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Singer Jon Bon Jovi opened up about his recovery process since he underwent vocal surgery two years ago.
The Bon Jovi frontman, 62, talked about his singing abilities at the Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story docuseries screening and Q&A event on Wednesday.
“What you saw on film was shot last March in that scene when I couldn’t sing well, or two years ago when I was on the road,” Bon Jovi said to People magazine.
“I’m well into the recovery. I’m more than capable of singing. It’s just that for me, the bar is two and a half hours a night, four nights a week, before I say we’re going to go and do any shows.”
“So I’m well back on the road to recovery – not a day of it’s easy. Every day is a struggle, but I’m more than capable of doing it again. I’m f****** Bon Jovi!” he added.
He said he had to undergo surgery in 2022 because one of his vocal cords was “atrophying”, going on to explain that one was “thick as a thumb” but the other was “thick as a pinky”, so the procedure was to make them equal again.
The docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story follows the story of the ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ group from its origins in New Jersey to becoming one of the most well-known rock groups of the ‘80s.
The music legend showed that he’s nowhere close to stopping, as he spoke about recording his latest album, Forever, set to be released on 7 June.
“It’s not easy. It’s difficult. The old adage with me in the heyday is, and the singer went home, that was the end of every story and the singer went home,” he said.
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“Like I said, it’s my 18th album and we worked as hard or harder on this album as I did on Slippery When Wet, in fact, harder because we’re not as naïve as we were in 1986.
“But I do think sometimes about the athlete who eventually has to come to terms with a next chapter in their life,” Bon Jovi continued.
He admits that while he’s on his way to recovery, it might hamper his desire for a tour.
“It is my desire to do a tour next year, but I’m just still recovering from a major surgery,” he said in March in an interview with Mix 104.1 Boston.
In February, Bon Jovi said he previously found it hard to come to terms with the fact that he was having trouble with his voice.
“I pride myself on having been a true vocalist. I’ve sung with Pavarotti. I know how to sing. I’ve studied the craft for 40 years. I’m not a stylist who just barks and howls. I know how to sing,” he told People magazine.
“So when God was taking away my ability, and I couldn’t understand why, I jokingly have said the only thing that’s ever been up my nose is my finger – you know, so there’s no reason for any of this”.
