Yes, Jon lip synchs the high "Livin' on a prayer" before the solo each and every time the song is performed nowadays. He did so in 2001-06 already (at least on most occasions), but in '07-'13 he always sang it live, even when his voice wasn't at its freshest. He also went for it at the Jakarta '15 show, but failed miserably and - being the perfectionist we all know he is - probably got so frustrated that he couldn't handle the thought of himself sounding so bad in the ears of an audience night after night. Also, his lack of vocal confidence makes him afraid of even trying.

The most amazing thing about the whole situation is that in Pittsburgh last April, when Jon was suffering from bronchitis and had to cut the show short, the backing track wasn't used as Dave sang the song. However, Jon still decided to go for the part before the solo and somehow managed to sing it IN KEY for the first time since March/April 2013, without any pitch-correcting effect and while struggling with an inflammation in his lungs! Check it out yourself:

https://youtu.be/w8WvF7GN-r8?t=3m15s

Holy f***ing shit, that performance is amazing! The high, raspy "WOO-OO-OO-OO-OOH" at 4:44 gives me goosebumps every time - Jon definitely hadn't lost his voice yet!

Here's Always from Nagoya '03 - in my opinion, one of the best post-2k versions of the song:

https://youtu.be/TzLSGZF3aUw?t=33m37s

The start of the Bounce Tour was very good. There were two nights in Tokyo, in those two nights they opened with I Believe, the two performances are magnificent and somewhat different in the end.


Minute 3:55 until end.


And yep, Nagoya is a great show.

Are you sure that's not the backing track at work there? Sound utterly familiar...

Also, while watching the Cleveland '13 show, I thought it was the same backing track we always dub the MetLife one. So maybe it was already in place at the start of the tour (and probably only *not* used on several occasions)?

In Cleveland they definitely didn't use any backing track during the part, as while Jon sang most of the line in key, he was (very) slightly flat during the "on a prayer" - something that never happens now that he uses the playback.

Also, in Pittsburgh the backing track wasn't used either, as Jon got somewhat out of key during the "on a prayer" part again, after nailing the "livin'".

Do you mean the soundboard? I've noticed that the backing tracks aren't on it, but what Jon actually sang that night (noticeable if you compare the SBD to the audience videos). Don't remember which show it was, though, and don't know if it's been a glitch or done on purpose for all shows...

The Pittsburgh show hasn't been released as a soundboard recording, due to its substandard quality. I'm talking about this audience video:

https://youtu.be/w8WvF7GN-r8

One of my favourite performances. Just shows how much they could still rock in the early 2000's!!!

Jon gave his all on that. One of his best performances post-90s.