"Magnificent" is a song by U2. It is the second track on the band's 2009 album ''

No Line on the Horizon ''No Line on the Horizon'' is the twelfth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 27 February 2009. It was the band's first record since ''How to Dismantle an A ...

'' and was released as the album's second single. The song was originally titled "French Disco", but was renamed later in the recording sessions. It is played before the start of every

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

home game at

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. The single was released on 4 May 2009 and reached number 42 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. While well received by critics, it was the first domestically-released U2 single not to make the UK Top 40 since " A Celebration" in 1982. It did, however, reach number one on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

, their second single from ''No Line on the Horizon'' to do so.

Writing and recording

"Magnificent" originated from the band's improvised recording sessions with

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

and

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willi ...

Fez, Morocco Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 m ...

in June 2007. The track was created out of a series of chord changes in the midst of a jam. The Edge noted that "The basic chord progression had a power that got everyone inspired. I think we all knew that it was inherently joyful, which is rare." A group of Moroccan percussionists played along with the band, and the result quickly became a band favourite during the sessions. Bono noted that the lyrics were influenced by both

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, and that the song is about "two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship". Lanois described the song's origins: "We wanted to have something euphoric and Bono came up with that little melody. And he loved that melody, and stuck with it. Almost like a fanfare. And then I was involved in the lyrical process on that, because we wanted to talk about sacrifice that one makes for one's medium or one's art. I thought it had for a setting New York in the 1950s; looking out a small bedroom window. Maybe a

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

kind of figure."

Remixes

The song has been remixed numerous times, including versions by

Dave Audé Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American DJ, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart. He has done produ ...

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio s ...

, Redanka,

Fred Falke Frédérick Falke () (born 7 January 1973), known professionally as Fred Falke, is a French house and dance music producer and DJ. Biography Falke started out as a bass player before moving to production work. His first record, a collaboration ...

, and Adam K & Soha. The remixes were made available simultaneously with the single release for the song. In the UK the Magnificent Remixes were the highest climber in the Upfront Club Chart at No. 3, and are at No. 4 in the Cool Cuts Chart. will.i.am participated in the creation of an as-yet unreleased remix. The synthetized baseline of Redanka's 180 Version Remix is similar to

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular m ...

's 1977

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, '' I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to ha ...

". The

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may al ...

and UK edit are slightly different versions of the song, with the most prominent difference being an alteration in the first lyric.

Music video

The music video was filmed in Fez,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. It was directed by Alex Courtes, who previously worked with the band on the video for " Get On Your Boots". The video premiered online via

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...

on May 6, 2009.

Reception

Upon the release of ''No Line on the Horizon'', many critics called "Magnificent" one of the album's highlights. '' Q'' wrote that it "echoes ''

The Unforgettable Fire ''The Unforgettable Fire'' is the fourth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and released on 1 October 1984 by Island Records. The band wanted to pursue a new musical direction following the hard ...

s opening track "A Sort of Homecoming" in its atmospheric sweep", also labelling it as a "slow-building anthem with the ambience of "

' and a re-boot of ' Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.'" In

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

's review of the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that on "Magnificent", U2 "strike that unmistakable blend of soaring, widescreen sonics and unflinching openhearted emotion that's been their trademark, turning the intimate into something hauntingly universal". '' Mojo'' praised the song, noting the song's "martial

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used i ...

s ratchet

the Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

's vertiginous delayed guitar figures across a rock landscape that this band realised to near perfection c. ''The Unforgettable Fire'' and which they've now updated with no loss of awe". ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

'' called the song a "rocker" and "yet another hymn to the powers of love" in which the band "achieve liftoff". NME was critical of the song, calling it "astonishingly uninteresting", adding that it "sounds like

t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is de ...

reconstituted from the ...''

Atomic Bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

'' sessions". "Magnificent" debuted at number 42 on the

, becoming U2's first domestically-released single to completely miss the UK Top 40 since 1982's " A Celebration" peaked at number 47 (The import-only " In God's Country" charted in 1988, but missed the top 40). In Scotland, the song debuted at number one

, becoming the second single from ''No Line on the Horizon'' to top that chart, after " Get On Your Boots", as well as becoming the band's eight number one overall. It was added to A-Lists of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

, along with being added to XFM's playlist and the B-List of

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available on ...

. The song also made a one-week appearance on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 upon ''No Line on the Horizons release, peaking at number 79. Coincidentally, the same week saw

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

chart with a song called "Magnificent". These are the only two songs by this name to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in its history. "Magnificent" did much better in continental Europe, entering the Top 20 in several countries: number six in the Netherlands, number 11 in Italy, number 15 in France, number 16 in Sweden. The song also reached the Top 5 in Ireland. Coldplay have regularly played the song prior to the band taking the stage at their concerts on the Viva la Vida Tour.

Live performances

"Magnificent" was debuted on the promotional tour for ''No Line on the Horizon'', being played on the BBC Rooftop, on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...

'', and at a mini-concert at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

taped for ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

''. The song then became a regular on the

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album '' No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band playing " in the roun ...

, played within a block of new songs to start the shows. The song was included played at all shows in 2009 and 2010, but was left out of some shows in 2011. The song made its

Innocence + Experience Tour Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relatio ...

debut on the tour's second leg during the last of four shows in Amsterdam.

Formats and track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics at U2.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnificent (U2 Song) 2009 singles Interscope Records singles Mercury Records singles Song recordings produced by Brian Eno Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Bono Songs written by Brian Eno Songs written by Daniel Lanois Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. U2 songs 2009 songs Number-one singles in Scotland