heaven”.

The woman told Martin onstage that her father was supposed to attend the show but died recently. Martin then sang a tender rendition of the 2015 song as the teary-eyed pair sat with him at his piano.

In line with Coldplay’s eco-conscious stance, the crowd also helped to power the concert by pedalling on stationary bicycles and jumping on kinetic floors that generated electricity.

The band have been dedicated to making their tour as environmentally sustainable as possible, using green technology and pledging to reduce their carbon emissions.

The audience also showed love for Singaporean singer Jasmine Sokko, who followed Indonesian singer Jinan Laetitia as the second of the night’s two opening sets.

Oozing poise and confidence, the electronic pop artiste held her own in front of the massive crowd, winning them over and getting them to wave their hands and shine their phone lights in time to her music.

3. Chris Martin’s quick thinking and infectious energy

When the piano malfunctioned after Martin sang the first few lines of popular ballad The Scientist (2002), he stopped the song and quickly got Buckland to back him up on guitar instead.

The technical snafu did not dampen the 46-year-old frontman’s enthusiasm. He seemed blessed with boundless energy, constantly engaging the crowd and running from one end of the stage to another.

Towards the end, Coldplay moved to the third stage at the back. As the video live feed focused on random audience members, Martin would ad lib comical songs about them.

He teased a man with binoculars slung around his neck, and another group where three out of four were wearing glasses.

Martin pointed out the diverse make-up of the crowd, adding that it is possible for people of different backgrounds, beliefs and cultures to “hang out just fine”.