Awards and Charts: Breaking Waves

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2023-11-11)

The announcement of Grammy Nominations for the 2024 awards did not include any nominations for U2. Songs of Surrender was eligible for nominations, but did not receive any. Bono’s audiobook for Surrender was also eligible, and was submitted for consideration, but in the end wasn’t one of the nominees. The audiobooks nominated this year include Big Tree by Meryl Streep, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder by William Shatner, The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, It’s Ok to Be Angry About Capitalism by Bernie Sanders and The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama.

Even though the band hasn’t been nominated for the Grammy awards there are other Award shows ahead, and there may be some changes at nominations. Variety recently singled out Peter & The Wolf on HBO as a potential nominee for Animated Short at the upcoming Oscars. Although it would be a long shot, that means the song “There’s Nothing to Be Afraid Of” could make it into contention at the awards. The song was co-written by Bono. Bono also appears in the film at the start and the end, and is listed as one of the executive producers.

Bono has some interesting competition in the potential running for songs at the Oscars. The film Flora and Son has entered two songs into competition for a nomination for original song consideration at the Oscars. The two songs are “Meet in the Middle” and “High Life”. The songs are both performed by Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson, the first with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the second by Oren Kinlan. Flora and Son is streaming now on Apple. We’ve included “High Life” below, you can find “Meet in the Middle” here.

U2 have also been nominated in the upcoming Pollstar Awards. The nominations were announced yesterday, and voting has now begun for the awards. U2 are nominated in the category of Residency of the Year. They face some stiff competition, and are up against Adele, Billy Joel, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Usher in the category. All of the residencies nominated are in Las Vegas with the exception of Billy Joel’s residency at Madison Square Garden in New York. Winners will be announced on February 7, 2024. U2 will also be eligible to be nominated in this category again at next years awards. Our show archive for these shows at Sphere in Las Vegas can be found here.

“Atomic City” has been doing well for U2 in the charts. And this week, the song has seen U2 take the top spot on the Adult Alternative Airplay (AAA) charts for the first time since 2017. It is U2’s 14th song to reach the number 1 position on these charts which first started in 1996. It also means that U2 also regains the record for most number ones on this chart in the chart’s history. They were tied with Coldplay with 13 prior to “Atomic City”. (U2’s last number one was “You’re The Best Thing About Me”, Coldplay’s last number one was 2019’s “Orphans” leaving them tied with U2 for the most number 1 songs on this chart since 2020.

You can find our discography entry for “Atomic City” here, which includes a look at other chart positions worldwide. The single, originally announced for a December 29, 2023 physical release on vinyl and CD, has now been moved ahead with a new release date of December 15, 2023 expected. The vinyl will be widely available, and the CD is an exclusive release via Universal Records and U2.com.

At the end of October, U2 new edits of the video for “Atomic City” were circulated for promotion. These edits of the video match up to the edits of the audio release circulated to DJs for promotion.

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