U2 on ‘Mandela’ Oscar Nomination: ‘Beyond Our Wildest Teenage Dreams’

It’s been nearly five years since U2 released No Line on the Horizon, their last proper studio album — but the band has resurged in the last several months thanks in part to their song “Ordinary Love” from the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Yesterday, they received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and the recognition brought out a mix of emotions.

“We are humbled and honored that ‘Ordinary Love’ has been nominated for an Oscar,” U2 said in a statement. “It was a privilege to be asked to write a song for this extraordinary film, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, and to help tell this extraordinary love story. We hav been working for this great man since we were teenagers and for our song to be recognized in this way by the Academy is beyond our wildest teenage dreams.”

This past Sunday, the band took home the Golden Globe for Best Original Song; this Oscar nomination is the second in their long career — they previously were nominated for “The Hands That Built America” from Martin Scorsese’s 2002 movie Gangs of New York. They lost to Eminem for “Lose Yourself,” the song he wrote for 8 Mile. U2 is currently prepping a new studio album, reportedly due out this year.