While he might believe in the magic of this singer’s songwriting, that still didn’t stop Jon Bon Jovi from lightheartedly blaming one mega pop star in particular for his June 2024 album ‘Forever’ from reaching No. 1 on the charts.
“Pesky” pop stars aside, the long-time rock and roller couldn’t be happier with where his career is going these days.
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The Mega Pop Star Jon Bon Jovi Blamed For Taking No. 1
Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi spoke with Audacy after his July 2024 performance at the Mix 104.1 Beach House in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to discuss his band’s latest record and what it’s like to still be performing after decades of rock and rolling. “It’s astounding the relationship that we’ve had with this audience by and large for four decades,” the rockstar marveled. “And we’re not on the ‘Where Are They Now?’ pile.”
“[‘Forever’] is the top five album around the planet,” Bon Jovi continued. “If it weren’t for that pesky Taylor girl, we would have been number one everywhere!” Bon Jovi, of course, was referring to Taylor Swift, who has been dominating the charts with releases of “Taylor’s Version” of previous albums and her April 2024 release, ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’
Swift might be dominating the music charts, but Bon Jovi is anything but bitter. “Isn’t that fantastic that, on our 18th album, we’re still having big hit successes? So, it’s knock on wood, and why not be joyful? We’re still here having fun, making hit records, and playing to the people,” he told Audacy.
The Rockstar Believes In The Pop Star’s Abilities
During an April 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Bon Jovi discussed the importance of an artist’s songs connecting with the audience—a career-defining skill that the Bon Jovi frontman thinks Taylor Swift has down on lock. “Your songs are your story,” he said. “I think the same thing can be said about someone like Taylor Swift.”
“These [songs] are her stories, and when they ring true to her, chances are those stories will resonate with someone else who will make those stories their own,” Bon Jovi said. “That, to me, is the magic of songwriting.”
That magic has kept Bon Jovi in an industry that arguably only gets more arduous to navigate the older one gets. The rockstar told Audacy that after 40 years of performing, he still considers himself lucky. “You play music. You don’t work music, and music is playing. It’s just fun. You play an instrument when you’re a kid because it’s fun, and then we got to never get a job. We get to play until the road runs out.”
And indeed, it doesn’t look like the road is running out anytime soon. While certainly not a knockout of an album, Bon Jovi’s ‘Forever’ received decent reviews. It topped the Swiss charts, peaked at No. 2 in Austria and Germany, and landed at No. 3 in Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K. Even with Taylor Swift’s massive chart presence, the band still landed a No. 5 spot on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.
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