Bon Jovi 2000s
 After a nearly three-year hiatus, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, Crush, enjoyed overwhelming success both in the US and overseas, thanks in part to the smash-hit single It's My Life, co-written by famous Swedish producer Max Martin. Crush, which also produced such hits as Say It Isn't So and Thank You For Loving Me, soon became the band's most successful studio album since Keep the Faith, and helped introduce them to a new, younger fan base.
The Crush Tour, which began that summer, originally encompassed only 60 or so shows and was extended due to Bon Jovi's newfound popularity, with the band remaining on tour through mid-2001. 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. The Crush tour was notable in that the European 2000 leg included the band headlining two nights at Wembley Stadium. These would be the final shows at the venue before it was demolished. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the band performed as part of the star-studded The Concert for New York City benefit for victims and their families. They performed an acoustic medley of Livin' on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive with a stirring finale of It's My Life.
In late 2002, Bounce hit stores. Though Bounce did not enjoy quite the level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce hit singles Everyday and the title track. The band went on the U.S. Bounce Tour for this album, during which they made history as the last band to play Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia before it was torn down. The band also released a promotional album through Target, featuring eight demo and live tracks.
Following the end of the Bounce Tour in August 2003, Bon Jovi embarked on what would become a unique and ambitious 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. This Left Feels Right was released in November 2003, with the title referring to the left turn of sorts that the band took in redoing the songs heard on this record.
The following year the band released a box set entitled 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong, the title being an 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 as 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, where they performed a sneak preview of an unfinished song, Have a Nice Day. Bon Jovi also participated in Live 8 on July 2, 2005, where they debuted the full, final version of Have a Nice Day, alongside the classics, Livin' on a Prayer and It's My Life. On August 20, 2005, the band headlined Miller Brewing Co.'s Big Brew-Ha, celebrating its 150th anniversary. The free stadium concert at Miller Park in Milwaukee included one preview song from the band's forthcoming album.
Bon Jovi's long-awaited ninth studio album, Have a Nice Day, was released in September 2005. The album topped the charts around the world, giving Bon Jovi its career-best first week sales of over 202,000 albums. Have A Nice Day was the first single off the new album, and debuted at radio worldwide on July 18, 2005. The second single, Who Says You Can't Go Home, was released in the U.S. in the spring of 2006, although internationally it was the third single release after Welcome to Wherever You Are. In the U.S. a duet version of Who Says You Can't Go Home with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland was released, and in May 2006, Bon Jovi became the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart[citation needed]. On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi also finally won the elusive Grammy Award, for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for Who Says You Can't Go Home.
Bon Jovi live in Dublin, May 20, 2006Soon 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, being shorter than previous ones with only seventy-five shows originally planned, took the band to numerous stages and arenas throughout the world. During the tour, Bon Jovi performed as the headlining act at Nascar's Daytona 500 on February 19, 2006. Originally it was planned for them to be the first act to perform at the new Wembley Stadium in London, however, the construction company Multiplex who were behind the stadium's rebuilding project said the completion of the stadium had been delayed until 2007. The concerts were therefore moved to the Milton Keynes National Bowl and Hull, KC Stadium with the same performance dates. Following dates in Japan and Europe, Bon Jovi extended the tour and returned to the US in the summer of 2006 for a few stadium shows, including 3 sold-out shows in the band's native New Jersey at Giants Stadium. Jon Bon Jovi thanked the crowd for their support because the group had now sold out Giants Stadium eight times. On February 7, 2006, a promotional album, Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour, was released through Wal-Mart, which contained six live tracks recorded in December 2005 in Boston. Three of these tracks were released in the U.K. in June 2006 as B-sides on the single Who Says You Can't Go Home.
On November 14, 2006, Bon Jovi were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame alongside James Brown and Led Zeppelin, joining music legends such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna and Elvis Presley. They will not be eligible for the U.S. equivalent until 2009.
With the end of the Have A Nice Day Tour, Bon Jovi began to throw around ideas for their next project. Among the potential offerings were going to Nashville to record with country stars (following the success of Who Says You Can't Go Home), a second greatest hits CD, a new studio album, and even new movies.
In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their new tenth studio album, Lost Highway. The album debuted at number #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time that Bon Jovi have had a number one album on the US charts since the release of New Jersey in 1988. Thanks to the band's new country music fanbase, the album sold 292,000 copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., and became Bon Jovi's third US number one album. The first single from the new album was (You Want to) Make a Memory, which debuted (and peaked) at #27 in the Billboard Hot 100, Bon Jovi's highest ever debut in the U.S. charts. The album reached Number #1 in Japan, Canada, Australia and Europe, and reached number #2 in the UK.
To promote the new album, Bon Jovi made several television appearances, including the 6th annual CMT Awards in Nashville, American Idol, and MTV Unplugged, as well as playing at the Live Earth concert at Giants Stadium. Also to promote the album, the band performed ten promotional gigs in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Japan, a mini-tour which has unofficially been called the Lost Highway Tour by fans. 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 one minute of tickets being released. They also played at Summerfest in Milwaukee on July 5 to a crowd that broke the Marcus Amphitheater attendance record[citation needed].
On June 6, 2007, Richie Sambora checked himself into a rehabilitation facility. This meant that he was missing for a concert in Puerto Rico as well as several television appearances, with backup guitarist Bobby Bandiera taking his place. He checked out on June 13, and was present for Bon Jovi's remaining summer concerts.
When questioned on American Idol, Jon Bon Jovi revealed that the band would embark on a tour beginning in January, after playing ten dates in New Jersey in the fall. According to Richie Sambora this tour would be a greatest hits tour, so it would not be in direct support of Lost Highway. However, in October 2007 the band announced the Lost Highway Tour. Starting with the New Jersey gigs, the band will then tour Canada and Japan, with other legs in Europe, Australia and America expected to follow. The Lost Highway Tour will feature Bon Jovi's first ever concert in New Zealand, and will also see them perform at the halftime show of Super Bowl XLII.
|
