Rock bands at 50 years rarely surprise you. They tour the catalog, accept the lifetime achievement awards, and let the mythology do the heavy lifting. U2 apparently missed that memo. Their 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, arrives November 13, 2026, on Island Records — and its fourth track, “The Mirror Maker (Rosalía),” is a direct tribute to the Spanish singer-songwriter. In a Rolling Stone cover interview, Bono confirmed the subject and called her “an extraordinary artist.” He also acknowledged this is unusual territory: U2 songs typically honor people who are dead or in prison. Rosalía is neither. She just happens to be extraordinary.
Nine Years, 196 Versions, One Demo Called “Kuti Rocker”
What began as an Edge sketch in 2017 spent nearly a decade shape-shifting before it found its true subject.
Edge originated the track around 2017 as a demo called “Kuti Rocker” — a nod to Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti — before it cycled through working titles “Delilah” and “Child Of The Age.” Producer Jacknife Lee confirmed the album version is the song’s 196th iteration. That’s not a typo. The sound migrated from electric rock toward acoustic territory, drawing influence from David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust period and T. Rex. Rosalía didn’t enter the picture until the song had already lived multiple lives.
Here’s how the tribute came together:
- The band considered inviting Rosalía to sing — including a section where Bono was impersonating her soprano — but Lee concluded that having her perform on a song about herself wouldn’t make sense, so she doesn’t appear on the track.
- Unsure how to reach her, Bono turned to their mutual friend Penélope Cruz, who told him to simply call Rosalía directly.
- When he did, she responded positively, and the two bonded over a shared admiration for Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
The thematic connection runs deeper than the tribute itself. Rosalía’s 2025 album Lux — orchestral, electronic, sung in 13 languages, steeped in spiritual imagery — captivated Bono and shaped his thinking about the project. “Lux” in Latin and “luz” in Spanish both mean light, linking the two albums like two playlists that arrive at the same song from completely opposite ends of the library. Bono described their overlapping creative preoccupation with what he called the “re-enchantment of the world” as both inspiring and, he joked, annoying. Per Bono’s own account, Rosalía got there first.
“An extraordinary artist.” — Bono on Rosalía, Rolling Stone
A 50th-Anniversary Album With One More Gut Punch
Beyond the Rosalía tribute, Carnaval De Luz carries the full emotional weight of a band marking half a century.
Carnaval De Luz is U2’s first album of new material since 2017’s Songs Of Experience, arriving during the band’s 50th-anniversary year. The album closes with “Torn,” featuring Dolly Parton’s final recorded vocal — co-written by U2, Parton, and Johnny McDaid, with Daniel Lanois on pedal steel. Singles “Street Of Dreams” and “Silencio” are already out.
Bono, according to Rolling Stone, joked that he was still gathering the courage to send Rosalía the final mix. Fifty years in, and a rock band can still feel that particular brand of nervous. That hesitation is the most human detail in this whole story — and a quiet signal that Carnaval De Luz was made by people who still care what the right ears think.
