Coldplay saved their best surprise for last when the band brought out Sabrina Carpenter during their closing show at Radio 1’s Big Weekend Festival on Sunday. Carpenter joined the band for a performance of the Ghost Stories track “Magic.”
“We’ve been playing this, one Big Weekend since we were basically children,” Martin told the crowd before introducing Carpenter. “And the reason we play one Big Weekend is because without Radio 1, we would never have kept our jobs.”
Martin continued: “What we’d like to do, to say thank you to you for being so wonderful for the whole three days is bring on a singer who’s much younger, more beautiful, more successful, better in every way, and sing a song of ours that is okay but make it really good.”
Sabrina took the stage to a massive round of applause before harmonizing with Martin on the chorus.
While the crowd was surprised by the unexpected duet, Martin did subtly tease the collaboration earlier in the show. While performing “Fix You,” the singer closed out the song with a nod at Carpenter’s “Espresso” by singing the viral hook “That’s that me espresso.”
Along with “Magic,” the band — composed of Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion — played familiar tracks for a chorus of singing fans on Sunday, including “Viva La Vida,” “Higher Power,” and “Paradise.”
Carpenter also performed solo at the three-day Luton, London, festival. During her “Nonsense” outro, which she usually saves for a three-line sexual innuendo, the singer alluded to BBC’s censorship of an earlier live session in February 2023.
“BBC said I should keep it PG/ BBC I wish I had it in me/ There’s a double meaning if you dig deep,” she said.
Anika Nilles of Rush performs onstage during the 2026 JUNO AwardsCindy Ord/Getty Images
