Singer Jon Bon Jovi reportedly said he may never perform live again after undergoing throat surgery, adding that he does not want his career to end with a “fat Elvis” phase.
“This is the first time I’m saying this,” Bon Jovi told the Sunday Times Magazine. “If the singing is not great, if I can’t be the guy I once was — then I’m done.”
Jon Bon Jovi performs during a drive-in campaign rally for Joe Biden on October 24, 2020 in Dallas, Pennsylvania. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The 62-year-old frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, who is undergoing vocal therapy and rehabilitation, went on to say, “I don’t ever need to be the fat Elvis,” referring to the end of the late Elvis Presley’s career, when he performed as a sub-par version of his former self.
While Bon Jovi was able to record a studio album after his throat surgery, he noted that “There is a big difference between being in a studio and going out on the road.”
“I want to perform for two-and-a-half hours a night, four nights a week — and I know how good I can be,” the “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer said.
“I can tell you that 60 is different from 50 and my current concern is that I’m going to forget how to sing,” he added. “I’ll be crushed if I can’t sing live again, but — that’s the situation I’m in.”
The rock band will release a four-part show, titled Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, on Disney+ at the end of April, as well as a new album, Forever, which will be released in June.
This content will reportedly be the first time listeners will hear Bon Jovi songs that were produced after the lead singer underwent throat surgery.
“I want to look back on 40 years of Bon Jovi, look forward to the new album and appreciate everything,” Bon Jovi told the magazine. “That’s my hope, to find joy in it all.”
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