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Bon Jovi has said that he will be “done” with music if his voice continues to struggle following vocal injury.
The Bon Jovi frontman, 62, underwent surgery for an atrophied vocal cord two years ago and is currently doing vocal rehabilitation sessions every day.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Bon Jovi said that if his vocal capabilities decline and affect his performance, he will be “done”.
“If the singing is not great, if I can’t be the guy I once was … then I’m done,” he said. “And I’m good with that.”
When asked by the interviewer if he is suggesting he will never sing again, he replied: “There is a big difference between being in a studio and going out on the road. We have just recorded a new album. I sing in vocal therapy every day.”
“But I want to perform for two and a half hours a night, four nights a week – and I know how good I can be, so if I can’t be that guy … put it this way, I don’t ever need to be the fat Elvis.”
The “Livin’ on a Prayer” musician said at a Q&A event last week that he is more than capable of singing now that his recovery process is in full swing.
“I’m well into the recovery. I’m more than capable of singing. It’s just that for me, the bar is two and a half hours a night, four nights a week, before I say we’re going to go and do any shows.”
“So I’m well back on the road to recovery – not a day of it’s easy. Every day is a struggle, but I’m more than capable of doing it again. I’m f****ing Bon Jovi!” he added.
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The musician explained that one of his vocal chords was as “thick as a thumb” but the other was “thick as a pinky”, so had the procedure to make them equal again.
Bon Jovi’s experiences of vocal recovery will be depicted in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, a four-part documentary that charts the journey of four teenage friends from New Jersey who became one of the world’s most successful rock bands.
It then follows the band to the present day and chronicles the frontman’s rehabilitation journey.
The music legend said he was keen to get back on the road and tour when his forthcoming album, Forever, is released on 7 June.
“Like I said, it’s my 18th album and we worked as hard or harder on this album as I did on Slippery When Wet, in fact, harder because we’re not as naïve as we were in 1986,” he said of the album’s making.
“But I do think sometimes about the athlete who eventually has to come to terms with a next chapter in their life,” he said.
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story will premiere on Disney Plus on 26 April.