U2 delivered the first-ever televised performance from the Sphere in Las Vegas during the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 4. Nearly a month before the band’s U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency ends on March 2, the band shared a glimpse around the spherical visuals of their Vegas show with a performance of their 2023 single “Atomic City.”
Though the band didn’t have a show booked at the Sphere during the Grammys, they performed in their residence space before remotely presenting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album to Taylor Swift for Midnights, following their performance.
Surrounded by 167,000 speakers and 16,000 wraparound LED screens, the band’s residency setlists have featured the entirety of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, along with songs pulled from their 40-plus year catalog, including “With or Without You,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Beautiful Day,” and more, along with covers, including Crowded House’s 1986 “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”
Videos by American Songwriter
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U2’s Sphere residency kicked off in September 2023, a day after the band released “Atomic City,” which was inspired by the entertainment and tourism boom in Las Vegas throughout the 1950s and the spirit of legends like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
Directed by Ben Kutchins, the music video for “Atomic City” was partially filmed along Fremont Street in Vegas where the band previously filmed the video for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking” in April 1987 during their Joshua Tree Tour.
Produced by Jacknife Lee and Steve Lillywhite and recorded at Sound City in Los Angeles, “Atomic City” follows up U2’s 2021 single “You Saved My Life,” featured in the animated film Sing 2 and the band’s 2023 release Songs of Surrender—a collection of 40 songs from the band’s catalog reimagined.
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The band joined U2 fellow GRAMMYS 2024 performers Billy Joel, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Travis Scott, Luke Combs, and Burna Boy.
Photo: Sam Jones / Courtesy of Full Coverage Media
