"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 music, 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 Dis ...

'' 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 New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

home game at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. The single was released on 4 May 2009 and reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart. While well received by critics, it was the first domestically-released U2 single not to make the UK Top 40 since "

A Celebration "A Celebration" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was released as a non-album single in March 1982, between the records ''October'' (1981) and ''War'' (1983). The song's music video was filmed at the Kilmainham Gaol former prison in Dublin. T ...

" 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 Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

and

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...

Fez, Morocco Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes, Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the List of cities in Morocco, largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to ...

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 Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

, as well as the 'Magnificat', a passage from the Gospel of Luke that was previously set to music by Bach. 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 Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

kind of figure."

Remixes

The song has been remixed numerous times, including versions by Dave Audé,

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ 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 streams, for ...

, Redanka,

Fred Falke Frédérick Falke (; born 7 January 1973) 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 with Alan Braxe named ''Intro'', whi ...

, 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 William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

participated in the creation of an as-yet unreleased remix. The synthesized baseline of Redanka's 180 Version Remix is similar to

Donna Summer Donna 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 "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

's 1977

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply 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 the American singer-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 a "clean version," is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay. It may be censored for profanity, vulgarities, or subject matter; or adjusted for length, instr ...

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 a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. 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 music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...

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 music, 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 followi ...

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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'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". ''

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'' praised the song, noting the song's "martial

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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 a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...

'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". ''

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'' called the song a "rocker" and "yet another hymn to the powers of love" in which the band "achieve liftoff".

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

was critical of the song, calling it "astonishingly uninteresting", adding that it "sounds like t wasreconstituted from the ...''

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

'' sessions". "Magnificent" debuted at number 42 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming U2's first domestically-released single to completely miss the UK Top 40 since 1982's "

" 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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

, along with being added to

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

'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. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

. 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. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

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 ''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 com ...

'', and at a mini-concert at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

taped for ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. The song then became a regular on the

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, 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 pla ...

, 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 The Innocence + Experience Tour (styled as iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour) was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. Staged in support of the band's 2014 album ''Songs of Innocence (U2 album), Songs of Innocence'', the tou ...

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

Certifications

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