BREAKING NEWS: Jon Bon Jovi’s career is in trouble

Life isn’t fair sometimes. Hell, maybe most times. So I’m not saying this with any malice. New Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s career seems to be in a free fall.

It seems preposterous. He skyrocketed to fame in the 1980s. The band’s first two albums were released in 1984 and 1985 and “Runaway” managed to crack the Top 40.

Then came 1986’s “Slippery When Wet” which eventually sold over 28 million copies. It spawned two number-one songs in “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name.” The band and its CEO Jon Bon Jovi became Jersey royalty.

Then came his acting beginning in the 1990s starring in movies like “Pay It Forward” and “Moonlight and Valentino” and TV shows like “Ally McBeal,” “West Wing” and “30 Rock.”

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Rock Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2012 he was ranked by Billboard among “The Most Powerful and Influential People in the Music Business.”

Now, in 2024, at only 62 (young compared to Bruce Springsteen at 74 or Mick Jagger turning 81 this month) his career seems to be in a dangerous nosedive. Forbes is reporting the band’s new album “Forever” is dying a shockingly quick death.

(Photo by Duane Prokop/Getty Images)

It debuted at number 5 in its first week but just one week later it fell completely off the Billboard 200 album sales chart. And that’s after a high-profile press tour just prior to release and after the premiere of “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” on Hulu.

It tanked. That shows terrible word of mouth. What’s more, it’s the worst showing they ever had and embarrassing after their “2020” album similarly flopped. That one stayed on the charts for only two weeks, debuting at number 19 and then crashing to 145 the following week. Then gone.

All this on top of Jon’s medical problems with his voice means his career is looking dire. One of his vocal cords was atrophying. His corrective surgery was more than two years ago yet he says it’s still a struggle even now and that he can’t yet get it back to the point of a two-and-a-half-hour show. So no supporting tour was ever announced for “Forever.”

It’s not about the money for him at this point. It’s about the art and his love for it, and it’s a damn shame. He’s done so much good with his fame to help others including of course his JBJ Soul Kitchen, the community restaurant that began in Red Bank and has expanded to other locations from there.

His misfortunes over the last few years have definitely been a case of bad things happening to good people.