Justin Hawkins of The Darkness has said people close to Jon Bon Jovi “need to tell him to stop” singing.
“If I was working for Jon Bon Jovi and I cared about the brand, I would ask him to consider cancelling the tour and getting some medical attention,” he said on his YouTube show Justin Hawkins Rides Again. (In fact, the tour ended on April 30).
“There must be a huge machine around Bon Jovi that stops him from being able to sort of pull the plug on it, really, which is what needs to happen.”
Clips from last month's concerts, showing Bon Jovi struggling to sing some of his band's classic songs, have been shared on social media and YouTube. "Jon Bon Jovi doing his best," reads the caption on one video from a Dallas show.
Some reviews have singled out the 60-year-old singer’s vocals.
Ross Raihala of twincities.com noted “some shockingly poor vocals from Jon Bon Jovi” and added: “Bon Jovi didn’t just miss a note here or there, he struggled throughout the two-plus hour show.”
An indystar.com review of another Bon Jovi show singled out his “weak vocals” and opined that his voice “never fully shined.”
This week, Asbury Park Press quoted vocal coach Matt Edwards, associate professor of voice and voice pedagogy at Virginia’s Shenandoah Conservatory, suggesting that Bon Jovi “check in with a laryngologist and get his vocal folds looked at.”
Bon Jovi tested positive for COVID-19 last October.
Hawkins shared his thoughts on what might be happening.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s a polyp or some sort of lump on his vocal cords, because that would be more unpredictable — he would be hitting the notes, and then it would squeak off and it would do something unexpected.
“But that’s not what’s happening here. This sounds like he’s super tired.”
Hawkins said he believes Bon Jovi needs vocal therapy. “To hold a note with it being off-key suggests some pitching issues that might be to do with hearing, as well,” he said. “This sounds like something’s eating away at him from the inside.”
Calling Bon Jovi “one of the greats,” Hawkins wrote in the episode's description that he has “the utmost respect” for the singer and wishes him “nothing but love.”