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The recording is in the key of B, so if you would like to play along in GCEA tuning, you'll have to detune to F#, B, D#, G#.
"Yellow" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, giving Coldplay their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom. It was Coldplay's breakthrough hit internationally, reaching number one in Iceland, number five in Australia, number nine in Ireland and number 48 in the United States. Helped by radio rotation and usage in television and movies, the song thrust the band into popularity. "Yellow" has also won Best Single at the 2001 NME Awards and got nominated at the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Billboard said that "every time that electric-guitar riff barges in, you're hooked all over again." In October 2011, NME placed it at number 139 on their "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" list. In a retrospective article from 2020, The Independent praised the band for how the song "made being heartfelt seem effortless". In 2021, Billboard included "Yellow" at 35th place in their "Greatest Songs of 2001" list.