In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said that Nirvana were one of a few influences behind the British rockers’ song, ‘A Sky Full of Stars.’

Martin said that initially he was inspired by pop singer Katy Perry and how her songs repeat a single chord. This led him to realizing the similar setup found in Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’

“Then I realized all these other people that have done that, Nirvana being a classic example,” the singer-songwriter said. “'Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is the same chord sequence basically the whole time. There’s a simplicity to that. I needed to find a sequence that I could play for ages and ages and ages.”

In addition to Perry and Nirvana, Martin cited EDM as a major influence for the song, which appeared on Coldplay’s latest album, ‘Ghost Stories.’

Take a listen to ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ above, and then compare it to Nirvana’s breakthrough song, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ below:

You Think You Know Nirvana?

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