Coldplay Debut ‘Up in Flames’ Track at ‘Austin City Limits’ Taping

Thursday night, Coldplay performed their new song 'Up in Flames' for the first time ever, giving fans their premiere glimpse of the ballad. The band played the track at a 2,700-person venue during a taping for the television show 'Austin City Limits,' one day before they played at the much-larger ACL Festival.

'Up in Flames' has a simple structure, with drummer Will Champion setting a gentle pace for singer Chris Martin, whose beautiful falsetto vocals are the heart of the song.

"So it's over," Martin sings to open the ballad. His words aren't always clear on the live footage, but based on the wistful chorus, in which he repeats the song title three times, it's obvious this is not a cheerful song, rather it's an emotional composition about loss and regret.

'Up in Flames' joins 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' and 'Paradise' on the group's highly-anticipated fifth studio album, 'Mylo Xyloto,' on sale Oct. 24. Martin told the Austin crowd that 'Up in Flames' was recorded only five weeks earlier, just in time to make the album.

Watch Coldplay Debut 'Up in Flames'