"
Beautiful Day" is a song by the
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. It is the first track from their 2000 album,
All That You Can't Leave BehindAll That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by rock band U2. It was released on 30 October 2000 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States...
, and it was released as the album's lead
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date. Like many tracks from
All That You Can't Leave Behind, "Beautiful Day" harkens back to the group's past sound. The tone of
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
's guitar was a subject of debate amongst the band members, as they disagreed on whether he should use a sound similar to that from their early career in the 1980s. Lead vocalist
BonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
explained that the upbeat track is about losing everything but still finding joy in what you have.
The song received positive reviews, and it became their fourth number-one single in the UK and their first number-one in the Netherlands. The song peaked at number 21 in the United States, the band's highest position since "
Discothèque"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
" in 1997. In 2001, the song won three Grammy Awards for
Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
,
Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
, and
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalThe Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
. The group has played "Beautiful Day" at every one of their concerts since the song's 2001 live debut on the
Elevation TourThe Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, the tour visited arenas in 2001. After the band's previous two extravagant stadium tours, Zoo TV and PopMart, the Elevation Tour returned the...
.
Writing and recording
"Beautiful Day" was written in several stages, originating from a composition called "Always" (later released as a B-side) that the band created in a small room at Hanover Quay Studio. However, they were initially unimpressed with it, as guitarist
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
said, "As a straight rock song, it was pretty ho-hum." After lead vocalist
BonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
came up with the "beautiful day" lyric, the song went in a different direction. The Edge's backing vocals for the chorus were improvised one night with co-producer
Daniel LanoisDaniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
, an addition he called "the key" to the chorus and its new lyrics.
During the recording process for the
All That You Can't Leave BehindAll That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by rock band U2. It was released on 30 October 2000 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States...
album, the band decided to distance themselves from their 1990s experimentation with
electronic dance musicElectronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
in favour of a "return to the traditional U2 sound". At the same time, the band was looking for a more forward-looking sound. This led to debate amongst the band when The Edge was playing the song on his
Gibson ExplorerThe Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar that made its debut in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its sibling, the Flying V. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design which years later Gibson marketed under the name Futura.The...
guitar with a tone used in much of their early material up to their 1983 album
War. Bono was particularly resistant to the guitar tone The Edge was playing with, but The Edge ultimately won the disagreement. As he explains, "It was because we were coming up with some innovative music that I felt a license to use some signature guitar sounds." Although the group wished to establish a more stripped-down, conventional sound, one of the song's breakthroughs came after co-
producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Brian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
provided "electronification of the chords with a
beat boxA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
" and a
synthesisedA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
string part to the beginning. The Edge believes the contrast between these more electronic qualities of the track and his backing vocals with Lanois benefited the song.
The
mixingIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
process proved difficult, lasting two weeks. Several changes were made during this period; Bono added a guitar part that played the song's chord progression to double the bass, an addition that "solidified everything", according to The Edge. The Edge also changed the bass line in the chorus and converted a keyboard idea of Bono's into a guitar part that added a "sour quality" to balance the track's positivity. Lanois described the completed song as "one of those little gifts where you think, my god, we've got it!"
Composition
"Beautiful Day" is played at a
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 136 beats per minute in a 4/4
time signatureThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. The song opens with a
reverberatingReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
electric piano playing over a string synthesiser, introducing the chord progression of A–
Bm7B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
–D–G–D
9–A. This progression continues throughout the verses and chorus, the changes not always one to a
barIn musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
. After the opening line, "The heart is a bloom", the rhythm enters, comprising repeated eighth notes on
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and a
drum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
. In the first verse, Bono's vocals are in the front in the
mixIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and their production is dry. At 0:29, a guitar
arpeggioAn arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
pattern by The Edge first appears, echoing across channels. The verses are relatively quiet until the chorus, when The Edge begins playing the song's guitar riff and Mullen's drums enter. During the chorus, Bono sings in a restrained manner, contrasting with The Edge's "loud, bellowing" background vocals, a sustained cry of "day".
After the second chorus, a bridge section begins at 1:55, playing the chord progression F
{{About|the song by
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
}}
"
Beautiful Day" is a song by the
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. It is the first track from their 2000 album,
All That You Can't Leave BehindAll That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by rock band U2. It was released on 30 October 2000 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States...
, and it was released as the album's lead
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date. Like many tracks from
All That You Can't Leave Behind, "Beautiful Day" harkens back to the group's past sound. The tone of
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
's guitar was a subject of debate amongst the band members, as they disagreed on whether he should use a sound similar to that from their early career in the 1980s. Lead vocalist
BonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
explained that the upbeat track is about losing everything but still finding joy in what you have.
The song received positive reviews, and it became their fourth number-one single in the UK and their first number-one in the Netherlands. The song peaked at number 21 in the United States, the band's highest position since "
Discothèque"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
" in 1997. In 2001, the song won three Grammy Awards for
Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
,
Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
, and
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalThe Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
. The group has played "Beautiful Day" at every one of their concerts since the song's 2001 live debut on the
Elevation TourThe Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, the tour visited arenas in 2001. After the band's previous two extravagant stadium tours, Zoo TV and PopMart, the Elevation Tour returned the...
.
Writing and recording
"Beautiful Day" was written in several stages, originating from a composition called "Always" (later released as a B-side) that the band created in a small room at Hanover Quay Studio. However, they were initially unimpressed with it, as guitarist
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
said, "As a straight rock song, it was pretty ho-hum." After lead vocalist
BonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
came up with the "beautiful day" lyric, the song went in a different direction. The Edge's backing vocals for the chorus were improvised one night with co-producer
Daniel LanoisDaniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
, an addition he called "the key" to the chorus and its new lyrics.
During the recording process for the
All That You Can't Leave BehindAll That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by rock band U2. It was released on 30 October 2000 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States...
album, the band decided to distance themselves from their 1990s experimentation with
electronic dance musicElectronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
in favour of a "return to the traditional U2 sound". At the same time, the band was looking for a more forward-looking sound. This led to debate amongst the band when The Edge was playing the song on his
Gibson ExplorerThe Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar that made its debut in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its sibling, the Flying V. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design which years later Gibson marketed under the name Futura.The...
guitar with a tone used in much of their early material up to their 1983 album
War. Bono was particularly resistant to the guitar tone The Edge was playing with, but The Edge ultimately won the disagreement. As he explains, "It was because we were coming up with some innovative music that I felt a license to use some signature guitar sounds." Although the group wished to establish a more stripped-down, conventional sound, one of the song's breakthroughs came after co-
producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Brian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
provided "electronification of the chords with a
beat boxA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
" and a
synthesisedA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
string part to the beginning. The Edge believes the contrast between these more electronic qualities of the track and his backing vocals with Lanois benefited the song.
The
mixingIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
process proved difficult, lasting two weeks. Several changes were made during this period; Bono added a guitar part that played the song's chord progression to double the bass, an addition that "solidified everything", according to The Edge. The Edge also changed the bass line in the chorus and converted a keyboard idea of Bono's into a guitar part that added a "sour quality" to balance the track's positivity. Lanois described the completed song as "one of those little gifts where you think, my god, we've got it!"
Composition
"Beautiful Day" is played at a
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 136 beats per minute in a 4/4
time signatureThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. The song opens with a
reverberatingReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
electric piano playing over a string synthesiser, introducing the chord progression of A–
Bm7B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
–D–G–D
9–A. This progression continues throughout the verses and chorus, the changes not always one to a
barIn musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
. After the opening line, "The heart is a bloom", the rhythm enters, comprising repeated eighth notes on
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and a
drum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
. In the first verse, Bono's vocals are in the front in the
mixIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and their production is dry. At 0:29, a guitar
arpeggioAn arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
pattern by The Edge first appears, echoing across channels. The verses are relatively quiet until the chorus, when The Edge begins playing the song's guitar riff and Mullen's drums enter. During the chorus, Bono sings in a restrained manner, contrasting with The Edge's "loud, bellowing" background vocals, a sustained cry of "day".
After the second chorus, a bridge section begins at 1:55, playing the chord progression F
{{About|the song by
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
}}
"
Beautiful Day" is a song by the
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. It is the first track from their 2000 album,
All That You Can't Leave BehindAll That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by rock band U2. It was released on 30 October 2000 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States...
, and it was released as the album's lead
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date. Like many tracks from
All That You Can't Leave Behind, "Beautiful Day" harkens back to the group's past sound. The tone of
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
's guitar was a subject of debate amongst the band members, as they disagreed on whether he should use a sound similar to that from their early career in the 1980s. Lead vocalist
BonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
explained that the upbeat track is about losing everything but still finding joy in what you have.
The song received positive reviews, and it became their fourth number-one single in the UK and their first number-one in the Netherlands. The song peaked at number 21 in the United States, the band's highest position since "
Discothèque"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
" in 1997. In 2001, the song won three Grammy Awards for
Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
,
Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
, and
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalThe Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
. The group has played "Beautiful Day" at every one of their concerts since the song's 2001 live debut on the
Elevation TourThe Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, the tour visited arenas in 2001. After the band's previous two extravagant stadium tours, Zoo TV and PopMart, the Elevation Tour returned the...
.
Writing and recording
"Beautiful Day" was written in several stages, originating from a composition called "Always" (later released as a B-side) that the band created in a small room at Hanover Quay Studio. However, they were initially unimpressed with it, as guitarist
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
said, "As a straight rock song, it was pretty ho-hum." After lead vocalist
BonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
came up with the "beautiful day" lyric, the song went in a different direction. The Edge's backing vocals for the chorus were improvised one night with co-producer
Daniel LanoisDaniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
, an addition he called "the key" to the chorus and its new lyrics.
During the recording process for the
All That You Can't Leave BehindAll That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by rock band U2. It was released on 30 October 2000 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States...
album, the band decided to distance themselves from their 1990s experimentation with
electronic dance musicElectronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
in favour of a "return to the traditional U2 sound". At the same time, the band was looking for a more forward-looking sound. This led to debate amongst the band when The Edge was playing the song on his
Gibson ExplorerThe Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar that made its debut in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its sibling, the Flying V. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design which years later Gibson marketed under the name Futura.The...
guitar with a tone used in much of their early material up to their 1983 album
War. Bono was particularly resistant to the guitar tone The Edge was playing with, but The Edge ultimately won the disagreement. As he explains, "It was because we were coming up with some innovative music that I felt a license to use some signature guitar sounds." Although the group wished to establish a more stripped-down, conventional sound, one of the song's breakthroughs came after co-
producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Brian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
provided "electronification of the chords with a
beat boxA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
" and a
synthesisedA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
string part to the beginning. The Edge believes the contrast between these more electronic qualities of the track and his backing vocals with Lanois benefited the song.
The
mixingIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
process proved difficult, lasting two weeks. Several changes were made during this period; Bono added a guitar part that played the song's chord progression to double the bass, an addition that "solidified everything", according to The Edge. The Edge also changed the bass line in the chorus and converted a keyboard idea of Bono's into a guitar part that added a "sour quality" to balance the track's positivity. Lanois described the completed song as "one of those little gifts where you think, my god, we've got it!"
Composition
"Beautiful Day" is played at a
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 136 beats per minute in a 4/4
time signatureThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. The song opens with a
reverberatingReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
electric piano playing over a string synthesiser, introducing the chord progression of A–
Bm7B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
–D–G–D
9–A. This progression continues throughout the verses and chorus, the changes not always one to a
barIn musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
. After the opening line, "The heart is a bloom", the rhythm enters, comprising repeated eighth notes on
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and a
drum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
. In the first verse, Bono's vocals are in the front in the
mixIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and their production is dry. At 0:29, a guitar
arpeggioAn arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
pattern by The Edge first appears, echoing across channels. The verses are relatively quiet until the chorus, when The Edge begins playing the song's guitar riff and Mullen's drums enter. During the chorus, Bono sings in a restrained manner, contrasting with The Edge's "loud, bellowing" background vocals, a sustained cry of "day".
After the second chorus, a bridge section begins at 1:55, playing the chord progression F{{music–G–D–A, heightening the track's emotion as Bono sings "Touch me / Take me to that other place". The bridge links to the middle eight with a section in which The Edge repeats a modulated two-note phrase on guitar, beginning at 2:08. After seven seconds, the rhythm breaks and the middle eight begins. The chords in this section follow a progression of
EmE minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
–D–Em–G–D–Em–G–D–A, implying a
keyIn music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of
D majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
. The bass plays a G note beneath the Em chord, implying a chord change does not occur. The lyrics for this section are set in
spaceSpace is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
above Earth and describe the sights that one witnesses, including China, the
Grand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, tuna fleets, and
BedouinThe Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
fires. After the third chorus and a return of the bridge section, the song suddenly ends in a "low-key" fashion; most of the instrumentation stops and a regeneration of a guitar signal drifts back and forth between channels before fading out.
According to Bono, "Beautiful Day" is about "a man who has lost everything, but finds joy in what he still has."
BlenderBlender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
interpreted the song and the line "it's a beautiful day" as "a vision of abandoning material things and finding grace in the world itself". In his 2001 book
Inside Classic Rock Tracks, Rikki Rooksby described the lyrics as having a "fuzzy" quality and covering an "ambiguous subject area between religion and romance". He found "grace and salvation" in the verses' lyrics and believed that despite not explicitly explaining how to emotionally persevere, the song has "so many suggestive images that it's enough".
In an episode of the Sundance Channel's
Iconoclast,
R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
vocalist
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
said, "I love that song. I wish I'd written it, and they know I wish I'd written it. It makes me dance; it makes me angry that I didn't write it."
Release
"Beautiful Day" was first single released from the
All That You Can't Leave Behind album. The song reached number one on the singles charts in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and also boosted sales of
All That You Can't Leave Behind.{{citation needed|date=February 2011}} "Beautiful Day" is included on the compilations
The Best of 1990-2000The Best of 1990–2000 is the second greatest hits compilation album by Irish rock band U2. The album was released on 5 November 2002 by Island Records, except in the United States where the album was released on the Interscope label as a single-disc CD compilation...
and
U218 SinglesU218 Singles is a greatest hits-style compilation album by the Irish rock band U2, released in November 2006. It contains 18 songs: 16 of their most successful and popular singles, "The Saints Are Coming" and "Window in the Skies"...
. A version of the song known as the Quincy and Sonance Mix appears on U2's EP
7"Always" is an early version of "Beautiful Day". "Big Girls Are Best" was a leftover from the Pop sessions. This Influx mix of "Elevation" was used to open shows on the Elevation Tour. The single version of "Walk On", which was released on the single with the blue cover, was also featured in...
.
Music video
The song's video showed the band walking around in
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
'
Charles de Gaulle International AirportParis-Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport , in the Paris area, is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's largest airport. It is named after Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic...
, with scenes of the band playing on a runway interspliced with large jets taking off and landing overhead.
An alternative video for the song, shot in
ÈzeÈze is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in southeastern France, not far from the city of Nice.-History:The area surrounding Èze was first populated around 2000 BC as a commune situated near Mount Bastide. The earliest occurrence of the name "Èze" can be found in the maritime books of...
,
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, was featured on
U2 Exclusive CD!, the bonus DVD from
The Best of 1990–2000, and the
U218 VideosU218 Videos is a music video compilation DVD by U2 from 2006, released the same day as its compilation album, U218 Singles. The compilation features their most popular videos from "New Year's Day" in 1983 to "The Saints Are Coming" in 2006...
DVD. A month before the album release, a live version of the song was filmed in Dublin on the rooftop of
The Clarence hotel. It is featured on the extra features of the
Elevation 2001: Live from Boston DVD (although it is marked on the DVD as "
Toronto, CanadaToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
").
Live performances
Ever since its tour debut at the first date of the
Elevation TourThe Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, the tour visited arenas in 2001. After the band's previous two extravagant stadium tours, Zoo TV and PopMart, the Elevation Tour returned the...
on 24 March 2001 in Miami, "Beautiful Day" has been played at every single full tour concert as well as a number of promotional appearances and concerts not connected with a tour. On the Elevation Tour, "Beautiful Day" was normally the second song played though it did open one show and was played late in the setlist at two concerts. During the
Vertigo TourThe Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the band visited arenas and stadiums from 2005 through 2006. The Vertigo Tour consisted of five legs that alternated between indoor arena shows in...
, it appeared in the first half of the main set. It is featured on the live films
Elevation 2001: Live from Boston,
U2 Go Home: Live from Slane CastleU2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland is a concert video release by rock band U2 from the European leg of their Elevation Tour. Recorded on 1 September 2001 at Slane Castle on the band's featured stop in County Meath, Ireland, it was released on DVD in November 2003. Although Slane Concerts...
, and
Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago.
The song was also performed on stage during U2's set at the
Live 8Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert in
Hyde ParkHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. with slightly different lyrics in the bridge that mentioned the different cities where the Live 8 concerts took place. It was performed live in New Orleans for
Super Bowl XXXVISuper Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
and for the
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
first game in New Orleans since
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. During the band's five-night stand on
The Late Show with David Letterman to promote their album
No Line on the Horizon in March 2009, "Beautiful Day" was the only song not from that album that was played.
The song was also used during much of the
360° TourThe U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage...
. During the final leg of the tour in 2011, a recorded video from
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Mark Kelly was used as a lead-in to the song. Kelly had previously chosen the song for a wake up call on
Space ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
flight
STS-134STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission marked the 25th and final flight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander...
.
Critical response
"Beautiful Day" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Olaf Tyaransen of
Hot PressHot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
called the song "surprisingly straightforward but still infectiously catchy", while the magazine's Peter Murphy said the track broke the band's trend of releasing lead singles that broke new sonic ground but were not the best songs from their respective albums. Murphy called the song a "patented U2 cavalry charge from
U2 3Three, also known as U2 3, is the first release by rock band U2. A three-song EP recorded and released in 1979, it was produced by the band with Chas de Whalley and available in Ireland when released.-History:...
through
The Joshua TreeThe Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...
to
Jubilee 2000Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
".
The GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said the song "strikes an appropriate note of putting the past behind you and getting on with the rest of your life". The review praised the track for its "bustling beat", "contagious chorus and vintage guitar chimes from Edge".
Robert HilburnRobert Hilburn is a pop music critic and author. As critic and music editor of the Los Angeles Times from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles have appeared in hundreds of publications around the world...
of the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called the track proof that the band's music had once again been "graced by the glorious textures of Edge's guitar, and [that] Bono has dropped the masks".
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the song "poised, then pouncing" and said it was one of many from the album that has a "resonance that doesn't fade with repeated listening".
The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
was critical of the song, saying it was not "driven by the fire of true believers", but rather by the band's need for a hit, and that it was "a move to solidify a base that may already have slipped away".
David BrowneDavid Browne is an American journalist and author. He was the resident music critic at Entertainment Weekly between 1990 and 2006. He was an editor at Music & Sound Output magazine and a music critic at the New York Daily News before EW...
of
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
was very receptive to "Beautiful Day", noting that the chorus "erupts into a euphoric bellow so uplifting" that it was played during a television broadcast of the
2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. Browne called the "classic U2 arrangement" of the song "corny", but said, "damn if it isn't effective". He said the song made him reminiscent of the band's glory days in the late 1980s when so much popular music sought to be "sonically and emotionally uplifting".
Edna GundersenEdna Gundersen is an American journalist who is a longtime music writer and critic for USA Today.Gundersen grew up in El Paso, Texas. She attained a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and then wrote features and entertainment news for the El Paso Times from 1977 to 1987...
of
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
was enthusiastic about the song, calling it "euphoric" and suggesting it was "breathing fresh air into playlists choking on synthetic pop and seething rap-rock". The
Detroit Free PressThe Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
was critical of the album for being pedestrian but called "Beautiful Day" one of the album's "flashes of triumph", describing it as "a gloriously busy, layered song that recalls Bono's lyrically astute
Achtung BabyAchtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991 on Island Records. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate alternative...
days".
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
published a negative review of the song after its single release that suggested
John LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's assassin,
Mark David ChapmanMark David Chapman is an American prison inmate who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He committed the crime as Lennon and Yoko Ono were outside of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman aimed five shots at Lennon, hitting him four times in his back...
, should be released from prison to shoot Bono, a statement that
Hot Press called "poisonous" and "tasteless". The publication was more receptive to the song after the release of
All That You Can't Leave Behind, saying the album "eas[es] in with the heat-hazy optimism" of the track.
Accolades and legacy
"Beautiful Day" finished in 4th place on the "Best Singles" list from
The Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
{{'}}s 2000
Pazz & JopThe Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics' poll. The song won three
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s in 2001—
Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
,
Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
, and
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalThe Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
. In 2003, a special edition issue of
QQ is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, titled "1001 Best Songs Ever", placed "Beautiful Day" at number 747 on its list of the greatest songs. In 2005,
BlenderBlender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
ranked the song at number 63 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". In 2009, in an end-of-decade rankings list,
Rolling Stone listed "Beautiful Day" as the ninth-best song and readers ranked it as the third-best single of the 2000s. In 2010,
Rolling Stone updated its list of "
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
" and placed "Beautiful Day" at number 345, making it one of eight U2 songs on the list. In 2011,
VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
listed "Beautiful Day" at number 15 on its list of
The 100 Greatest Songs of '00sThe Greatest is a VH1 series. Each episode counts down either songs, albums, music videos, moments, musicians, or celebrities of a particular category.-Episodes:-References:...
.
Kurt NilsenThe following is a discography of albums and singles released by Norwegian music artist Kurt Nilsen.-Albums:-Singles:-Other releases:*1998 Shoe...
, the Norwegian Idol winner sang it during the
World IdolWorld Idol was the title of a one-off international version of the television show Pop Idol, featuring winners of the various national Idol shows around the world competing against each other.The performance show was held on Christmas Day 2003, with the results show held on New Year's Day...
competition on 25 December 2003 and won the competition with the song. This was the only World Idol title and was not repeated in consequent years. In 2004,
Sanctus RealSanctus Real is an American Christian rock band formed in Toledo, Ohio, in 1996. The group is composed of Matt Hammitt , Chris Rohman , Dan Gartley , Pete Prevost , and Mark Graalman...
recorded a version on the album
In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa. In 2007, the German guitarist
Axel Rudi PellAxel Rudi Pell is a German guitar player, playing melodic heavy metal. He started off with the band Steeler before leaving to start his solo career in 1989 with the eponymous band Axel Rudi Pell...
recorded his version on his album
Diamonds UnlockedDiamonds Unlocked is the twelfth album by German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell. It is a cover album released in September/October 2007. The album consists of 10 cover tracks and 1 self-written introduction track...
. In 2008, the song was chosen to play over the end titles of the children's film
Nim's IslandNim's Island is a 2008 Australian adventure-fantasy film directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin and starring Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, and Gerard Butler. The story is based on the book Nim's Island by Wendy Orr. A young girl, Nim, seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure...
, starring
Abigail BreslinAbigail Kathleen Breslin is an American teen actress. She is one of the youngest actresses ever to be nominated for an Academy Award....
,
Jodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
and
Gerard ButlerGerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
. In 2010, a cover of "Beautiful Day" was released by
Lee DeWyzeLeon James "Lee" DeWyze, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the ninth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a solo career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So I'm Told in 2007 and...
as his first single following his victory in the
ninth seasonThe ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was...
of
American IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. DeWyze commented "I like that song a lot (...) Is it something that is necessarily in my genre? No. There were songs on the table, and I went with the one I thought would represent the moment the best." The cover reached number 24 on the
Billboard Hot 100. "Beautiful Day" was also covered by 2010
X Factor Australia winner
Altiyan ChildsAltiyan Juric , best known by his stage name Altiyan Childs, is an Australian singer-songwriter. He was the winner of the second season of The X Factor Australia in 2010. After X Factor ended, Childs subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia...
for his
self-titled debut album-Release history:...
.
Track listings
{{track list
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|all_music=U2
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=8:12
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=Beautiful Day
|length2=4:06
}}
{{track list
|headline=UK cassette
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=8:12
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=Summer Rain
|length2=4:06
}}
{{track list
|headline=CD 1
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=11:58
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=Summer Rain
|length2=4:06
|title3=Always
|length3=3:46
}}
{{tracklist
|headline=CD 2
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=11:59
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=
Discothèque"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
|note2=
live from Mexico CitySelections from the Mexico City concert were released on the live album Hasta la Vista Baby! U2 Live from Mexico City. The album was and released exclusively to members of U2's fan club magazine, Propaganda, in 2000. It features 14 songs from the band's 25-song performance.-Track listing:...
|length2=5:10
|title3=If You Wear That Velvet Dress
|note3=live from Mexico City
|length3=2:43
}}
{{track list
|headline=Australian CD 1
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=18:28
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=Summer Rain
|length2=4:06
|title3=Always
|length3=3:46
|title4=Last Night on Earth
|note4=live from Mexico City – video
|length4=6:30
}}
{{tracklist
|headline=Australian CD 2
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=18:29
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=
Discothèque"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
|note2=live from Mexico City
|length2=5:10
|title3=If You Wear That Velvet Dress
|note3=live from Mexico City
|length3=2:43
|title4=Last Night on Earth
|note4=live from Mexico City
|length4=6:30
}}
{{track list
|headline=Japan CD
|collapsed=yes
|total_length=19:53
|title1=Beautiful Day
|length1=4:06
|title2=Summer Rain
|length2=4:06
|title3=Always
|length3=3:46
|title4=
Discothèque"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
|note4=live from Mexico City
|length4=5:10
|title5=If You Wear That Velvet Dress
|note5=live from Mexico City
|length5=2:43
}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
| Chart (2000) |
Peak
position |
| Australian ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
|
1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart |
7 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...
(FlandersThe Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
) |
29 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...
(Wallonia) |
23 |
| Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
|
1 |
| Canadian RPM Rock Report The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie...
|
1 |
| Dutch MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
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| Finland Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts is a national record chart in Finland composed by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.The singles chart was started in January 1991 as Radiomafian lista and was broadcast on the radio station Radiomafia of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE. This chart is based on a...
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| French Singles Chart The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
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| German Singles Chart The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
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| Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
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| Italian Singles Chart The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy....
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| Chart (2000) |
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New Zealand Singles ChartThe Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
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| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
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| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
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| Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
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| UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
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| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
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| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
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| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream |
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| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Tracks Top 40 Tracks is a defunct airplay chart from Billboard Magazine. It was created in 1998, when Billboard Magazine changed the airplay profile of The Hot 100 Airplay to include more R&B, Country, and Rock stations to its profile . To preserve the notion of the former chart, Top 40 Tracks was...
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| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play |
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See also