Surprise! U2 unexpectedly dropped its first new record in five years Tuesday and is giving it away for free on iTunes.
The band unveiled the new album "Songs of Innocence" at Apple's big event in Cupertino, announcing that anybody with an iTunes account could download it free immediately.
“This will be the largest album release in history,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said.
U2 made the big reveal at an Apple event full of them, where the long-time Irish rock band performed their new single "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)," dedicated to the late punk icon.
"Songs of Innocence" will be free of charge until Oct. 13, and people without an iTunes account can still sign up to get it.
The record will also be available on iTunes Radio and Beats Music for streaming starting Wednesday, and it will be released beyond iTunes on Oct. 14.
U2's performance came after Apple revealed its latest products, the Apple Watch and two new iPhone 6 models.
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There had been much speculation over whether the band would release an album earlier this year when news leaked about the band potentially postponing the highly anticipated new LP's release to 2015.
Beyonce dropped her self-titled LP as a surprise on iTunes in December, and it became one of the top-selling albums of 2014. Others, like Kid Cudi and Wolfmother, released surprise albums this year to little notice.
A news release says "Songs of Innocence" is an exploration of U2's influences from the 1970s and '80s with themes of "home and family, relationships and discovery." The album is produced by Danger Mouse with Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood.
