Bon Jovi discusses “joyous” new album and health issues: “Not dead yet”

Jon Bon Jovi spoke NME on returning to the stage, “great storytellers” like Noah Kahan, Inhaler, and Taylor Swift, and longevity. Jon Bovi Jovi spoke NME about the “joyous” new Bon Jovi album ‘Forever’, his voice surgery recovery, the possibility of an ABBA Voyage-style holographic concert, and being influenced by The Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift.

On June 7, Bon Jovi will release their 16th studio album, ‘Forever,’ to mark their 40th anniversary. I’ve never had a lack of thoughts and ideas for new music,” Jon Bon Jovi said of releasing new music instead of celebrating the milestone. Our goal has always been to produce fantastic albums.” The four-part Disney+ documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story preceded ‘Forever’ this year.

He quipped, “You’re supposed to die after you see your life flash before your eyes,” but “we’re not dead yet.” Bon Jovi contacted Gotham Chopra after seeing his Tom Brady documentary Man In The Arena. “If he understands a sports team, he’ll understand a band,” he said. “From the start, we agreed not to like puff pieces. We wanted four decades, four episodes, and that’s all we offered Chopra before shaking his hand and leaving him to it.” Thank You, Bon Jovi called the Positive Response to Goodnight in April “mind-blowing”.

He said the reception to ‘Forever’ lead song ‘Legendary’ was mind-blowing, giving the band its best Billboard ranking position in almost a decade.

Every musician is excited about their new album, else why would they release it if ‘Legendary’ is a hit? You must laugh, Bon Jovi urged. “You think you’ve got it every time, but I’ve been disappointed more than surprised or pleased.” In addition to becoming a radio smash, ‘Legendary’ is the theme song for Japanese-language drama Blue Moment, a live-action version of the webcomic. His immediate response to the news? “Get out of here. We may be separated by generations, cultures, and languages, but our music is universal. “I’m amazed we still have that connection. I suppose that proves we’re alive.”
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Originally, the new Bon Jovi album was supposed to be named ‘Legendary’, but that seemed too arrogant. “You can call yourself ‘legendary’ in the mirror, but not in public,” he remarked. “It would be excessive.” The band’s 40-year journey was explored in Thank You, Goodnight, which also highlighted Jon Bon Jovi’s voice difficulties and 2022 surgery. He has said that he may never play live again.

He never thought ‘Forever’ would be Bon Jovi’s last album. “Singing in the studio wasn’t hard, just different,” he remarked. “What you see in the documentary was two years ago and I’m much further in recovery.” However, Bon Jovi has not scheduled a return. “I’m still not confident I could do two-and-a-half hours a night, four days a week and I won’t book a gig until I’ve done that on a rehearsal level,” said Bon Jovi, who can practice three hours a day, two days a week. For now, we practice once a month to observe development. I’m not there yet and it blows.”

Jon Bon Jovi has often said that he would not perform again until he is well.
The Rolling Stones were 40 when we began, and we thought they were ancient, but they still set the standard. That band is a role model for us and future generations, he said. “Look at 81-year-old Paul McCartney making records. Bruce Springsteen is still on fire at 74, doing three-and-a-half-hour shows. People desire more than average.” He said, “I never want to be Fat Elvis. He died at 42 because no one helped him. His bloating, drug and alcohol use made him a train disaster. Just not going out that way. Learn from your predecessors.”

Bon Jovi remarked that “uncertainty is scary” while “striving every day to get better,” thus he would only ever commit or quit. “One thing I know is that when I lay my head on the pillow after the decision is made, one way or the other, there will be 100% confidence in it,” he stated. Never feel comfortable in a rock band. Not a life sentence, but a moment.”

The ABBA Voyage avatar performance and KISS and Elvis presentations employing hologram-like technology have revived bands after touring. Bon Jovi may try something similar in the future.
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“I’m not opposed to it because to me, it’s a jukebox,” Bon Jovi said.“It’s like people listening to your music on the radio.” Both ‘Forever’ and ‘Thank You, Goodnight’ honor Bon Jovi’s fortitude. “We certainly have persevered and no one knows the ending, which I dig,” he remarked. Inconclusive film, promising record. God forbid I can’t sing live anymore, but I’ll thank God for getting this far, he said.

Bon Jovi added: “If there’s a lesson for the next generation, it’s that even my job isn’t all roses. Life is a mix of ups and downs, hardships, little wins, and great losses. I couldn’t tell that narrative earlier because I hadn’t lived enough.” ‘Forever’ is different from past Bon Jovi albums since the frontman now understands what he wants to communicate with each song. “When I wrote ‘Get Ready’ and ‘Burning For Love’ on our first record [1984’s self-titled ‘Bon Jovi’], I didn’t know what the fuck I was saying,” he said. Just creating rhyming schemes. Those tunes are meaningless. I can explain every song and sentence after 16 albums. After that many recordings, you better master your craft.”

“Fans will know ‘Kiss The Bride’ was written by the guy who wrote ‘I Got The Girl’ 25 years ago and is now a dad,” Bon Jovi said. The “Brown-Eyed Girl” in ‘Legendary’ is my wife, ‘We Made It Look Easy’ is about the band, ‘Seeds’ is about self-help, and ‘Waves’ is me saying you either hang onto these horrible memories of the previous ten years or let them go. The 2016 “statement” album ‘This House Is Not For Sale’ was Bon Jovi’s first after Richie Sambora left, and ‘2020’ was an angry, politically driven record. ‘Forever’ follows. “In light of the insurrection, it had to [be angry],” Bon Jovi stated. “If America was going to crumble, I wanted everyone to know why.”

In contrast, ‘Forever’ inspires optimism and solidarity. “It’s joyous, because we’re on the brink,” Bon Jovi stated. “The next six months in America will be very telling and will affect the world. It’s genuine and I don’t know what’ll happen to the wonderful American experiment.” The documentary chronicled a group of New Jersey buddies that created one of the largest rock bands of all time via grit and perseverance, along with an album that included Jon Bon Jovi playing his first guitar and a host of rock songs. Despite rock music’s uncertain future, does Bon Jovi want to inspire a new generation?

“That would be cool, but I’m confident there’s enough new talent out there,” Bon Jovi added. Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan are terrific storytellers, Taylor Swift is an industry, and Inhaler is a wonderful rock-pop band. However, I’m waiting for the next The Killers. I want to see another rock band, but other genres are so lively and rich in narrative. I believe it will happen soon.”

The singer can’t help but ponder on his 40th anniversary, but he wants his legacy to be “a good catalogue of good music” above all else. He decided it was enough to keep reaching people regardless of his performance. The rock star concluded: “Some people joined this ride in 1984 with ‘Runaway’, others in ‘88 with ‘It’s My Life’ and now a new generation of kids are discovering Bon Jovi because of Disney+. Wow, how cool? Teens may listen to a music from 1984 or 2024 with a click thanks to streaming. A song is simply a song—no artwork or music video influences them. If excellent, it’ll appeal to a new generation. We’re lucky because the trip continues.” EMI releases ‘Forever’ June 7.