I'd be quietly flattered if some guy in a teen pop-punk boyband told me I was a big influence on his career in front of screaming, foaming at the mouth teeny-fans.
Jared Leno's comments spoke volumes: He is clearly influenced by U2 and it is evident in his band's music. 30 Seconds to Mars have a big alternative-ish teen/20's appeal and reach places U2 don't anymore. Yes, there were embarrassing giggles when Leno mentioned 'prayer' and 'church' in the relation to a U2 gig experience. That kind of giggling is what you'd expect to hear from a group of innocent teenagers who think that the 4 older guys about to come on stage are as old as their parents, or even grandparents, and have an old fashioned view on the world. No, I'm not suggesting they all abandon 30 Seconds to Mars etc for U2 straightaway to see what it is like to experience a song like a prayer and an experience like church. I was nodding my head whilst sitting watching this at home. I know, I have experienced. It's not the 'stuffy' kind of churchy experience those young people might think. I think that U2's mission could be to continue throwing down the gauntlet to these bands so that the next generations continue to up their game and become even better, earnest, committed musicians so that their fans can have a kind of spiritual experience getting lost in their music, but somehow these fans want more because what they experience is never enough. Only then do they embark on a journey of discovery about the music of U2, and (hopefully) see that the best experiences are with the originals who cannot be beaten whilst they are still around.
For Bono and the boys, relevance is not about getting loads of radio play and hit singles and dance/electronic collaborations, it must be about continually influencing younger artists to the point the younger fans get to know about U2 that way to the point curiosity gets the better of them.