Alternative Character Interpretation: Are Tommy and Gina from "Livin' on a Prayer" two poor lovers who will hold on no matter what, or are they about to cross the Despair Event Horizon and give up? Judging from "It's My Life," which mentions the same lovers, it's the former. Although, in the Break-Up Song "Novocaine", Jon says that there's "a different kind of meaning now to living on a prayer", which suggests that maybe it didn't work out so well after all.
Given that "Novocaine" was released six years after "It's My Life", it's possible they broke up later on...
Awesome Moments: The entirety of the "It's My Life" video, which has Tommy going on a Big Heroic Run from his apartment and all the way through Los Angeles in a furious bid to get to the Bon Jovi concert where Gina is, including a heartstopping moment when he causes a semi to jack-knife and rolls right under it to get to the 2nd Street Tunnel. Is it any wonder why it's their most viewed video on YouTube?
Broken Base: Usually caused by New Sound Albums. This goes as far back, at least, as Keep the Faith, where they started to veer more towards the mainstream and Adult Contemporary, although some argue New Jersey was already going this direction thanks to the runaway success of Slippery When Wet.
Crush's Lighter and Softer tone is often considered to be the line dividing those from the fans who like the heavier sound of their older material and those who like the softer, new phase. Especially that the previous record, These Days, is generally considered to be their darkest album and also the "last good Bon Jovi record" to those who like their older material.
Lost Highway is another dividing line, primarily due to being a country album compared to the rock material of the previous albums.
And then there's one between supporters of Richie Sambora and Phil X; the latter replacing the former twice in tour. Those on Sambora's side mostly argue that his vocal harmonies and songwriting chemistry with Jon are irreplaceable, while those on Phil's consider him to be bringing back the energy that the band has once lost (we'll see now that Phil X played guitars on This House is Not For Sale). As of 2016, it is still guaranteed to see fans trading potshots over the two guitarists on every Facebook post by the band, over three years since Sambora left.
Contested Sequel: Burning Bridges is either their best album in 10 years or just as bad as What About Now.
Covered Up: "She Don't Know Me" was recorded by multiple artists, including The Grassroots while Bon Jovi's version was still in the works.
Epileptic Trees: Despite Word of God saying that the song is a Take That! at the music industry, the comments section in the video of "The Devil's In The Temple" has presented a lot of alternate theories on who exactly is being targeted, ranging from Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande to Donald Trump. Oh, see that triangle behind the set? Must be Jon selling his soul to The Illuminati!
Even Better Sequel: Slippery When Wet is their third studio album, their biggest-selling one, and the one that catapulted them into superstardom.
Fandom Rivalry: There's some with Bruce Springsteen fans, as the two are seen as the biggest rock artists to come out of New Jersey, compelling some to pick one or the other. There's some overlap with Friendly Fandoms, as Springsteen and the Jersey Shore scene were also an influence on the band.
Jon Bon Jovi: "In New Jersey, if you don't like Springsteen they raise your taxes."
"Misunderstood" is huge in Brazil, where it played in a telenovela. 90% of the video's comments are in Portuguese, and every local Bon Jovi cover band has the song in its setlist. Not bad considering the album it came from, Bounce, sank without a trace.
In the United States, Bon Jovi is big but not quite as big as fellow Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen. However he has a much stronger fanbase internationally: in Asia (especially Indonesia and Japan), Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.
Through the years and miles between us It's been a long and lonely ride But if I got that call in the dead of the night I'd be right by your side.
The video for "Who Says You Can't Go Home", where the band helps build a house for Habitat For Humanity.
"Always":
Well, there ain't no luck in these loaded dice, But baby, if you give me just one more try, we could pack up our old dreams and our old lives and find a place where the sun still shines
One anecdotal story was that P!nk was jealous of Jon's wife Dorothea after she married him, and ripped up all of the Bon Jovi posters on her bedroom wall. Jon, after hearing this on a talk show, sent Pink an autographed pair of his blue jeans, with the note, "Here, now you can get in my pants!".
Phil X played the custom-built guitar designed by Kara Shred, a graphic designer and hobby musician who died months before the band performed in Toronto. He found out about the guitar when he read the story on The Guitar World's Facebook page then asked the store's owner that he will play that guitar on stage. It can be seen on 4:40 on this video.
Hilarious in Hindsight: In 2005, Joe Nichols released the song "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off", which name-drops Bon Jovi. The week the song hit #1 on the country charts was also the same week that "Who Says You Can't Go Home", the band's only major country airplay hit, entered the Top 40.
The smirking smiley face from the "Have A Nice Day" video.
Some folks like to Drop "WHAA-OOH! LI-VIN' ON A PRAYER!!!" on random, sometimes in rhyme. And, in general, people tend to give that as a response whenever someone mentions being "halfway there."
Adam Hills, in one of his sketches in Live at the Apollo, said that sending Israeli and Palestinian envoys side-by-side singing Livin' On A Prayer can solve the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Adam Hills:Just pull out a microphone. (imitates Richie Sambora's talkbox) And just wait. Honestly I think the Israelis would crack first. "Well not this is ridiculous, how can we-TOMMY USED TO WORK ON THE DOCKS!" The Palestinians would have to join in, "This is outrageous! How can we-GINA WORKS THE DINER ALL DAY!" Give it a minute, they'd all be on their feet, lighters in the air. "WOOOOAAAAHHH LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!" I mean sure, they'd argue about which prayer, but at least they'd be singing together!
Everett Bradley played percussion in the live concert video for This Left Feels Right, 13 years before he joined as the touring percussionist (and backup vocalist, becoming a spiritual successor of sorts to Bobby Bandiera after the latter's departure in 2015).
Refrain from Assuming: "Shot Through the Heart" is completely different from "You Give Love A Bad Name." The former came from their self-titled album while the latter is from Slippery When Wet. The fact that they both begin with "shot through the heart" doesn't help.
Retroactive Recognition: Jon's first professional credit was as a singer on the track "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas" on the Star Wars Christmas album, Christmas in the Stars.
The Scrappy: Rhythm guitarist Bobby Bandiera and producer John Shanks tend to be on the receiving end of this. While a decent guitarist in his own right, Bandiera is notorious among fans due to how he plays the solo in "In These Arms." As for Shanks, his "wall of sound" production style and the overproduced atmosphere of every album under his watch (that is, every album since and including Have A Nice Day) generate a fair amount of complaining as well. Interestingly enough, this does not extend to his guitar work on Burning Bridges, but then, it's a post-Sambora album so people will generally whine about the former guitarist's absence rather than comment on Shanks' licks.
Slippery When Wet: "Livin' on a Prayer", "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Wanted Dead or Alive". Also "Never Say Goodbye" is well-remembered.
New Jersey: "I'll Be There for You" and "Bad Medicine" primarily, but also "Born to Be My Baby" and "Lay Your Hands on Me" are well-known.
Keep the Faith: "Bed of Roses". The Title Track and "In These Arms" are also well-remembered.
Cross Road: "Always". Though the other new song from the compilation, "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" (which is fairly well-known, but not nearly as popular) was a more frequent concert staple.
These Days: "This Ain't a Love Song", with the Title Track not too far behind.
Crush: "It's My Life" of course, although also "Thank You for Loving Me" is well-known.
Bounce: "Misunderstood" and "All About Lovin' You".
Have a Nice Day: the Title Track, with "Who Says You Can't Go Home" not far behind.
Lost Highway: "You Want to Make a Memory" and to a lesser extent the Title Track.
Suspiciously Similar Song: The choruses to Bonnie Tyler's "If You Were a Woman (and I Was a Man)" and Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" are Suspiciously Similar versions of each other. Probably because they were written by the same guy...note Desmond Child. The former was released two months before the latter.
The chorus of "Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning" sounds a lot like the one on "Gotta Be Somebody."
Even more egregious is the chorus of "Take Back The Night" being way too identical to a certain Swedish House Mafia song.
Try to listen to the chorus of "Born to Be My Baby" and not hear "The River".
"This House Is Not For Sale" treads the Self-Plagiarism line with its riff apparently ripped off off "Have A Nice Day," down to the Telecaster sound and the chord progression, especially AFTER the solo.
"Beautiful World" sounds similar to Matchbox Twenty's "How Far We've Come".
Tear Jerker: Many of their power ballads. Which are many.
Especially the acoustic versions of them.
The video for This Ain't A Love Song, describing the Star-Crossed Lovers affair between a Vietnamese girl and an American Intrepid Reporter during the war, is this in spades. Specially the sequence playing during the guitar riff, in which the girl is apparently gunned down in a crossfire, while her lover can only scream in horror. And then there's the ending, which turns into a Heartwarming Moment when the reporter comes back decades later... and finds out that his old flame actually survived. And also meets their daughter. Earn Your Happy Ending? You bet.
"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night". Something about the stories of so many hopeless lives can be distressing.
"August 7, 4:15" by Jon Bon Jovi, a tribute to his tour manager whose six-year-old daughter had been kidnapped and murdered. The killer was never found.
Tough Act to Follow : Slippery When Wet is the band's best-selling album, with a phenomenal 28 million copies sold world-wide. While New Jersey sold very well and the band has enjoyed long-lasting popularity, nothing else they've done has come close.
on This House is Not For Sale). As of 2016, it is still guaranteed to see fans trading potshots over the two guitarists on every Facebook post by the band, over three years since Sambora left.
