Since forming in 1983, Bon Jovi released 15 studio albums that sold over 120 million copies worldwide. But besides one of the best-selling American rock bands, the group also performed in over 50 countries. Playing more than 2,700 concerts, the group landed a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Recently, Jon Bon Jovi discussed living without joy and learning to fight the “dark misery” in his upcoming album Forever.
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Speaking with Ultimate Classic Rock, Bon Jovi discussed his last album, 2020, and how his new album has a completely different tone. He said, “The overarching sentiment of this album is that of joy. How did I get to joy? I had to work through a lot of dark misery! Our last record, which was called 2020, was a lot of observations and narratives about what was going on in the world around us – whether it was the COVID crises or George Floyd, shootings in schools, soldiers with PTSD.”
With 2020 dealing with heavy subject matter, Bon Jovi found his life spiraling when he needed to undergo vocal surgery. Around the same time, he decided to collaborate with Gotham Chopra on filming a docuseries about the band called, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. Not wanting the series to be another “puff piece”, the singer and director worked to tell the entire truth. Bon Jovi insisted it would show their true nature and “all of the truths, all of the warts, all of the punches in the nose that got us to this place.”
Jon Bon Jovi Spent A Decade Without Joy
While holding nothing back, Bon Jovi admitted that joy came from the project. “On the other end of it all came joy – and my ability to look up in the morning, see the sky and say, ‘Huh, that big red ball up in there is the sun, and it’s shining!’” He continued, “You know, that takes a lot when you think about it, because most of us in this crazy world, you’ve got your head down and you’re focused on your work, your family, making ends meet, doing something productive. You don’t really take the time to remember to smell the flowers, if you will. So it’s been a decade since I was able to purely feel joy.”
Sharing the single “Legendary” with fans, Bon Jovi wrote the song with Billy Falcon and John Shanks. Wanting nothing more than to be surrounded by friends, the singer noted, “what matters to me [now] is just being here with my friends, writing the song that I want to write and living the life I want to live.’”
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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