Chris Martin Explains Why Ex-Wife Gwyneth Paltrow and New Love Annabelle Wallis Are on Coldplay's New Album

"Everyone who got asked to sing on our album has an important part in our lives," the singer reveals in a new interview

Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s "conscious uncoupling" has left room for collaboration.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, the Coldplay frontman says that his ex-wife is among the stars who appear on the band’s seventh album, A Head Full of Dreams, out Dec. 4. (Preorder here.) Actress Annabelle Wallis, Martin’s girlfriend, and Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé and Jay Z’s daughter, also provide vocals.

“Everyone who got asked to sing on our album has an important part in our lives,” Martin explained. “This is The Wall Street Journal, so I don’t want to get too hippie, but what I’m trying to learn in my life is the value of every human.”

Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo and Merry Clayton also make appearances, Coldplay previously announced.

“Inclusiveness is the key thing, and it all comes from that ‘Guest House’ poem,” he said, mentioning a piece by 13th-century poet and mystic Rumi. “The ‘choir’ started with my two kids coming in after school and recording. We recorded Blue Ivy Carter in New York when her mom Beyoncé was in the studio. It comes from learning about Greek tragedy, where the chorus chimes in at times. To me, when we use that sound, it’s to affirm what I’m saying. ‘We agree with you, Chris. Keep singing.'”

According to the newspaper, Paltrow sings on “Everglow,” a “ballad about a relationship’s enduring spark.”

“Just because a romantic relationship ends doesn’t mean that the other facets of your relationship have to end … or indeed, doesn’t mean they can’t get better,” Martin said of his connection to Paltrow, 43, in an interview with On Air with Ryan Seacrest earlier this month.

VIDEO: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Favorite Things

The former couple’s children – Apple, 11, and Moses, 9 – are in a choir comprised of the band’s friends and family, WSJ reported.

As for Beyoncé, Martin turned to the singer – and one of the former pair’s best friends – plus producers Stargate for an upbeat tune called “Hymm for the Weekend.”

He said, “The original kernel was that I was listening to Flo Rida or something, and I thought, it’s such a shame that Coldplay could never have one of those late-night club songs, like ‘Turn Down for What.'”