During an appearance on the “Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show” on New York City’s Q104.3 radio station, Jon Bon Jovi spoke about the upbeat and happy overall tone of BON JOVI‘s upcoming album, “Forever”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “With our last album, ‘2020’, I released it into what was, in essence, a black hole. It was something the entire world lived at the same moment in time, which was the COVID breakout and then the economic downturn and our all being at home and [so on]. But that record was very topical and by some could be deemed to be dark, but it was narrative and it was truth. With that record, I was just the reporter reporting on what was going on. And I got that out of my system. With the 40th [anniversary of BON JOVI] approaching, with the surgery that I’ve just recently been through where my vocal cords, with the archiving and the film and the new record, the result of the music on the new record, it exudes joy. I don’t know that it exudes necessarily out-and-out optimism, but it’s truth. And more importantly, I found joy again — just a simple pleasure of writing a song.”
Jon previously said that he had to “work through a lot of dark misery” in order to get to a place where he could experience joy again.
“It’s been a decade since I was able to purely feel joy,” Jon told Ultimate Classic Rock. “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.”
Due on June 7, “Forever” is now available for pre-order where fans can find exclusive colored vinyl options, CDs, cassettes, and limited edition signed copies. An extremely limited run of Ocean Waves colored vinyl will include a one-of-a-kind instant photo of Jon Bon Jovi.
“Forever” features Jon Bon Jovi once again alongside fellow founding BON JOVI members, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres. They are joined by bassist Hugh McDonald and guitarist Phil X.
The LP’s first single, “Legendary”, sees Jon sing: “Got a fistful of friends That’ll stand up for me / Right where I am / Is where I wanna be / Friday night comes /Around like a song / Sweet Caroline and we all sing along / Got my brown eyed girl / And she believes in me / Legendary.”
Jon recently said that he was not sure that he would he will be able to it the road in support of “Forever” after undergoing vocal cord surgery. He told Mix 104.1 Boston: “I don’t know about a tour,” he said. “It is my desire to do a tour next year, but I’m just still recovering from a major surgery.”
According to Jon, he underwent a procedure in 2022 after one of his vocal cords was “atrophying” — with one being “thick as the thumb” and the other vocal cord being “thick as a pinky.” He went on to say that he felt like his “craft was being taken from me.”
“Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story”, the first-ever docuseries on the band’s history with full cooperation from all past and present members of BON JOVI, premieres Friday, April 26 on Hulu in the U.S. and coming soon to Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. Following one of the world’s most iconic bands and its frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, the documentary gives us a view behind the music and the man.
The docuseries is a ROS production, the banner of filmmaker Gotham Chopra, and celebrates the band’s 40th anniversary of its self-titled debut album which was released on January 21, 1984 via Polygram/Mercury Records, less than a year after forming in their home state of New Jersey.
