U2 praise "extraordinary artist" Rosalía in track from new album

Bono has revealed that the song 'The Mirror Maker' from U2's upcoming album, Carnaval de Luz is written about Spanish singer Rosalía.

He joked in an interview with Rolling Stone that "we normally just write songs about people in jail or dead people."

"You know, dead heroes, or trying to get them out of jail. This is just celebrating somebody just because they’re an extraordinary artist."

Bono explained that he became interested in the singer following her 2025 album, Lux, which explored religion and spirituality. The record featured electronics and vocals in 13 languages.

He also highlighted the similarity between the two albums. With 'lux' and 'luz' translating as 'light', both records also explore similar themes.

"She’s arrived at the same point just before us, which is annoying and also really inspiring," he said.

Originally written in 2017, the song began as a demo by The Edge titled ‘Kuti Rocker’ in reference to Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti. It went through a number of other titles including ‘Delilah’ and ‘Child Of The Age’ before Rosalía became the song's focus.

Bono confided that the lengthy development of the track has put the band in an awkward position.

"It’s just a little embarrassing that she became so popular before we put out the song," he said.

"But that doesn’t matter to me. Everyone knew about Martin Luther King too."

He got in contact with Rosalía to get her blessing for the song through mutual friend Penélope Cruz. The pair have since chatted about their mutual love of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.

Carnaval de Luz will be the band's sixteenth studio album, and will release on November 13. They released the singles 'Field of Dreams' in July and 'Silencio' on September 24, ahead of the record.

The record also features the late Dolly Parton, the closing track 'Torn' is her last recorded performance.

The group celebrated their 50th anniversary over the weekend, with a surprise show at Mount Temple School, where the band met, along with a gig at Bewleys on Grafton Street.