JON BON JOVI: 'I'm Still In Deep Vocal Therapy'

In a new interview with Associated Press entertainment journalist Alicia Rancilio, Jon Bon Jovi opened up about the vocal cord deterioration he experienced a few years ago which caused him to have surgery in 2022. He said: "It was heartbreaking, because I had done everything that I could. It's almost like shadow boxing or fighting an invisible enemy. I didn't know what it was. And I had done everything I could think of holistically. And I pride myself on being a vocalist, not a stylist. I've been fortunate enough to have sung with [legendary opera singer Luciano] Pavarotti. I know how to do it. So, as I knew it wasn't going well, and I thought if I just get myself back into touring shape and I go out there, maybe I'll pull the muscles back into what they need to be. It still wasn't working. It was after that 15 shows when the frustration became realization that I finally went back to the doctor that I had started to see. And he says, 'Now we can talk about surgery.' And that's when I loved him more because he wasn't one of these cut-happy doctors. And he said, 'As long as you've come to terms with that you've exhausted everything that you knew how to do, we can save this. I give you no guarantees, but this is the path.' And I wholeheartedly sunk myself into it since."

Jon went on to say that his February 2 appearance at the MusiCares "Person Of The Year" ceremony marked the first time he had sung in public in nearly two years.

"I'm still in deep vocal therapy. But I'm doing great," he said. "The [upcoming BON JOVI album 'Forever'] was easy to do. The process has been steady. Would I like it to be a light switch? Yeah. I mean, I'd said to the doctor, like, 'I've been a good boy. I wanna flip the switch and be done with this.' It's just not how it works. So like an athlete coming back from an ACL [injury] or whatever, it just takes time. This is the way it's gonna be. But yeah, the therapy is still intensive, and yet I'm confident that it gets progressively better."

Elaborating on the throat surgery and rehabilitation that he underwent to save his singing voice, Jon said: "Everybody's different. This was a unique situation. It's not a nodule. This is something much different where literally one of my cords was atrophying. So that was the bitch, is that, if theoretically, both of them are supposed to look [the same size], one of them [was much thinner than the other]. So the strong one was pushing the weak one around. And suddenly my inabilities were just exacerbated. Where'd that come from? I didn't understand it. But through modern medicine and an implant to bring this one back to the strength of this one, it's every day sort of like doing curls with weights and just getting them both to be the same size and to function together. So that's what it is."

BON JOVI's 16th studio album, "Forever", will arrive on June 7. The new LP is now available for pre-order where fans can find exclusive colored vinyl options, CDs, cassettes, and limited edition signed copies. An extremely limited run of Ocean Waves colored vinyl will include a one-of-a-kind instant photo of Jon Bon Jovi.

Produced by Jon with John Shanks, "Forever" features Jon Bon Jovi once again alongside fellow founding BON JOVI members, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres. They are joined by bassist Hugh McDonald and guitarist Phil X.

"Forever" contains 12 new songs, including the hit lead single "Legendary".