Bruce Springsteen Apologizes for Turning Down Bono U2's Song for an Ad

Bruce Springsteen. (Photo: Instagram @springsteen)

JAKARTA - Legendary musician from the United States, Bruce Springsteen, publicly apologized to U2 vocalist Bono.

This regret was triggered by Springsteen's past decision to refuse to grant permission to use his song for a commercial advertisement for the Gap clothing brand.

The ad is actually a collaborative project with Bono's AIDS relief foundation, RED.

Springsteen's apology to Bono began with their presence at the Tribeca Festival, which was held in Lower Manhattan, New York.

At that time, Bono was preparing to award Springsteen with a humanitarian award, the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award. In the midst of his speech, Bono recalled his long-standing efforts to seduce the rocker to bring the social sensitivity of folk musician Woody Guthrie to the realm of television commercials.

Bono recounted how he praised Springsteen's 2008 release "Girls in Their Summer Clothes". According to Bono, the song is one of the best pop songs ever and is perfect for promoting the clothing line of his non-profit foundation. However, at that time Springsteen immediately rejected it.

Hearing the story, Bono, the singer nicknamed The Boss, immediately responded with regret that triggered laughter from the audience.

"That was a big mistake. I should have said yes," Springsteen said, quoted by Variety, Sunday, June 14.

The 74-year-old musician admitted that the song was one of his personal favorite works, even though the audience might not have paid much attention to it.

"It's just a song I love so much. Damn, I still think back: 'Bono asked you to put this song in a TV commercial.' I should have really done it! People would hear it like a hit song, you know? So I have to apologize," added Springsteen.

Before the moment, Tribeca Festival founder Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal first introduced Bono to the stage. Bono then praised the legend of the "Born to Run" singer, calling him a representation of America itself.

"Bruce Springsteen is America. Bruce makes poetry out of the voices of the people and aligns the poetry into music. We honor him tonight as a musician, poet, activist, and a patriot," said Bono.

In addition to discussing past regrets, the two musicians also briefly discussed voicing political resistance through a music tour.

Springsteen himself is known for vocalizing social criticism, including through his latest protest song highlighting the immigration issue, "Streets of Minneapolis".

The Tribeca Festival was closed with a performance by Patti Smith who performed the song "People Have the Power" in honor of Springsteen.

Bono and Springsteen even got on stage to fill in the background vocals in the chorus, before Springsteen finally spoiled the fans with an acoustic performance of the song "Land of Hope and Dreams".