Bon Jovi

U2, Bon Jovi Cake Up On Forbes Highest-Paid Musicians List

17 Jun 2011 09:52:20 EDT

Gaga comes in at #4 with $168 mil for the year, while Bieber is the youngest artist on the list.
By Rob Markman

Forbes released their 2011 World's Highest-Paid Musicians List on Wednesday, and apparently it still pays to be a veteran rocker — and it pays handsomely. U2 topped the list, raking in more than $195 million after their two-year 360 Tour grossed around $700 million, leapfrogging the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour as the richest run of all time.

Bon Jovi can't be too upset at snagging the list's runner-up spot. The group caked up $125 million in the last year. In a recent interview with Forbes, Jon Bon Jovi recalled the band's early, more humble and less lucrative days jamming in a New Jersey basement with vintage posters on the wall illuminated by candles. "I'm thinking maybe this is an issue, maybe I just don't like them," he said. "Until I realized that all the oxygen was sucked out of the room by the candles ... So I blew out the candles, cranked up the amplifiers and said, 'We're going to be a rock band. If you believe in what I'm telling you, we can be the Rolling Stones."

You'd think that Bon Jovi gave a similar speech to Lady Gaga with all the bank that she acquired this year. Coming behind Elton John ($204 million), who landed at #3, Gaga earned $168 million in the past year and would've made more had she been more frugal with the costs of her stage show — then again she's been known to spare little expense when it comes to pleasing her fans.

Paul McCartney, 68, was the oldest artist to make the list, clocking $66 mil, while 17-year-old Justin Bieber was the youngest to make the list with $53 million. Jay-Z and Beyoncé were the only couple to make the list. In fact, for the first time since being married, Hov earned more than his wife, taking home $37 million, while B earned $35 mil. All of the calculated earnings are based off pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, before agents and managers take their cuts, according to Forbes.com.

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Bon Jovi To Tour Without Rehab-Bound Richie Sambora

29 Apr 2011 09:33:02 EDT

Sambora reportedly set to check in to rehab once again to deal with his sobriety issues.
By Gil Kaufman

For Bon Jovi, the show must go on. Even if, after nearly 30 years of rocking side by side with guitarist Richie Sambora, that means going on the road without the trusted guitar slinger while he spends time in rehab.

The band announced on Thursday that its upcoming tour of North America and Europe would go ahead as planned without Sambora, who has checked in to a rehab center to deal with sobriety issues.

"Our support for Richie is absolute. He is, and will remain, a member of Bon Jovi," read the statement. "Although he will be absent from upcoming shows for the time being, we very much look forward to his healthy return. In the meantime, we will keep our commitment to our fans and continue our tour."

When contacted on Friday (April 29), a spokesperson for the band declined to offer further comment and referred to the press statement, which also noted that, "out of respect for Richie," the band would not comment further. It has not yet been announced — and the spokesperson declined to comment on — who will replace Sambora on the tour, which kicks off in New Orleans on Saturday, April 30, and is slated to run through a July 31 date in Lisbon.

RadarOnline has reported that Sambora, 51, is being treated in an undisclosed facility because he "recently has been drinking too much, and wants to get his life together."

Sambora entered a rehab center in 2007 for a week to reportedly deal with similar issues. The guitarist, whose backing vocals and indelible riffs are a major part of Bon Jovi's sound, joined the band in the early 1980s, replacing original guitarist Dave Sabo.

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New Orleans Jazz Fest 2011 Headlined By Arcade Fire, Kid Rock, Bon Jovi

20 Jan 2011 16:45:50 EST

Robert Plant, Lauryn Hill, the Strokes, Lupe Fiasco also included on this year's lineup.
By Aly Semigran

The lineup for the 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was announced on Thursday (January 20), and the music extravaganza will once again offer up a genre-spanning array of talent on its 12 stages.

Among the performers for this year's Jazz Fest are Arcade Fire (who will also headline the recently announced 2011 Coachella), Robert Plant, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, Lauryn Hill, Jeff Beck, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Mumford & Sons, the Strokes, the Avett Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, Tom Jones, Lupe Fiasco, Jason Mraz, the Decemberists, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Lucinda Williams, Gregg Allman, Amos Lee, and John Legend and the Roots. Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffet are just some of the scheduled acts making their return to the festival.

Because of the natural disasters experienced by both New Orleans and Haiti, both musically rich regions will be featured prominently throughout the NOJ&HF. The festival, which promises to "host the largest celebration of Haitian culture in the U.S. since the devastating earthquake one year ago" will include many Haitian performers, including Wyclef Jean, Tabou Combo, Emeline Michel, Ti-Coca & Wanga Neges and RAM.

Started in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz Fest has hosted an eclectic variety of musical acts (previous fests have included the likes of Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews Band, Santana, Lenny Kravitz and Joni Mitchell). Since the late '80s, the festival has seen attendance from 300,000 to 650,000 fans.

Jazz Fest runs over the course of two weekends (April 29-May 1 and May 5-8) at the Fair Grounds Race Course. Tickets are on sale at NOJazzfest.com.

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Bon Jovi, AC/DC, U2 Top World Tours Of 2010

29 Dec 2010 08:37:08 EST

Lady Gaga's Monster Ball tour placed fourth on the list.
By Jocelyn Vena

Bon Jovi showed all the newbies how it's done. The veteran rock group had the most successful tour in 2010. And, following closely behind at #2 and #3 are fellow veteran acts AC/DC and U2, concert tracker Pollstar reports.

The New Jersey act sold an impressive $201.1 million worth of tickets worldwide this year in a concert economy that was on the downslide. Around the world, ticket sales for the top 50 tours dropped 12 percent to $2.93 billion, and in North America, they dropped 15 percent to $1.69 billion.

Bon Jovi beat out 2009's top two acts, bumping AC/DC, who grossed $177 million in ticket sales, to #2, and U2, with $160.9 million (impressive, considering they had to postpone their North American leg to 2011 due to Bono's back surgery), to #3 on the list. But hot on the heels of the aging rockers is Lady Gaga, the only woman in the top 10 tours for 2010.

Gaga and her Monster Ball tour placed fourth on the list. According to the report, Gaga's over-the-top spectacle grossed $133.6 million over the course of 138 shows, most of which took place outside of North America. Gaga may have only placed fourth, but she played more shows than the top three: Bon Jovi played only 80 shows, AC/DC played 40 and U2 played 32 shows.

The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by Metallica at #5 (netting $110.1 million), pop crooner Michael Bublé was # 6 with $104.2 million; the live show "Walking With Dinosaurs" placed #7 with $104.1 million; Paul McCartney is #8 with $93 million; the Eagles are #9 with $92.3 million and Roger Waters is #10 with $89.5 million.

In North America alone, Bon Jovi kept their title as the top draw, followed by Roger Waters, Dave Matthews Band, Bublé and the Eagles.

What was your favorite concert of the year? Talk about it in the comments.

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Bon Jovi Bring Arena Rock To The American Music Awards

21 Nov 2010 21:52:08 EST

Band plays new single 'What Do You Got' and mini-greatest-hits set.
By Gil Kaufman

Bon Jovi could have played any one of a dozen tunes to celebrate the recent release of their new greatest-hits album. But in keeping with their relentless forward march, Jon Bon and the boys played the new hit single from the album at Sunday night's (November 21) American Music Awards.

The majestic "What Do You Got," which features the band's patented mix of cowboy balladry and pop bravado, was like a Bon Jovi greatest hit in a nutshell, with its combination of Jon's street-tough-done-good lyrics about the power of love and guitarist Richie Sambora's chiming guitar and towering backup vocals.

The legendary New Jersey rockers were, of course, celebrating the new greatest-hits album and screened the concert movie "Bon Jovi - The Circle Tour" in theaters nationwide, so it's not like they were going to leave the room hangin'. With more than 120 million albums sold over a legendary career, they had to cough up some of the good stuff.

As Sambora ripped into the chunky intro of "You Give Love a Bad Name" and digital flashes lit up the TV screen, audience member Russell Brand couldn't contain his elated smile while the band cranked out the hit that put them on the map more than 20 years ago.

Sambora hooked up the talk-box and Bon Jovi spread his arms in triumph for another fist-pumping staple, "It's My Life," as the crowd, including a head-bobbing Jada Pinkett Smith and a devil-horn-flashing Jenny McCarthy, danced in the aisles, delighted that an arena-rock show had suddenly broken out in the midst of what they thought was just going to be another run-of-the-mill awards show.

What did you think of Bon Jovi's performance? Share your reviews in the comments!

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Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Bon Jovi Nominated For Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

28 Sep 2010 12:41:25 EDT

Tom Waits, Neil Diamond and Alice Cooper also on the list for 2011 induction.
By Gil Kaufman

The list of 15 nominees for the 2011 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is one of the most eclectic yet, encompassing everyone from punk-inspired rap trio the Beastie Boys to one of rap's most enduring icons, LL Cool J, New Jersey rock warhorses Bon Jovi, original shock-rocker Alice Cooper and gravel-voiced troubadour Tom Waits.

Joining that group are such luminaries as crooner Neil Diamond, folk legends Donovan and Laura Nyro, New Orleans "Night Tripper" Dr. John, funky bar-band rockers the J. Geils Band, disco queen Donna Summer, funk act Chic, girl-group graduate Darlene Love, soul singer Joe Tex, and R&B singer and "King of the Stroll" Chuck Willis.

The nods are the first for Bon Jovi, Donovan, Cooper, Dr. John and Diamond, though Chic, Beastie Boys, Cool J, Summer and Love have lodged a number of previous nods without making it to the musical promised land. The final list of a handful of inductees will be announced in December, and the 26th annual induction ceremony will take place on March 14 at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York.

Artists become eligible for nomination 25 years after the release of their first album or single and more than 500 music professionals and industry members vote on the nominees. Among the 2010 inductees were Iggy and the Stooges, ABBA and Genesis.

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Bon Jovi Rock 'American Idol' With 'Superman Tonight'

12 May 2010 22:45:32 EDT

'The harder we work, the luckier we get,' Jon Bon Jovi says of group's continued success.
By Josh Wigler

With Casey James and Lee Dewyze cleared to the top three and the fates of "American Idol" hopefuls Michael Lynche and Crystal Bowersox hanging in the balance, New Jersey rock band Bon Jovi flew to the "Idol" stage to provide a brief moment of respite from the audience's nervous anticipation.

Bon Jovi performed a blaring rendition of "Superman Tonight," the second single from their 11th studio album, The Circle. In the past, frontman Jon Bon Jovi has described the song as "something like a diary of the observer, and I'm just the fly on the wall," providing a suitable context for the musician's role on Wednesday night's (May 12) "American Idol": While Bon Jovi himself is used to taking center stage, even his rocking presence couldn't fully alleviate the crowd's anxiety over who would be going home next, an unfortunate distinction that ultimately fell upon Lynche.

Following the end of "Superman Tonight," Ryan Seacrest spoke with Bon Jovi, lead guitarist Richie Sambora and the rest of the band's roster to congratulate them not just on their performance, but on their status as "the #1 touring band in the world [and] another #1 album."

Asked how Bon Jovi are able to replicate their success year after year, Jon replied: "You know, hard work and good luck. Good friends who have put us in the right places.

"We're humbled. We've crossed generations at this point," Bon Jovi said amid wild applause from the young audience. "It's really great. The sky's the limit. The harder we work, the luckier we get — that's pretty much the way it is."

What did you think of Bon Jovi's performance on "American Idol"? Let us know in the comments!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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Bon Jovi's The Circle Hits The #1 Spot On Billboard

18 Nov 2009 15:32:00 EST

Britney Spears' Singles Collection lands at lackluster #22.
By Gil Kaufman

Music fans appear to have taken a break from holiday shopping last week, as sales of the top albums took a noticeable dip, and the latest #1 debut did just about half the business Carrie Underwood's Play On did the week before to hit #1.

Jersey icons Bon Jovi take over the top spot on next week's Billboard albums chart with their latest, The Circle, which sold just about 163,000 copies according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. That was just over half of what the band's previous #1, the country-tinged Lost Highway, did in its first week in 2007. It was enough, however, to keep tenor Andrea Bocelli's My Christmas at #2 (136,000) and to knock Underwood down to #3 (128,000) as her second-week sales plummeted by 60 percent.

The only other debut in the top 10 is from righteous metallers Flyleaf, whose Memento Mori lands at #8 on sales of 56,000. The rest of the top 10: the "Michael Jackson's This Is It" soundtrack (#4, 117,000), Taylor Swift's Fearless (#5, 91,000), Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 32 (#6, 68,000), Michael Bublé's Crazy Love (#7, 58,000), Glee: The Music Vol. 1 (#9, 56,000) and the soundtrack to "New Moon" (#10, 53,000).

Among other new releases, Switchfoot touch down at #13 with Hello Hurricane (39,000), and Dashboard Confessional's Alter the Ending hits #19 (30,000). Buzz rapper Wale sneaks in at #21 with Attention Deficit, followed by Britney Spears' Singles Collection at #22 (27,000).

Quite a few country acts got a bump after winning big at the CMA Awards, including Lady Antebellum, whose self-titled disc shoots up 130 percent and 13 spots to #11 (45,000), and best "new" artist Hootie and the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker, whose country disc Learn to Live jumps more than 20 spots to #27 (23,000). Other country gainers that performed or won on the show included the Zac Brown Band, Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean.

Otherwise, the chart has been pretty quiet, with masked party rappers Hollywood Undead slamming to #29 with the remix CD/live DVD Desperate Measures (21,000), Jason Mraz a bit behind at #35 with the live disc Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess (16,000) and an AC/DC box set, Backtracks, debuting at #39 (16,000).

Some of last week's top debuts had serious falls. The Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits stumbles 17 spots to #28 after business fell by 50 percent (22,000). Weezer's Raditude shed more than 73 percent of its debut business to nose-dive 25 spots to #32 with sales of 18,000. And Slayer's World Painted Blood skidded 67 percent, dropping 32 spots to #44 on sales of 13,000.

The deck should get shuffled next week with the long-awaited release of 50 Cent's Before I Self-Destruct, the latest from Norah Jones, John Mayer, Leona Lewis and OneRepublic, as well as debuts from Justin Bieber and Kris Allen.

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'A Change Is Gonna Come' Takes On New Meaning At Inaugural Concert

18 Jan 2009 16:34:00 EST

Sam Cooke's civil-rights classic is performed by Jon Bon Jovi, Bettye LaVette at 'We Are One' event.
By Jocelyn Vena

At the "We Are One" inaugural concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Sunday afternoon (January 18), Jon Bon Jovi and soul singer Bettye LaVette sang a duet of Sam Cooke's seminal civil-rights movement song, "A Change Is Gonna Come," originally released in 1964, shortly after the soul singer's death.

The oft-covered song was written as a response to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," according to Stephen D. Winick, writer and editor at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Cooke was very moved by Dylan's now-famous missive about the obvious changes that America was going through in the early 1960s. (Read Winick's analysis of Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" performance for the concert.)

"['A Change Is Gonna Come'] is a great piece of songwriting which was done in the early 1960s," Winick told MTV News. "And again, like Springsteen's 'The Rising,' it goes back to gospel roots and it's talking about that common person's experience, especially the black experience and how that changed radically."

At the heart of the song lies an honest account of the emotions people went through during the civil-rights era. "It's a beautiful statement of the conditions in which people lived and ... the inevitability of change. It is a great statement," he said.

On the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration, the song is just as powerful today as it was nearly 35 years ago. "It's regarded as an important recording, and so much so to the Library of Congress that it was one of the 2007 picks for the National Recording Registry," Winick added.

"Be the Change: Live From the Inaugural" will air live on MTV on Tuesday, January 20, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. MTV News will have wall-to-wall coverage of the event and of the scenes in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Kenya in the days leading up to the event and in the days that follow.

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Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora Plea-Bargains DUI; Gets Probation, Fine: Report

22 Apr 2008 18:10:00 EDT

Guitarist avoids charge of child-endangerment; daughter was in car at time of arrest.
By MTV News staff

Just hours after Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was officially charged with two misdemeanor counts of DUI, he plea-bargained the case, according to TMZ.

Sambora pleaded no contest to a charge of driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher, the site reported (Sambora's blood-alcohol level at the time of his arrest was reportedly .13). Another charge of driving under the influence was dropped.

Sambora, 48, will pay around $1,600, including a $390 fine and penalties, according to the site. He will be placed on three years' "informal probation" and will be required to attend an alcohol education course. He cannot drink or abuse drugs during his probation.

Sambora avoided a charge of child endangerment, stemming from his March 25 arrest in Laguna Beach, California. At the time he was pulled over, Sambora's girlfriend and two young girls — one of them Ava, his 10-year-old daughter with Heather Locklear — were in the car.

Sambora's problems with alcohol led him to enter a 30-day rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles last spring.

The guitarist, who recently split with actress Denise Richards, had ended his marriage to Locklear last April — right on the heels of the death of his father, who'd succumbed to lung cancer.

Not long after he entered treatment last June (his second rehab stint in a year), Sambora appeared on the "Today" show to talk about his problems with alcohol. "I was just drinking too much and I needed to get my life together," he said during the interview. "I'm still in therapy and stuff like that, but it's good. I'm great. I feel fine."

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