Maps of Music

2020 (2020)

Where the lyrics of 2020 take you, and where it was really made.

Written in quarantine, two new songs replaced earlier tracks, and the release slipped from May to October 2020.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (2019)

Recording site Ocean Way Recording — Recording of the album started on March 9, 2019 at Ocean Way Recording in Nashville. The band recorded bed tracks for 23 songs there over 11 days. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 2020 is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi
• Originally set for release on May 15, 2020 through Island; postponed to October 2, 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic
• The album cover reads Bon Jovi 2020, and the title was revealed during the Runaway to Paradise Mediterranean Cruise
• "Do What You Can" and "American Reckoning" were added and replaced "Luv Can" and "Shine"
• The first version of the album was set to start with "Beautiful Drug" and finish with "Blood in the Water"

Background

• Jon Bon Jovi wrote "Do What You Can" and "American Reckoning" while in quarantine
• "Do What You Can" addresses the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
• "American Reckoning" is a protest song about the murder of George Floyd, written in support of the Black Lives Matter movement
• The Bon Jovi: 2020 Tour was announced on January 15, 2020 and cancelled on April 20, 2020 because of the pandemic
• The title reflects the band's clear vision after This House Is Not for Sale (2016), and 2020 being an American election year

Recording

• Recording began on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at Ocean Way Recording in Nashville
• Over 11 days in Nashville the band recorded bed tracks for 23 songs, and Bon Jovi then chose his favorite 10
• Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboard, percussion and backing vocals by all band members were overdubbed onto those 10 songs

Cover

• Black-and-white photo of Jon Bon Jovi, head tilted forward, mouth near his hand, with an American flag reflected in his sunglasses
• First Bon Jovi cover to feature only Jon Bon Jovi since 7800° Fahrenheit (1985), apart from the abstract covers
• Inspired by a photograph of President John F. Kennedy, taken by Michael Ochs in August 1962, reflecting on a crowd in California

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983.
• Jon Bon Jovi began performing live in 1975 at age 13 with his first band, Raze.
• The band was named Bon Jovi on the suggestion of Pamela Maher, following the model of two-word bands such as Van Halen.
• Its debut album Bon Jovi was released on January 21, 1984, with the single "Runaway" reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top forty.

Members

• The current lineup is Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, John Shanks, Phil X, Everett Bradley, and Hugh McDonald.
• Original bassist Alec John Such left in 1994; he died in 2022.
• Guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013.

Career

• Slippery When Wet (1986) brought global success, with "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• New Jersey (1988) produced five Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles, a record for a hard rock album.
• Keep the Faith (1992) marked a shift to a more mature sound.
• "Always" (1994) became the band's biggest-selling and longest-charting single.
• Crush (2000) and "It's My Life" introduced the band to a younger audience.
• "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (2006) won a Grammy and became the first rock band single to top the Billboard country chart.
• The band has sold more than 130 million records worldwide and was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic's Erlewine described the album as indifferently received
• Erlewine wrote that despite good intentions, the album gets swallowed up by heavy-handed rhythms and earnest murk
• The album was judged to have failed to deliver on its good intentions in a critical sense

Records

• In the US, the album opened at number 19 on the Billboard 200 with 24,700 album-equivalent units
• "Limitless" reached number 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
• "Limitless" charted at number 27 on the Hot Rock and Alternative charts
• "Do What You Can" reached number 11 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
• A new version of "Do What You Can" featuring Jennifer Nettles charted at number 28 on the Country Airplay chart
• "Story of Love" was released as a single in 2021 and charted at number 13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jon Bon Jovi recorded all the songs on his smartphone in poor audio quality and brought them to the band
• On the first recording day, he posted 30-second Instagram story videos of the band tuning their instruments in the studio
• Every ticket for the Bon Jovi: 2020 Tour included one copy of the album
• The band and Island Records donated 100 percent of the single's net download proceeds to the Patriotic Service Dog Foundation for 12 months
• The working title of "Lower the Flag" was "Four Dead in Ohio", taken from the lyrics of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song "Ohio"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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