Idolator

Anyone still working in EMI's offices is probably going to have a very bad day at work today—yes, even relative to their recent job-related woes—because Coldplay's Viva La Vida, Or Death And All His Friends, which was supposed to save the record company from debt and destruction during the third quarter of 2008, has leaked. The album, which is currently slated to hit stores on June 17, has sort of been shown to actually inspire people to pay for at least some of it; "Viva La Vida," which is currently in an iTunes ad, is this week's No. 1 digital single, having sold 219,000 copies last week and 515,000 digital files to date. Whether or not the beleaguered record company will try to pull a Gnarls and rush-release the album as a last-ditch effort remains to be seen. [Google]

EMI, the doddering label Coldplay likes to think of as "Grandma", is being told by its bank, Citi, that it must hit a $350 million earnings target by September if it doesn't want to face some harsh renegotiations. This new ultimatum was inspired by the label's predicted inability to make $292 million by June. What do the suits assume will give EMI a third-quarter boost? Coldplay, of course! Coldplay, who are currently attempting to woo audiences with two new videos for "Violet Hill": One features Chris Martin holding a magnifying glass to his mouth while the band hops around in the desert, while the other features world leaders hopping around. More »