When Coldplay announced that they would be headlining the Superbowl halftime show in 2016, I was surprised by how many of my friends were disappointed by this news.
Articles expressing disappointment in the choice and listing artists who should be performing instead of Coldplay have been appearing in my news feed every once in a while. Apparently, artists such as Adele, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, or even One Direction are more qualified for the Superbowl halftime show.
I'm not sure when it became cool to hate Coldplay, but I'm not here for it. I'm tired of people declaring their hatred for certain bands and not letting you forget it. We've all seen our friends on social media sharing jokes about Justin Bieber looking like a lesbian woman, memes about Nickelback, stabs at Katy Perry, and Iggy Azalea's infamous "weena win winna ween na win" freestyle rap. But how did Coldplay become a band that is so fun to hate? They write their own lyrics, play instruments themselves, and they are one of the most successful bands at a time when there are not a ton of bands on the radio. What are we achieving by expressing such strong negative feelings about bands and musicians we don't like? If anything, it's more revealing of our own personalities than the bands in question.Coldplay is one of my favorite bands. I grew up listening to them because my dad loves their music. Hearing a Coldplay song reminds me of family vacations where my parents play their older albums as we drove to the beach. I think of when I sang "Til Kingdom Come" at a benefit concert for my church. I think of when my a cappella group sang "Fix You" and I got chills every time even if we were just singing it at rehearsal. Sometimes, I feel like there's a Coldplay song for every emotion.
What one person thinks is the most terrible music in the world can be beautiful to another. Love whatever music you want, and don't apologize for it. Don't feel obligated to refer to a band you enjoy as a "guilty pleasure" because you feel like everyone else hates them. Who are we trying to impress anyway?
