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The seventh track of the album, “Green Eyes” has a country-rock vibe to it.

Chris Martin wrote the song as a ballad for a former girlfriend who, obviously, had green eyes. When Chris started dating Gwyneth Paltrow in 2002, he decided against performing the song live as it offended her. Instead, he chose to play “Moses,” a song written for Paltrow.

Later he said the following about the discussion: “It’s not about the right person. It’s like an old pair of trousers, it doesn’t fit.”

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The second track and first single of A Rush of Blood to the Head, “In My Place” won the award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.

Thematically, it speaks of the inevitably unchangeable characteristics present in all humans. Chris warns listeners from letting these flaws deteriorate relationships with loved ones.

The song is directly related to the whole concept of the album and the song “A Rush of Blood to the Head” : the mental state the singer is in, his impulsive behaviours, his insecurities, and all the lack of emotional intelligence in his characteristics. In this song, he asks his significant other to understand him and the place and state he is in because he feels lost.

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The opening track of A Rush of Blood to the Head, “Politik” was written shortly after the 9/11 attacks and was meant to be reflective of the state of the world.

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“The Scientist” is a very mellow song about trying to analyze a broken relationship.

The song’s melody is inspired by “Don’t Look Back in Anger” by the Oasis, especially the piano part.

The music video is famous for its reverse chronology (which required Chris Martin to learn the song backwards in order to make it look like he was singing forwards as he walked backwards…). Although the video fits the song well, the idea for the video came to Director Jamie Thraves independently; he then waited for the perfect song to match his concept.

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Daniel Radcliffe (famous for playing Harry Potter) made his Broadway musical debut as J. Pierrepont Finch in a revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He gave an impressive awards ceremony performance singing “Brotherhood of Man” and prior to this had received positive reviews for his performance in the role. Despite, all this, Radcliffe was not nominated for a Tony, and Neil declares that Harry Potter’s archenemy, Lord Voldemort, was disappointed.

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At the beginning of the show NPH sang what might be the greatest PSA for heterosexual inclusiveness in musical theater ever made: “It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore”

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Neil Patrick Harris closes out the 65th Tony Awards… with a rap.

NPH approached In the Heights lyricist and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda with the idea for a rap-up. Miranda and In the Heights director Tommy Kail wrote the number backstage during the show:

When asked how he and Kail managed to write the rap so quickly, Miranda said, “We wrote it like ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ style, for every possible outcome. Whatever won we put in promptly, and whatever things you can’t plan — like the bumblebee moment, Frances McDormand loving her job — we just threw that in as it happened. I write really fast, and Neil is fearless, and that’s how it happened.”

Miranda sings NPH’s praises:

“He was just amazing. He’s never rapped in his life and he crushed it.”

Miranda posted a video of the writing process on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CR-sAit8LE

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Mike Nichols is a prolific media director who holds an EGOT (having won multiple Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar and multiple Tonys). In the 2012 Tony Awards, Nichols won Best Direction of a Play for his work on *Death of a Salesman, making it his ninth Tony (since nine is one away from ten, NPH mentions the word dime.

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Harvey Fierstein is openly gay, but his low, gravely-voice and bulky build subvert many of the stereotypes associated with gay men. Aside from his acting, Fierstein is also known for Torch Song Trilogy play, which spurred a viral video of him explaining homosexuality to famed journalist Barbara Walters.

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Neil Patrick Harris namedrops Ferris Bueller and actor Christian Borle. Ferris Bueller is played by big Broadway junkie Matthew Broderick who starred as bootlegger Jimmy Winter in Nice Work If You Can Get It.

Christian Borle is an actor who won a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for his role in Peter and the Starsnatcher.

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