U2, ‘Tonight Show’ Call on Fans for Lip Sync Challenge
You too could sing along with U2 during the band’s stint on The Tonight Show next week, with host Jimmy Fallon calling on fans to submit videos of themselves lip-syncing “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone),” from the band’s latest record, Songs of Innocence. A compilation of those videos will then be incorporated into a live performance next week.
Fallon encouraged fans to get creative with their clips and said they can be uploaded either to YouTube with the title “Tonight Show U2 Lip Sync,” or via the “Challenges” section on the The Tonight Show app. The lyrics to “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” lyrics are also available on The Tonight Show‘s blog.
U2 famously helped Fallon kick off his Tonight Show tenure, performing their charity single “Invisible” on the roof of Rockefeller Center, and then sitting down with the Roots for a unique rendition of “Ordinary Love,” their Oscar-nominated song from the biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
At the time, Bono and the Edge told Fallon they were still at work on the album that would become Songs of Innocence. Seventh months later, they surprised everyone by releasing it as a free gift to everyone with an iTunes account. The physical edition — which features the striking cover of drummer Larry Mullen Jr. shielding his 18-year-old son — was later released in October.
In a recent Rolling Stone cover story, U2 talked about everything from their imminent follow-up LP, Songs of Experience to the backlash that met the unique release of Songs of Innocence: “It’s like we put a bottle of milk in people’s fridge that they weren’t asking for,” Bono said, cheekily. “It is a gross invasion! But it was kind of an accident. The milk was supposed to be in the cloud. It was supposed to be on the front doorstep.”