U2’s Carnaval De Luz Is Out – With Dolly Parton’s Final Recording, Torn

14th November 2026

Updated 14 Nov 2026, 08:40 · First published 14 Nov 2026

U2’s new album Carnaval De Luz is out now – and it closes with Torn, a duet featuring the last recording Dolly Parton ever made. The country legend, who died in August, recorded her vocals in Nashville in June, and Bono says she “sang her heart out” for the track.

U2 – Carnaval De Luz

Released

Friday 13 November 2026 (Island Records)

Album

U2’s 16th studio album – 12 tracks plus an iTunes bonus

Producer

Jacknife Lee, with additional production by Ryan Tedder

Dolly Parton duet

Torn – recorded in Nashville, June 2026

On TV

U2: Live on the BBC at Tate Modern – BBC Two and iPlayer, Saturday 28 November

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The official lyric video for Torn by U2 and Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton’s final song

Torn is a tender country song about broken family ties, written by U2 with Parton and Johnny McDaid and featuring Daniel Lanois on pedal steel. Parton died on 25 August after a brief battle with cancer, aged 80, and the track is her final recorded vocal performance.

Bono has described the experience as “very sobering”, saying: “It’s very moving to have had these intimacies with such a figure.”

Carnaval De Luz tracklist

Go (Carnaval De Luz)
La Reina
Street of Dreams
The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)
Superficiality
If the World Is at War We Better Not Be
Silencio
The Greatest Show on Earth
Glorify
Midnight Sunshine
Can’t Stop Us Now
Torn (featuring Dolly Parton)
Get Back to Now (iTunes bonus track)

What are the reviews saying?

Early reviews have been warm. RTÉ’s Alan Corr called it the band’s freshest and most immediate-sounding record in years, praising a stronger second half that includes Glorify, Midnight Sunshine and Can’t Stop Us Now, and singling out the Rosalía tribute The Mirror Maker as one of its most soaring moments. He described Torn as a moving, fragile closer.

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U2: “Our brand new 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, is officially out now”

U2 in London in 2027

The album launches The Greatest Show On Earth world tour, which includes two nights at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 18 and 19 June 2027 with Wolf Alice as special guests. Before that, fans can watch U2: Live on the BBC at Tate Modern on BBC Two and iPlayer on Saturday 28 November.

Sources: U2 / Island Records; Dolly Parton (official); RTÉ.