 Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake John Bon Jovi, pianist and keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, lead guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. The band's line-up has remained mostly static during its history, with the only exceptions being the 1994 dismissal of bass player Alec John Such, who was unofficially replaced by Hugh McDonald, and the departure of longtime guitarist and CO songwriter Richie Sambora in 2013. Phil X and McDonald both become official members in 2016. In 1986, Bon Jovi achieved widespread global recognition with their third album, Slippery When Wet. The band's fourth album, New Jersey was equally successful in 1988. After touring and recording non-stop during the late 1980s, the band went on hiatus following the New Jersey tour in 1990, during which time John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora both released successful solo albums. In 1992, the band returned with the album Keep the Faith. Their 2000 single It's My Life, which followed a second hiatus, successfully introduced the band to a younger audience. Bon Jovi have been known to use different styles in their music, which has included country for their 2007 album Lost Highway. On March 12, 2013, Bon Jovi released their 12th studio album, What About Now? Thus far, Bon Jovi has released 13 studio albums, plus six compilations and three live albums. The band has sold more than 130 million records worldwide and performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans. Bon Jovi was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. The band was also honored with the award of merit at the American Music Awards in 2004, and as songwriters and collaborators, John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. History. Formation, 1978-1983. John Bon Jovi began playing piano and guitar in 1975, at the age of 13, with his first band Raze. At 16, Bon Jovi met David Bryan and formed a band called Atlantic City Expressway. Still in his teens, Bon Jovi played in the band John Bon Jovi and the Wild Ones, playing local clubs like the Fast Lane, and opening for known acts in the area. By 1980, he formed another band, The Rest, and opened up for New Jersey acts such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. By mid-1982, out of school and working part-time at a women's shoe store, John Bon Jovi took a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin Tony Bon Jovi was CEO owner. Bon Jovi made several demos including one produced by Billy Squire and sent them to record companies, though failing to make an impact. His first professional recording was as lead vocals in R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas, which was part of The Christmas in the Stars album which his cousin CEO produced. In 1983, a then-unknown Bon Jovi visited a local radio station WAP-103.5 FM The Apple and Lake Success, New York, and wrote and sang the jingles for the station. He spoke with DJ Chip Hobart and to the promotion director, John Lassman, who suggested Bon Jovi let WAP include the song Runaway on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was reluctant, but eventually gave them the song, on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on the track Runaway, which was written in 1982. WAP worked with WARTV, now WWRTV, in nearby Saacacus, New Jersey on a music video show, Rock Nine Videos, for a short time in 1984. The studio musicians who helped record Runaway known as the All-Star Review were guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bithin, drummer Frankie LaRocca, and bassist Hugh McDonald. The song began to get airplay in the New York area, then other sister stations in major markets picked up the song. In March 1983, Bon Jovi called David Bryan, who in turn called bassist Alec John Such and an experienced drummer named Tico Torres, both formerly of the band Phantom's Opera. Tap-to-play lead guitar was Bon Jovi's neighbor, Dave Sabo, a.k.a. The Snake, though he never officially joined the band. He and John promised each other that whoever made it first, would help out the other. Sabo later went on to form the group Skid Row. John saw and was impressed with hometown guitarist Richie Sambora. Sambora had toured with Joe Cocker, played with a group called Mercy and had been called up to audition for KISS. He also played on the album Lessons with the band Message, which was re-released on CD through Long Island Records in 1995. Message was originally signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label, although the album was never released. Tico Torres was also an experienced musician, having recorded and played live with Phantom's Opera, the Marv Letts and Chuck Berry. He appeared on 26 Records and had recently recorded with Franca and the Knockouts, a Jersey band with hit singles during the early 1980s. David Bryan had quit the band that he and Bon Jovi had founded in order to study medicine. While in college, he realized that he wanted to pursue music full-time, and was accepted to Juilliard School, a New York music school. When Bon Jovi called his friend and said that he was putting together a band, and a record deal looked likely, Bryan followed Bon Jovi's lead and gave up his studies. Bon Jovi and 7800-degree Fahrenheit, 1984-1985 Once the band began playing showcases and opening for local talent, they caught the attention of record executive Derek Schulman, who signed them to Mercury Records and who was part of the Polygram Company. Because John Bon Jovi wanted a group name, Pamela Maher, a friend of Richard Fisher and an employee of Doc McGee, suggested they call themselves Bon Jovi, following the example of the other famous two-word bands such as Van Hollen. This name was chosen instead of the original idea of Johnny Electric. Pamela's suggestion of the name was met with little enthusiasm, but two years later they hit the charts under that name. With the help of their new manager Doc McGee they recorded the band's debut album, Bon Jovi, which was released on January 21, 1984. The album included the band's first hit single, Runaway, reaching top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The group soon found itself opening for Scorpions in US and for Kiss in Europe. In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album 7800 degree Fahrenheit was released. The band released three singles only Lonely, In and Out of Love and The Ballad Silent Night. The album peaked at number 37 on Billboard 200 and certified gold by RIAA. While the album did not do as well as they'd hoped in terms of sales, it allowed Bon Jovi to get out on the road touring again. In May 1985, Bon Jovi headlined venues in Japan and Europe. At the end of the European tour, the band began a six-month run of US tour dates supporting Ratt. In the midst of that tour they managed to make appearances at the Texas Jam and Castle Dunnington's Monsters of Rock concerts in England. The band also performed at the very first farm aid in 1985. Slippery Winwet, 1986-1987. After two moderately successful albums, the group changed their approach for their next album and hired professional songwriter Desmond Child as a collaborator. Bruce Fairbairn was chosen as the producer of the album. In early 1986 Bon Jovi moved to Vancouver, Canada to record their third album. The band spent six months recording the new album. The band decided to name the album Slippery Winwet after visiting a strip club in Vancouver. On August 16, 1986, Slippery Winwet was released. The album reached number one in US, where it spent eight weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. The first two singles from the album, You Give Love a Bad Name and Living on a Prayer, both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Slippery Winwet was named the top-selling album of 1987 by Billboard Living on a Prayer won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. The band won an award for Favorite Pop Rock Band at the American Music Awards and an award for Favorite Rock Group at the People's Choice Awards. When Slippery Winwet was released in August 1986, Bon Jovi was the support act for 38 Special. By the end of 1986, Bon Jovi were well into six months of headline dates in arenas across America. In August 1987, the band headlined England's Monsters of Rock Festival. During their set D. Snyder, Bruce Dickinson and Paul Stanley joined the band to perform were an American band. The band ended the year having headlined 130 shows in the tour without end, grossing $28,400,000. John Bon Jovi was asked what this breakthrough to worldwide fame meant, to which he answered, everything is bigger, and it moves twice as fast. You're recognized twice as often. This is bigger, the whole world gets bigger. You have to sell more records, be huger. You get smarter and you understand the business a little more, so it's more responsibility. You understand it now, and you want to make sure everything goes right. New Jersey in Hiatus, 1988-1991 Determined to prove that the success of Slippery Winwet was not a fluke, Bon Jovi released their fourth effort New Jersey in September 1988. New Jersey peaked at number one in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. The album produced five Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Bon Jovi the record for the most Top 10 singles spawned by a hard rock album. Two of the hits, Bad Medicine and I'll Be There For You, managed to reach number one. The album's three other singles Born To Be My Baby, Lay Your Hands On Me, and Living In Sin reached the Top 10. Bon Jovi even made the news when the video for A Living In Sin was banned by MTV for featuring some two racy romance sex scenes. After that it was re-edited and MTV put it in heavy rotation. Bon Jovi mounted another huge worldwide tour that continued throughout 1989 and 1990. They visited more than 22 countries and performed more than 232 shows before it was all over. The personal high point for the band was their June 11, 1989 sell-out homecoming at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. In August 1989, the band headed to the Soviet Union for the Moscow Music Peace Festival. Bon Jovi were the first band officially sanctioned by the Soviet government to perform in the Soviet Union and New Jersey became the first US album to be released legally in the USSR. In September 1989, John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performed Live In On A Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive Only with two acoustic guitars on the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance has generally been acknowledged as the inspirational spark that led to the MTV Unplugged series and the catalyst for the subsequent popularity of the unplugged movement in popular music. The non-stop touring was taking its toll on the band. By the end of the New Jersey tour, Bon Jovi had 16 months of concerts under their belt and the band members were exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Finally, following the last tour date in Mexico, and without any clear plans for their future, the band members just went home. Between 1990 and 1991 the band members went their separate ways. The exhaustion of recording both Slippery When Wet and New Jersey Back to Back, with highly paced world tours after each album, took its toll on the band. The band has since stated that there were few if any goodbyes between them at the end of the New Jersey tour. During the time they took off from the scene, the band retreated to their own projects and showed no desire for making another album. Disillusioned with the music business, despite all his success, and unhappy with the status quo, in 1991 John Bon Jovi fired his management, business advisors and agents, including his longtime manager, Doc McGee. John took on the quarterbacking responsibilities himself by closing ranks and creating Bon Jovi management. In October 1991 the band went to a Caribbean island of St. Thomas to discuss plans for the future. They managed to resolve their differences by allowing each member to speak about his feelings without interruption from each other. Upon resolving their issues, they headed back into the Vancouver Little Mountain Studios with Bob Rock to work on the band's fifth album in January 1992. Keep the Faith and Cross Road, 1992-1995 Bon Jovi's fifth studio album Keep the Faith was released in November 1992, representing the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Bon Jovi and marking a change in the band's sound and image. The album turned away from heavy drums and wild guitar solos, but instead introduced a more mature sound of Bon Jovi and contained more serious lyrics. The media focused considerable attention on John Bon Jovi's hair. When John Bon Jovi cut his hair he made headlines on CNN. To promote Keep the Faith they returned to their roots playing a few dates at the small New Jersey clubs where they had started their career. The band appeared on MTV Unplugged but that was different from the other episodes of MTV Unplugged series. The performance captures Bon Jovi in an intimate, in the round experience, performing acoustic and electric renditions of classic hits, Bon Jovi and non-Bon Jovi tracks, and new material from Keep the Faith. The concert was released commercially in 1993 as Keep the Faith, an evening with Bon Jovi. The album managed to reach double platinum status by the RIAA and produced the top 10 hit Bed of Roses while the title track hit No. 1 on the mainstream rock tracks Bon Jovi embarked on an extensive international world tour for the album, visiting countries the band had never seen before and headlining stadiums in the South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. They visited 37 countries, performed 177 shows and seen them play to 2.5 million fans on the Keep the Faith tour I'll Sleep When I'm Dead tour. In October 1994, Bon Jovi released a greatest hits album titled Cross Road, with two new tracks, Always and Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. The first single from the album always became Bon Jovi's highest-selling single and stayed on top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for six months. In the UK, Cross Road became the best-selling album of 1994. That year Bon Jovi won an award for best-selling rock band at the World Music Awards. That same year, bassist Alec John Such was fired from the band, the first line-up change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald who was the bassist on Runaway, unofficially replaced Such as Bassist. John Bon Jovi said, regarding the departure of Such, of course it hurts. But I learned to accept and respect it. The fact that I'm a workaholic, studio in, studio out, stage on, stage off, want to be dealing with music day and night, doesn't mean everyone else has to adjust to that pace. Alec wanted to quit for a while now, so it didn't come as a complete surprise. It was followed by a hugely successful worldwide tour. In June 1995, Bon Jovi sold out three nights at London's historical Wembley Stadium. The concerts were documented for Bon Jovi, live from London. These days in another hiatus, 1995-1998. Bon Jovi's sixth studio album, These Days, was released in June 1995, during which time the band on European tour. The album debuted at number one in UK and spent four consecutive weeks at the top position. The album also reached number one in Ireland, Germany, Australia, Japan and many other countries. The album's first single was the rhythm and blues-influenced ballad This Ain't a Love Song. With an exotic video filmed in Thailand, This Ain't a Love Song reached top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the only significant US hit from the album, however, the album produced four UK top 10 hits, This Ain't a Love Song, something for the pain, lie to me and these days. That year the band earned a Brit Award for Best International Band and also won a MTV Europe Music Award for Best Rock. It was followed by These Days tour. In June 1995, Bon Jovi sold out three nights at London's historical Wembley Stadium. The concerts were documented for Bon Jovi, live from London. Bon Jovi visited 43 countries and performed 126 shows on These Days tour. Following the overwhelming success of the These Days tour, the members of Bon Jovi went their separate ways. But unlike the period following the New Jersey tour, tainted with uncertainty, this hiatus was a conscious group decision. The members of Bon Jovi agreed to a self-imposed two-year sabbatical from the band. Crush, Bounce and This Left Feels Right, 1999-2004 Bon Jovi reunited in 1999 to record the song Real Life for the movie Ed TV. David Bryan was recovering from an accident in which he nearly severed his finger. After a nearly four-year hiatus, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. In June 2000, Crush was released as the band's seventh studio album and constituted something of a comeback. The first single It's My Life was noted as one of the group's most successful releases in a decade and most importantly, becoming a symbol of the band's longevity as they prevailed through many different changes in the mainstream rock scene with admirable success. It's My Life helped introduce them to a new, younger fan base. The band received two Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album Crush and Best Rock Performance by duo group It's My Life. The video for It's My Life won the My VH1 Music Awards for my favourite video. Bon Jovi played two sold-out concerts at London's historic Wembley Stadium in August 19, 2020, 2000, becoming the last ever concerts held at the legendary venue before its demolition. That year the band played to 1.1 million fans in 40 arena and stadium venues across North America, Europe and Japan. While on tour, Bon Jovi released a collection of live performances from throughout their career in an album entitled One Wild Night Live 1985-2001. This was Bon Jovi's first ever live album. The songs were culled from archives of recorded material the band had been collecting from their earliest days on the road right through the current tour. The band sold out two homecoming concerts at New Jersey's Giants Stadium in July 27, 2008, 2001. The broadcast broke ratings records for the VH1 network. At the end of the year Bon Jovi awarded four hottest live show at the 2001 My VH1 Music Awards. The members of the band had anticipated a brief vacation before work would begin on the band's eighth studio album. But on September 11, the world changed. Within days of the terrorist attacks, John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora had filmed public service announcements for the Red Cross, recorded America the Beautiful for the NFL and performed as part of the Historic America, a tribute to hero's live telethon. One month later, the band participated at two Monmouth County Alliance of Neighbors' Concerts in Red Bank, New Jersey to raise funds for the family's close the band's hometowns, which were affected by the World Trade Center disaster. And on October 21, 2001, Bon Jovi performed at the Monumental Concert for New York at Madison Square Garden, raising relief funds and honoring those who worked to save lives during the attack. In spring 2002, the group entered the studio to begin recording their eighth studio album. Bounce was influenced by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, released on October 8, 2002. The album debuted at number two in both the US and UK. The band went on the Bounce tour for the album, during which they made history as the last band to play Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia before it was torn down. Following the end of the Bounce tour in August 2003, Bon Jovi embarked on a side project, originally intending to produce an album consisting of live acoustic performances, the band ended up rewriting, re-recording and reinventing 12 of their biggest hits in a new and much different light. Bon Jovi's compilation album This Left Feels Right was released in November 2003. The following year, the band released a box set entitled 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong, the title being a homage to Elvis Presley's 50,000,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong. The set consisted of four CDs packed with 38 unreleased and 12 rare tracks as well American Samoa a DVD. The box set marked the sales of 100 million Bon Jovi albums and also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's first record in 1984. In November 2004, Bon Jovi was honored with the award for merit at the American Music Awards. Have a Nice Day and Lost Highway, 2005-2008 The band's ninth studio album, Have a Nice Day, was released in September 2005. The album debuted at number two in both the US and UK, reaching number one in 15 countries. The title track was an international hit, reaching the top 10 in the UK, Europe, Australia and Canada. The second single, Who Says You Can't Go Home, was released in early 2006. The song reached top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. A duet version of Who Says You Can't Go Home with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland, peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country songs and Bon Jovi became the first rock band to have a number one single on Billboard's country chart. On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles won the Grammy Award, four best country collaboration with vocals for Who Says You Can't Go Home. The band also won an award for favorite rock song at the People's Choice Awards with Who Says You Can't Go Home. Soon after the release of Have a Nice Day, the band started gearing up for the new 2005-2006 worldwide Have a Nice Day tour. This tour, took the band to numerous stages and stadiums throughout the world. The tour was a significant commercial success, as the group played to 2,000,000 fans, and the tour grossed a total $191 million. The tour was the third-highest-grossing tour of 2006 taking in just over $131 million, just behind the Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang World Tour and Madonna's Confessions Tour. On November 14, 2006, Bon Jovi were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame alongside James Brown and Led Zeppelin. In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their 10th studio album, Lost Highway. The album influences the band's rock sound with that of country music following the success of a country version of the band's 2006 single Who Says You Can't Go Home, a duet with Jennifer Nettles. To promote the new album, Bon Jovi made several television appearances, including the sixth annual CMT Awards in Nashville, American Idol, and MTV Unplugged, as well as playing at the Live Earth Concert at Giants Stadium. They also performed 10 promotional gigs in the US, Canada, the UK and Japan. As part of the tour, Bon Jovi were the first group to perform at London's new O2 Arena, formerly the Millennium Dome, when it opened to the public on June 24, 2007. The 23,000-seater stadium sold out within 30 minutes of tickets being released. The album, described by John Bon Jovi as a Bon Jovi album influenced by Nashville, topped the charts in US, Canada, Europe and Japan. The album's third single Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore features Leanne Rimes and won the CMT Music Award for the collaborative video of the year in 2008. The song was also nominated for the Academy of Country Music Award for Vocal Event of the Year. In October 2007 the band announced the Lost Highway tour. Starting with the 10 shows to open the brand new, Newark, New Jersey Prudential Centre, the band toured Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the US and then Europe, finishing in the summer of 2008. The tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2008 in Billboard's rankings, with ticket sales of $210.6 million, reported from November 14, 2007 through November 11, 2008. In all, 2,157,675 tickets were sold during 2008. Combined with $16.4 million in 2007 from the Newark shows, making a combined gross of $227 million in ticket sales. In Polestar's calculus for North America, the Lost Highway tour had the highest gross for 2008 at $70.4 million. The Circle and Greatest Hits, 2009-2011 In April 2009, Phil Griffin's documentary on the band, When We Were Beautiful, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, chronicling Bon Jovi's ups and downs over 25 years and following the band on their latest Lost Highway tour. In June 2009, John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame. That month they also recorded a cover of the song Stand By Me with Iranian singer Andy Matadiyan, to show solidarity for those affected by political unrest in Iran. Parts of the song were sung in Persian. On November 10, 2009, the band released their 11th studio album, entitled The Circle. The Circle is a return to rock and roll after their Nashville-influenced album, Lost Highway. The album debuted at number one in the US, Canada, Germany and Japan. Bon Jovi headed out on the road once again on February 19, 2010, embarking on the Circle tour. Bon Jovi kicked off the stadium leg of the Circle tour by making history. They played the first-ever show at the brand-new New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The three sold-out shows on May 26, 2007 and 29, 2010 were a huge success. Bon Jovi's 12-night run at London's O2 Arena grossed $18,178,036 and seen them play to 187,696 fans. The Circle tour was the highest-grossing concert tour of 2010 according to Billboard's annual top 25 concert tours. So far the tour has played to 1,909,234 fans and has grossed $201.1 million from more than 80 venues reported to Polestar. For the second time in three years, Bon Jovi ranked as Billboard's and Polestar's top touring act of the year. Bon Jovi was also ranked second on Forbes magazine's list of the world's highest-paid musicians, earning an approximate $125 million income that year. Bon Jovi released a greatest hits album with four new songs in October 2010. The album debuted at number one in Canada, Ireland, Europe, Australia and made the top five in 20 countries. At the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards, Bon Jovi received the Global Icon Award. In October 2010, Bon Jovi released the concert film, The Circle Tour alive from Jersey in US theaters. At the same time, the band announced their upcoming tour. At the conclusion of 2011, the tour placed second on Billboard's annual, top 25 tour, earning over 790 million pounds dollars. Inside Out, What About Now and Sambora's Departure, 2012-2014. In January 2012, John Bon Jovi stated that they were working on a 12th studio album, and in a live show in August 2012, John Bon Jovi played an acoustic version of a song that was announced to be on the upcoming album. In October 2012, Bon Jovi announced Because We Can, a new world tour for 2013, in support of their new album, What About Now, which was released on March 12, 2013. The tour started in February 2013 and visited North America, Europe, Africa, the Far East, Australia and Latin America. On November 27, 2012, Bon Jovi released a new live video album, called Inside Out, made up of content from shows at the O2 Arena, MetLife Stadium and Madison Square Garden. The album was first shown at movie theaters, with screenings preceded by a question-and-answer session with John Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres streamed live from a theater in New York, and was subsequently made available for purchase on iTunes. On March 14, 2013, Bon Jovi appeared on the results show of American Idol and played one song, Because We Can, from their new album What About Now. From April 2 forward, Richie Sambora departed the band's ongoing tour for unspecified personal reasons, Phil X once again replaced him, this time for the remainder of the tour, amidst rumors that Sambora had been fired. Both Sambora and John Bon Jovi later denied the claim. Tico Torres was also sidelined briefly due to emergency gallbladder surgery, he was replaced by Rich Scannella from Bon Jovi's solo band, The Kings of Suburbia, from September 20 to October 6. 2014 marked the 30th anniversary since the band's first album Bon Jovi was released. In celebration of this, the band's album New Jersey was reissued along with an additional CD with The Sons of Beaches demos on it. In November 2014, John Bon Jovi told a reporter that Richie Sambora had officially left the band, saying he's quit. He's gone. No hard feelings. That November, he also revealed that he was finishing writing songs for the band's next studio album, their first without Sambora, who was unofficially replaced by touring guitarist Phil X Sambora has since stated that there's no bad blood with me anymore. I love John, and I still see the possibility of a return. Burning Bridges and This House Is Not For Sale, 2015–present On July 31, Bon Jovi released twin lead singles We Don't Run and Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning for the compilation album Burning Bridges. Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning had its premiere at the Austrian Radio 03 Hit Radio on July 17, 2015 and We Don't Run premiered at the Brazilian Radio Radio Rock on July 20, 2015. Burning Bridges was released August 21, 2015. According to John Bon Jovi, the album serves as a fan record to tie in with an accompanying international tour, its songs that weren't finished, that were finished, a couple of new ones like the one we released as a single We Don't Run. A Bon Jovi consultant confirmed that a new studio album is still planned to be released in 2016 followed by a world tour. On September 30, 2015, John Bon Jovi announced during a press conference that the title of their upcoming album will be This House Is Not For Sale. In the article, he said the following the record is about our integrity. Integrity matters and we're at a place in our career where we don't have anything left to prove. The album's lead single, This House Is Not For Sale featuring a music video was released August 12, 2016, which also featured the promotion of unofficial members Hugh McDonald and Phil X to full-time band members. On November 4, 2016, the band officially released their 13th studio album, This House Is Not For Sale, which was followed by their third live album, This House Is Not For Sale live from the London Palladium, that was released on December 16, 2016. Solo Projects During the band's first sabbatical between 1990-1991 John Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie Young Guns 2 more commonly known as Blaze Of Glory. Released in 1990, the title track, Blaze Of Glory peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1991 Blaze Of Glory won an award for favorite pop-rock single at the American Music Awards and awarded a Golden Globe, as well. The song also earned John Bon Jovi an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy nomination. Richie Sombora, with the help of Tico Torres and David Bryan, released a solo album entitled Stranger In This Town, in 1991. The album featured Eric Clapton on the song Mr. Bluesman. David Bryan recorded a soundtrack for the horror movie The Netherworld, which was the brighter part of that year after he was hospitalized with an illness caused by a South American parasite. Alec John Such took a fall off of his motorcycle which injured his bass playing hand, forcing him to develop a whole new way to hold and play his instrument. In 1997, John Bon Jovi landed lead roles in several movies. While he was free between filming different movies, John wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's Destination Anywhere. A short movie of the same name was recorded around the record's release, based entirely on the songs from the record and starring John Bon Jovi, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon and Whoopi Goldberg. Tico Torres used the opportunity to further pursue his painting while David Bryan started writing and composing various musicals. In 1998, Richie Sombora released his second solo outing titled Undiscovered Soul. In 2012, the band members embarked on solo projects once again, meanwhile recording their What About Now? Returning to film composing for the first time since Blaze of Glory, John Bon Jovi wrote and recorded two songs for the Al Pacino film Stand Up Guys, while Richie Sombora recorded and released his third studio album, Aftermath of the Lowdown, and supported it with a short world tour in October 2012. As regards Tico Torres he focused on playing golf, by taking part in several tournaments and being captured by many different cameras while David Bryan made a short performance at Fantascrity, Carrara in May 26, 2012. Musical Style Bon Jovi's musical style has generally been characterized as hard rock, glam metal, arena rock and pop rock. The band's first four albums blended the glam metal and hard rock genres. Their first two albums used a heavier mixture of glam metal and hard rock while their follow-up which were Slippery When Wet and New Jersey featured a more mainstream commercialized mixture of glam metal and hard rock. They had shed the glam metal sound by their fifth studio album, Keep the Faith, and their sixth, these days, utilizing a more mature hard rock sound. Crush was characterized as far enough into pop rock to actually stand a chance of getting airplay, while Bounce was described as heavy, serious rock. Have a Nice Day was also characterized as being heavier than Crush. The band altered their sound dramatically in their next release, Lost Highway, blending influences from country music and country rock, a sound John Bon Jovi described as a Bon Jovi album influenced by Nashville. Bon Jovi returned to a more typical rock sound on the circle, which was described by all music as conjured by echoed, delayed guitars, shimmering keyboards, and spacious rhythms. Some of the band's influences are Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Van Hollen, The Beatles, Tom Petty and The Animals.