Bon Jovi beamed into Ellen for a socially distanced performance of "Beautiful Drug", which I assume/hope is the next single from 2020. Greg Mayo filled in for David Bryan on keys:
I wish "Beautiful Drug" had been the lead single. Having said that, the fact that the first two songs I did hear from 2020 were very uninspiring to me, and I now absolutely love the album, is testament to how strong the other tracks are. In my humble opinion, of course. Obviously if you hate the album, you'll disagree with those sentiments. 🙂
Bon Jovi's 2020 album promo continued on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with Jon chatting to Colbert via video.
Jon talked about working the JBJ Soul Kitchens and food pantries during COVID, being mentored by Sister Mary Scullion, his Catholic upbringing, and quarantining with his family:
And of course, they discussed about the new album:
The band then socially distanced to perform "Do What You Can", with Greg Mayo again filling in for David Bryan:
I really enjoyed the interview, actually. It seemed fun, relaxed. And in "Do What You Can", Jon appeared more animated than he has in some of other performances where the band has been playing to no one.
In what seems like a weird move, a deluxe version of Bon Jovi's 2020 album has been quietly released to download and streaming services three days after the standard version came out. In addition to the 10 tracks on the original version, the deluxe edition contains three bonus tracks:
"Do What You Can" - duet version with Jennifer Nettles
"Shine"
"Luv Can"
The latter two were already on the Japanese edition of the album. I had ordered a CD from Japan but it'll take a while to ship to me so I'm very happy to be able to get the tracks in the meantime.
"Shine" and "Luv Can" have been circulating online for the last couple of days, so the sudden release of the deluxe album might be in response to that. Or maybe it was planned. But hey, I would've liked a 12-track album in the first place. 😉
Anyway, there's obviously a new album to promote, so I'll be posting some of that on this blog over the coming days/weeks.
Here's Jon's interview with Good Morning America, where talks about 2020 and collaborating with Jennifer again, among other things:
And here's Bon Jovi's performance on the show of "Do What You Can", with Jennifer Nettles joining remotely and Greg Mayo filling in for David Bryan:
Jon also joined Jim Kerr on iHeartRadio to celebrate the release of 2020. The segment featured an interview with Jon interspersed with recordings of recent live performances. It included the live debuts of "American Reckoning" and "Beautiful Drug", as well as "Do What You Can", "It's My Life", and "Livin' on a Prayer":
I mention elections and presidents because the album cover was inspired by a shot of John F. Kennedy, and the album title partly inspired by the fact that it's an election year in America. Funnily enough, I never mentioned the cover on this blog even when 2020 was originally meant to come out in May. It's a cool photo of Jon, though I'm not sold on it being the album cover... I guess I'd prefer something a little more abstract. Or band-oriented. But hey, we all know Bon Jovi is Jon's ship, so whatever.
Now onto the music.
It's early days but I am really loving 2020. I know it polarises people when Jon "gets political" or "tries to be Springsteen"... but screw that. Besides, much of the world is pretty effed in 2020 and if you're going to call your album 2020, you might as well make it a little time capsule of the world as it is.
When "American Reckoning" dropped, I had discussions with a few people about whether or not it was too on the nose. Certainly, there's no mistaking what it's about. But I actually like that Jon got specific. There are plenty of generic Bon Jovi songs already ("Have a Nice Day" was supposedly a sneaky diss track aimed at George Bush, but you'd never know it).
My first-impression faves from 2020 are "Beautiful Drug", "Story of Love", "Lower the Flag", and "Blood in the Water".
But I'm digging the album as a whole. Considering I was very lukewarm about "Unbroken" and "Limitless", the rest of it has ended up sounding pretty damn good in my ears. I could be getting caught up in the moment, of course. But as of 2nd October 2020, I approve. 👍
Jon Bon Jovi recently spoke with Peter Helliar from The Project. The segment -- which included bits from a February interview that didn't go to air, as well as this more recent interview from about a week ago -- was broadcast tonight in Australia:
Pete is a Bon Jovi fan and reckons 2020 could be their best album ever, which is a huge call. He might just be getting caught up in the moment. But I am getting pretty excited about it myself, so fingers crossed for something awesome.
Here's the full interview Pete alluded to. Among other things, Jon talks about the new album (obviously), the current sociopolitical state of the world, and his attitudes towards touring:
And let me just say, if Bon Jovi were to do an acoustic show at the Sydney Opera House I would lose my mind in the best possible way.
Are you looking forward to the 2020 album?
I guess, from my perspective at least, it's been such a crazy year and Bon Jovi music has often been like a warm hug. Obviously the music has changed over the years. But that's okay. My attachment to Bon Jovi has largely been about them having the right songs at the right time for me, regardless of whether they're the greatest songs ever. And this album might be one I kind of need. I have high hopes anyway, so hopefully my next blog post won't be about how disappointed I am. 😜
You can now preview all the tracks on iTunes ahead of the album's release this week.
Edit: I wasn't disappointed! Read my early impressions of 2020. Meanwhile, Pete Helliar's earlier interview with Jon (conducted back in February, which never went to air) has now been uploaded to The Project's YouTube channel:
The iHeartRadio Music Festival went virtual in 2020 for obvious reasons (*cough* global pandemic *cough*) and Bon Jovi was part of it. Here's what they played:
Do What You Can - featuring Jennifer Nettles on the big screen
Lost Highway
Limitless
You Give Love a Bad Name
Who Says You Can't Go Home
It's My Life
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
If you missed it when it was originally streamed, here's a video of Bon Jovi's set:
David Bryan missed the taping due to commitments with his Broadway musical, Diana. Greg Mayo from the Kings of Suburbia filled in on keyboards.
I actually really enjoyed this performance, even though it's a little awkward. There's no crowd, and Jon looks like he doesn't know what to do without a live audience to feed off. Plus, the fake crowd noises that have been edited into the broadcast don't quite seem to fit.
But I had a lot of fun watching this at my desk. (Maybe I'm just itching for a tour that can't happen.) And I thought the debut band performance of "Do What You Can" was cool. I've mentioned that that's my favourite of the 2020 songs we've heard so far and it still is.
Way back in 2006, Bon Jovi won a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration for "Who Says You Can't Go Home", which featured Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland. They've joined forces again, this time for a country duet of "Do What You Can". Because I guess the country-tinged band only version isn't country enough?
I'm not knocking country music here, just sayin'.
Anyway, here's the official video of the "Do What You Can" by Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles:
If you're thinking it looks familiar, that's because it's pretty much the same video we saw last month, with clips of Jennifer added to it. But I had fun watching it again.
Jon and Jennifer had teased the latest collab before it was announced, with both of them quoting "Who Says" lyrics on their socials, followed by screenshots from different angles of the same scene in the video. So it wasn't really a surprise when we found out the duet was dropping.
