They’ll make it, I swear…we hope! More »
Clearly hoping that the power of one conglomerate-owned network will at least equal that of Oprah Winfrey, Jon Bon Jovi has signed an exclusive deal with NBC and its sister networks like Bravo to promote his band’s upcoming album, The Circle, which comes out on Nov. 10. And this frothy cross-promotion even has a lofty title! NBC Universal—which you may know as the television company that decided to decimate the scripted-television industry by thrusting Jay Leno into five days of prime time a week—has declared the wide-grinning singer its artist in residence. Take that, music critics who have long dismissed Bon Jovi and his namesake band’s big hooks and anthemic choruses! Dude is an artist—even James Lipton says so! More »
New Jersey wannabe Bard Jon Bon Jovi is one of the majority owners of the Philadelphia Soul, the City Of Brotherly Love’s team in the high-scoring, low-regarded Arena Football League. Or was, anyway: Reports (including one from the Facebook wall of another AFL team’s president) are claiming that the league, which had already suspended its 2009 season, is shutting down for good. More »
While watching “We Are The World” during one of the endless loops of Michael Jackson-related video ephemera that aired this weekend, I thought about how the whole idea of the star-studded charity tribute single had pretty much sputtered out over the course of this decade. Imagine my surprise when Jon Bon Jovi–no stranger to using his songs toward charitable ends–came along to kind of underscore my point this afternoon! More »
Surprisingly, the New Jersey band’s book deal isn’t for a collection of poetry entitled You Lost More Than That In My Backseat, Baby: Reflections In Verse, but a 25th-anniversary celebration that will tell “the behind-the-scenes story” of the band, and that will be released in conjunction with a documentary. Yes, Bon Jovi‘s self-titled debut album came out in the wee days of 1984. Doesn’t it seem like they’ve been around longer than that? They’re a fixed object, like a star or a war memorial or something. (Plus I could have sworn that my friend had her Jon Bon Jovi poster on her wall when I was much younger.)
So yesterday was the big Obamabration on the National Mall, and to celebrate the looming inauguration of this country’s brand-new president, you had your artists subtly reminding the American public that they had new albums on the horizon and that they could bring hope back to the music industry if they actually purchased said products, as well as your now de rigeur will.i.am sighting. But by far the strangest bit was when Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi took on Sam Cooke’s stone classic “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which was not odd for the song choice as much as it was for JBJ getting kind of creamed by Bettye on the song’s vocal track. (Seriously, Jon: Stick with country as your crossover genre of choice.) Cleanse your palate with Mary J. Blige busting out “Lean On Me” after the jump.
“Jon Bon Jovi May Send Hillary’s Campaign Out In… More »
