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In Unusual Step, U2 Reinterprets 40 of Its Best-Known Songs

Members of the Irish band U2, from left, Larry Mullen Jr., Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton appear at the screening of "U2 3D," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2007. (AP)
Members of the Irish band U2, from left, Larry Mullen Jr., Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton appear at the screening of "U2 3D," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2007. (AP)
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In Unusual Step, U2 Reinterprets 40 of Its Best-Known Songs

Members of the Irish band U2, from left, Larry Mullen Jr., Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton appear at the screening of "U2 3D," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2007. (AP)
Members of the Irish band U2, from left, Larry Mullen Jr., Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton appear at the screening of "U2 3D," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2007. (AP)

In reimagining 40 of their best-known songs, U2 recognized that many fans would experience them through earphones connected to a device in their pockets — rather than being belted out onstage.

That was one thought behind "Songs of Surrender," coming out this week. The four men of U2, now either 61 or 62 years old, revisit material written in some cases when they were little more than kids out of Dublin.

Particularly in those days, U2 songs were written primarily with concerts in mind. The Edge told The Associated Press in an interview that U2 wanted to catch the attention of people seeing the band for the first time, perhaps in a festival or as an opening act.

"There's a sort of gladiatorial aspect to live performances when you're in that situation," he said. "The material has got to be pretty bold and even strident at times. With this reimagining, we thought it would be fun to see intimacy as a new approach, that intimacy would be the new punk rock, as it were."

The Edge was the driving force behind "Songs of Surrender," using pandemic down time to record much of the music at home.

Given that his electric guitar and Bono's voice are the musical signature of U2, there's a certain irony in the absence of that guitar being the most immediately noticeable feature of the new versions. He sticks primarily to keyboards, acoustic guitar and dulcimer.

The process began without a roadmap or commitment to see it through if it wasn't working.

"As we got into it and got into a groove, we really started to enjoy what was happening," he said. "There was a lot of freedom in the process, it was joyful and fun to take these songs and sort of reimagine them and I think that comes across. It doesn't sound like there was a lot of hard work involved because it wasn't."

Much of the intimacy comes through Bono's voice. There's no need to shout, so he sometimes uses lower registers or slips into falsetto.

Lyrics are often rewritten, sometimes extensively in even a recent song like "The Miracle of Joey Ramone." Cellos replace the driving guitar of "Vertigo." Keyboards give "Where the Streets Have No Name" an ambient sound. "Two Hearts Beat as One," the original a high-octane rock dance song, now has a slinkier, sexy vibe and is one of four songs where The Edge takes lead vocal.

The band is fairly democratic in taking songs from throughout its catalog, although 1981's "October" album and 2009's "No Line on the Horizon" are not represented. "New Year's Day," "Angel of Harlem" and "Even Better Than the Real Thing" are among the songs left alone.

"We’re one of the only acts that has this body of work where a project like this would be possible, with the distance of time and experience where it would be interesting to revisit early songs," The Edge said.

Throughout music history, bands have occasionally re-recorded material for contractual reasons. Taylor Swift is the most famous example, putting out new versions of her older songs in order to control their use. Squeeze's "Spot the Difference" makes sport of how they tried to make new recordings indistinguishable from the originals.

Live recordings and archive-cleaning projects like Bob Dylan's "bootleg" series gives fans the chance to hear familiar songs differently.

Many older artists don't see the point of making new music, since there's little opportunity to be heard and fans are partial to the familiar stuff, anyway, said Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone contributing editor.

"Revisiting your body of work in a creative way is a means of sustaining interest in your career," DeCurtis said. "Older fans might not be interested in another collection of your hits, but reworking them in a meaningful way could prove enticing. Younger fans don't have the same investment in your classics, so these new versions offer a route into your catalog."

The Edge encourages fans to give the new versions a try, suggesting they may even grow to prefer some of them.

"I don't think there's a competition between these and the original versions," he said. "It's more of an additive thing than a substitution. If you like the new arrangements, great. If you prefer the originals, keep listening.

"It's no problem either way," he said. "They're both valid."

The Edge said he's working on new music for U2, "and we've got some great stuff in the pipeline."

The quartet that met in drummer Larry Mullen Jr.'s kitchen when they answered an ad placed on a high school bulletin board is a remarkable story in longevity. A passage toward the end of Bono's book "Surrender," where he talked about looking around onstage at the end of their most recent tour in 2019 and wondering if it was the end, raised natural questions about how long U2 would continue.

"There are many reasons why U2 has stayed together for so long, but one of the main reasons is that it works so well for us as individuals," The Edge said. "I think we all shine the brightest as part of this collective. I certainly would not like to hang up the guitar."

This year will provide a test for a band that can count on one hand the number of times it has performed without all four members. U2 has committed to a run of shows in Las Vegas without Mullen, who is recuperating from surgery.

Would U2 continue if one of the original quartet decides it's time to hang it up?

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility that we could go forward with different members," The Edge said. "But also, equally, I could imagine us deciding not to. It would be a big challenge. But I think at the time we would know what felt right."

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Entertainment

K-Pop Might Win at the Grammys for the First Time

Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)
Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)
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K-Pop Might Win at the Grammys for the First Time

Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)
Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)

Two things can be true at once. K-pop is an inextricable force in global pop culture, and it has long been undercelebrated at institutions like the Grammys — where K-pop artists have performed but have never taken home a trophy.

That could change at next month's 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony. Songs released by K-pop artists — or K-pop-adjacent artists, more on that later — have received nominations in the big four categories for the first time. Rosé, perhaps best known as one-fourth of the juggernaut girl group Blackpink, is the first K-pop artist to ever receive a nomination in the record of the year field for “APT.,” her megahit with Grammys' favorite Bruno Mars.

The song of the year category also features K-pop nominees for the first time. “APT.” will go head-to-head with the fictional girl group HUNTR/X's “Golden,” performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami from the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack.

And the girl group Katseye, the brain child of HYBE — the entertainment company behind K-pop sensation BTS and countless other international acts — fashioned in the image of the K-pop idol system, has been nominated for best new artist.

Is this a historic moment for K-pop? It depends on who you ask.

Areum Jeong, assistant professor of Korean Studies at Arizona State University and author of “K-pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today” says the majority of these nominations strike her more as “a de-territorialized, hybrid idea of K-pop,” instead of a recognition of K-pop.

While Rosé “was recruited and trained under the K-pop system, and while ‘APT.’ does contain some motifs from the Korean drinking game,” Jeong says, “the song does not feel like a localized K-pop production. ... Same with Katseye, who was trained and produced under HYBE but marketed more toward Western fans and listeners.”

Jeong says that both “APT.” and Katseye's “Gabriela” — both of which will go head-to-head with “Golden” in the pop duo/group performance category — “seem less K-pop than other K-pop songs that could have been nominated over the years.”

She argues the same is true for the music of “Kpop Demon Hunters.” “It is very similar to ‘APT.’ in that it takes inspiration and motif from Korean culture,” where “K-pop serves as an idea, a jumping-off point, or a motif, creating alternatives or new possibilities.”

Mathieu Berbiguier, a visiting assistant professor in Korean Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, points out that these nominations differ from past K-pop Grammy nominations because “Golden,” “APT.” and Katseye all feature “a mainstream popular music factor.”

That's the connection of a massive popular Netflix film (“Kpop Demon Hunters”), a collaboration with Bruno Mars (“APT.”), and Katseye's international membership and Netflix series (“Pop Star Academy: Katseye”), respectively.

“It tells you that K-pop is not considered as something niche anymore,” he says. “Now, when we think about pop music in general, we also think of K-pop as part of it.”

Bernie Cho, industry expert and president of the South Korean agency, the DFSB Kollective, agrees that there is an international, mainstream appeal to the nominees.

“All the nominees represent a sort of post-idol K-pop, in the sense that Rosé, the three ladies of HUNTR/X and Katseye represent the globalized version of K-pop, where the ‘K’ is very much there, but some people might argue it’s silent. The songs are not necessarily for Korea, by Korea, from Korea, just kind of beyond Korea,” he says. “It’s a celebration and testament to how diverse and dynamic K-pop has become.”

Why are these acts being recognized now? “For years, the Recording Academy has snubbed K-pop acts that have set record-breaking standards, such as BTS, Seventeen and Stray Kids,” argues Jeong. “I think one of the main reasons is that the Western world is still so resistant to non-English lyrics.”

“It does not surprise me that ‘APT.’ and Katseye’s music, which mainly contain English lyrics and seem less K-pop, were nominated,” she continues.

Berbiguier adds that “is a reflection of K-pop nowadays, like, trends: the fact that there’s less and less Korean and more and more English.”

There may be an additional factor at play. Tamar Herman, a music journalist and author of the “Notes on K-pop” newsletter, says many critics and industry voices found 2025 to be a lackluster year for new pop music in the US — a fact that was all but confirmed in Luminate's 2025 Mid-Year Report, which found that streams of new music had slowed compared to the year prior, potentially due to a dearth of megahits dominating the charts.

“Yes, it's a big moment for K-pop, but it is so overdue, these recognitions are more of a sign of how poorly the music industry in the US did this year that we're looking externally,” she says.

She argues that acknowledgment of Korean entertainment from US entertainment industries is more symbolic of US cultural dominance slipping than “K-pop being really good, because K-pop has been really good for a really long time,” she says. “This is all recognition of just global storytelling improvement, global taste-making improvement.”

“I don't want to diminish it,” she adds. “These are all universally friendly, accessible, good pop songs.”

And if they weren't, they wouldn't connect.

“It's very obvious that they’re not just performers. They're artists. They're singers. They're songwriters,” says Cho.

Will a K-pop artist win a Grammy for the first time this year? The jury is still out.

“I think it’s not even a matter of if or when. It’s going to be who and how many,” says Cho.

Others are less committal. “It's hard to predict,” says Berbiguier. “For me, it's more possible that ‘Golden’ gets one.”

“Yes and no,” offers Herman. For her, it depends on an evolving and fluid definition of K-pop. After all, HUNTR/X is a fictional girl group from an animated film that did not debut through the K-pop music industry system. Would a victory for their song “Golden” mean a victory of K-pop? That's a matter of opinion.

Entertainment

Warner Bros Rejects Revised Paramount Bid as Risky Leveraged Buyout

A drone view shows the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California, US, December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California, US, December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
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Warner Bros Rejects Revised Paramount Bid as Risky Leveraged Buyout

A drone view shows the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California, US, December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California, US, December 8, 2025. (Reuters)

Warner Bros Discovery's board has unanimously turned down Paramount Skydance's latest attempt to acquire the studio, saying its revised $108.4 billion hostile bid amounted to a risky leveraged buyout that investors should reject.

In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Warner ​Bros' board said Paramount's offer hinges on "an extraordinary amount of debt financing" that heightens the risk of closing. It reaffirmed its commitment to streaming giant Netflix's $82.7 billion deal for the film and television studio and other assets.

Paramount and Netflix have been vying to win control of Warner Bros, and with it, its prized film and television studios and its extensive content library. Its lucrative entertainment franchises include "Harry Potter", "Game of Thrones", "Friends" and the DC Comics universe, as well as coveted classic films such as "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane."

Paramount's financing plan would saddle the smaller Hollywood studio with $87 billion in debt once the acquisition closed, making it the largest leveraged buyout in history, the Warner Bros board told shareholders after voting against the $30-per-share cash offer on Tuesday.

The letter accompanied a 67-page amended merger filing where it laid out its case for rejecting Paramount's offer.

The ‌revised Paramount offer "remains inadequate particularly ‌given the insufficient value it would provide, the lack of certainty in PSKY’s ability ‌to ⁠complete ​the offer, ‌and the risks and costs borne by WBD shareholders should PSKY fail to complete the offer," the Warner Bros board wrote.

Paramount, which has a market value of about around $14 billion, proposed to use $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle's billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison and $54 billion in debt to finance the deal.

Its financing plan would further weaken its credit rating, which S&P Global already rates at junk levels, and strain its cash flow – heightening the risk that the deal will not close, the Warner Bros board said.

Netflix, which has offered $27.75 a share in cash and stock, has a $400 billion market value and investment-grade credit rating.

The decision keeps Warner Bros on track to pursue the deal with Netflix, even after Paramount amended its bid on ⁠December 22 to address the earlier concerns about the lack of a personal guarantee from Ellison, who is Paramount's controlling shareholder and the father of its CEO David Ellison.

Warner Bros shares ‌closed at $28.47 on Tuesday.

HIGH BREAK-UP FEES

Wednesday's filing said Warner Bros' board met on ‍December 23 to review Paramount's amended offer and noted some improvements, including ‍Ellison's personal guarantee and a higher reverse termination fee of $5.8 billion, but found "significant costs" associated with Paramount's bid compared with a Netflix ‍deal.

Warner Bros would be obligated to pay the streaming service a $2.8 billion termination fee for abandoning its merger agreement with Netflix, $1.5 billion in fees to its lenders and about $350 million in additional financing costs.

Altogether, Warner Bros said it would incur about $4.7 billion in additional costs to terminate its deal with Netflix, or $1.79 per share.

The board repeated some concerns it had laid out on December 17, such as that Paramount would impose operating restrictions on the studio ​that would harm its business and competitive position, including barring the planned spin-out of the company's cable television networks into a separate public company, Discovery Global.

Paramount offered "insufficient compensation" for the damage done to the studio's business, if the Paramount ⁠deal failed to close, Warner Bros said.

Paramount "repeatedly failed to submit the best proposal" to Warner Bros shareholders, the board wrote, "despite clear direction" on the deficiencies in its bid and potential solutions.

TILTING THE POWER BALANCE IN HOLLYWOOD

The jockeying for Warner Bros has become Hollywood's most closely watched takeover battle, as studios race to scale up amid intensifying competition from streaming platforms and volatile theatrical revenues.

While Netflix's offer has a lower headline value, analysts have said it presents a clearer financing structure and fewer execution risks than Paramount's bid for the entire company, including its cable TV business.

Harris Oakmark, Warner Bros' fifth-largest investor, previously told Reuters that Paramount's revised offer was not "sufficient," noting it was not enough to cover the breakup fee.

Paramount has argued its bid would face fewer regulatory obstacles, but a combined Paramount-Warner Bros entity would create a formidable competitor to industry leader Disney and merge two major television operators and two streaming services.

The valuation of Warner Bros' planned Discovery Global spin-off, which includes cable television networks CNN, TNT Sports and the Discovery+ streaming service, is seen as a major sticking point.

Analysts peg the cable channels' value at up to $4 per share, while Paramount has suggested just $1.

Lawmakers ‌from both parties have raised concerns about further consolidation in the media industry, and US President Donald Trump has said he plans to weigh in on the landmark acquisition.

Entertainment

Sydney Sweeney Box-Office Hit ‘The Housemaid’ to Get a Sequel

Sydney Sweeney. (AFP/Getty Images)
Sydney Sweeney. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Sydney Sweeney Box-Office Hit ‘The Housemaid’ to Get a Sequel

Sydney Sweeney. (AFP/Getty Images)
Sydney Sweeney. (AFP/Getty Images)

After just two and half weeks of release, the Sydney Sweeney box-office hit “The Housemaid” is getting a sequel.

Lionsgate announced Tuesday that it will start production on “The Housemaid's Secret” later this year. The film will be based on the second of Freida McFadden's bestselling trilogy of books.

“The Housemaid” has been a hit at the holiday box office, grossing more than $75 million and $133 million worldwide in 17 days of release. The psychological thriller directed by Paul Feig cost a modest $35 million to make.

Lionsgate said “The Housemaid's Secret” is being developed with the aim of Feig and Sweeney returning, including Sweeney as an executive producer. “The Housemaid” screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine is writing the sequel.

“It’s clear from both the global box office and from the outpouring on social media that audiences have responded strongly — and audibly — to the totally unique and truly theatrical experience of The Housemaid and want to know what happens next,” said Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman, in a statement.

“The Housemaid” has handed Sweeney a major box-office victory after a disappointing result for her awards-hopeful boxing drama “Christy” in November. That film grossed only $2 million worldwide. In “The Housemaid,” Sweeney stars a live-in housemaid hired by a wealthy couple played by Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar.