JON BON JOVI Says His Singing Voice Is In 'Phenomenal' Shape: 'I Could Go' On Stage 'Tonight, No Problem'

In a new interview with Australia's A Current Affair, Jon Bon Jovi spoke about the recent announcement that BON JOVI will embark on a seven-date "Forever Tour" in 2027, consisting of stadium shows in the U.S., U.K. Canada and Australia.

After completing a nine-show residency at Madison Square Garden in New York in July and a trio of U.K. stadium shows in August and September, Bon Jovi said the tour has revitalized the veteran Jersey rockers following concerns that he might not be able to perform live again after undergoing vocal cord surgery in 2022.

"I've gone through hell, and I would not, could not compromise the legacy," Jon told A Current Affair (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I could not, would not go out and hold the mic out to the crowd. [Laughs] Holding ourselves to a standard that we've had for some 40-X years now, it's important to me to be the best we can be."

Asked how his singing voice is now, Jon said: "Phenomenal. [knocks on the table] I could go [on stage and sing] tonight, no problem.

"I realized that it took four years [to get my voice back in shape]," he explained. "That four years was my doing. I wouldn't go out after the two years. The people were saying, 'It's fine. Let's go.' Ask the [Australian concert] promoter, Paul Dainty, how many times he's had on a piece of paper a tour booked. And I said, 'No, can't do it, just won't do it, can't do it.' And after the four-year process, I was, like, 'Yeah, it's ready.'"

After the interviewer noted that Jon "had a lot of work to do there", the singer concurred. "I certainly did," Jon said. "I had to trust a doctor, and if you could imagine, for those who are watching and would not have any idea about this kind of stuff, when you trust a vocal doctor, some of them are gonna have this God complex: 'Only I can heal you, and if I choose to...' And I was scared to death by guys like that. And then I went to find this guy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was literally on the verge of retirement. Elderly gentleman, bow tie, sweater over the bow tie, jacket over the sweater. And he comes in and he's very majestic in his approach and yet he says, 'Do you know why I became a singer's doctor?' I say, 'No, no, tell me.' He says, 'Because I was a singer, and I had problems, and I couldn't figure out why, and I couldn't figure out who could save me.' And he says, 'And so I dedicated my life to doing this,' and he subsequently wrote all these books. And he says, 'And I'm on the verge of my retirement.' And then what he did to seal the deal with me is he says, 'I promise you nothing.' He says, 'Stick to the protocols. Do this operation because it's your only choice, and eventually you will be better than you are now. Trust in the process.' And I couldn't have said 'thank you' any deeper. He was my guy."

Asked if there were other people offering different solutions, Jon said: "Well, yeah, that's what I'm saying. Guys that were treating all the big stars, couldn't wait to tell you their litany of artists that they've saved with this kind of God complex. 'Only I saved him. That's why she's so good.' And I left there shaking in my boots because he was that kind of a guy. Or I had guys look at my cords and say, 'I don't know.' [Laughs]"

On the topic of whether he ever thought he might not get his singing voice back, Jon said: "I didn't lose faith. But had he told me it was gonna be four years, I might have contemplated saying, 'It's been great.' Because the process was so damn long. And I would see the progress. But it was incremental. It was inches. I couldn't sing 'happy birthday'. … But again, this doctor had a vocal therapist in his office that worked for him full time, and he had a speech pathologist that worked for him full time. If you go to any vocal doctor anywhere that I've ever been to, they said, 'Go to see Jane, go to see Joe when I'm done with you.' And then they're done, and they do the surgery and then talk to you two more times and then that's it. I was with that guy four days a week, two hours a day for three years. And then after the three years, when I thought it was ready and the band looked at me and said, 'We know you're better,' that's when I switched to another guy. I couldn't have asked for more from that vocal therapist."

Regarding what it was like walking on stage in front of all those people again, Jon said: "Joyous. Just joyous. Now, let me break that down. Why is it joyous? Because I can actually sing without thinking about singing, so I can resonate with the vibration of the song and the band and the crowd. I have to tell you that, honest to God, in 2019 and in 2022 for sure, every note I was white-knuckling that microphone. 'Is that in tune?' 'Is that in tune?' 'Is that good enough?' 'Oh, by the way, smile.' 'Okay, introduce this hit song.' 'Okay, is that good enough?' 'Is that good enough?' That was real every night. It was not worth doing. So when I walked off that stage in Nashville [in April 2022 at the final pre-surgery BON JOVI show], and I'd said to [my wife] Dorothea, 'That was pretty good,' I believed it. I was, like, 'That was pretty good.' She goes, 'No. It wasn't.'"

Asked if there are any songs that he sees on the BON JOVI setlist now and he goes, "I'm not looking forward to this one" because of how vocally demanding they are, Jon said: "Nope. I mean, '[Livin' On A] Prayer' is right in the same key we've always performed [it] in. And I'm doing 'Bed Of Roses', same kind of thing. And now we're performing 'Always', 'I'll Be There For You', 'Bed Of Roses', 'Prayer', all in the same night every night."

2027 "Forever Tour" dates

March 4 - Melbourne, Australia - Marvel Stadium
March 11 - Sydney Olympic Park, Australia - Accor Stadium
June 24 - London, UK - BST Hyde Park
July 15 - East Rutherford, NJ - MetLife Stadium
July 21 - Chicago, IL - Soldier Field Stadium
July 28 - Foxborough, MA - Gillette Stadium
August 4 - Toronto, ON Canada - Rogers Stadium

Jon underwent risky surgery in 2022 to repair an atrophied vocal cord.

Bon Jovi realized something "wasn't working" after a 15-show tour. At the end of the aforementioned final concert in Nashville, he told his wife he thought it was "pretty good," but his wife disagreed.

In October 2025, BON JOVI released "Forever (Legendary Edition)", a collaboration album with Bruce Springsteen, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Avril Lavigne and more.