[gunner73]

Hey Guys and Girls

Just following on from my previous thread on wanting your views on how big the guys were back in the day!!

How big would you say they are now, i realise it slightly more complicated as chart acts and touring acts dont seem to be the same artist anymore, so from what i see bon jovi now have success in the form of people still going to the shows nearly 30 years on as opposed to having 3 top 10 singles from there latest album release!

However i still think jon would give his left arm for no apologies to be a hit on the radio/tv!!

What do you guys think? Are they as big as they think they are? or not? perhaps bigger?

Cheers
Gunner

[Supersonic]

Aloha !

Bon Jovi are one of the biggest bands out there when it comes to being a touring act, but are not as big as they think they are. They always mention the packed stadiums and number 1's in the charts, but both of those are thing of the past. They can brag all the want to, but European tours haven't sold out in a long, long time now and a market that was always relatively safe (Japan) refuses to book them into the big stadiums anymore.

The fact that Jon lobbies amongs fans in order to get a song to number 1 in a completely irrelevant chart (Get Superman Tonight in the VH1 whatever top please!!!11) makes it obvious that he's desperate to be one of the big shots, but he and Bon Jovi just aren't anymore. There's been a strong decline ever since 2002 that's only gotten bigger over the years, and instead of knowing how to deal with it the only thing Jon thinks about is how to make up for the loss of profit over the years, as in jacking up the prices.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

[bonjovi90]

They still are big, but not as big as Jon thinks they are.
They used to be bigger than they are now...

[Rdkopper]

This is a tough question to answer b/ there are so many different variables which makes selecting a level of popularity very difficult to quantify

The real way to figure out how big they are is to come up with 10 different categories and have people choose 1-10

But again, it comes down to similar discussions/arguments that I've had in other threads. How popular is Paul McCartney? It's un-measurable.

As an aged based band, they definitely crossed over into the Iconic category. I know we all have mixed feeling on the integrity of the R&R Hall Of Fame but that would be the final step for them. After that, they have truly done it all and that would solidify them into that Legendary Status.

What most people fail to do is look at the big picture. Bon Jovi has been around for almost 30 years. If The Circle & GHs fail to produce a hit, it's just a fraction of their career. It doesn't mean anything. I'll rephrase…… It does mean something…. But it doesn't mean everything as most people of this board view it.

Elvis had a tone of failed attempts. He continued to reinvent hinself and he's the King Of Rock. Bon Jovi will reinvent themselves again and comeback with a monster hit. It's cyclical.

[Javier]

they are among the top five biggest touring bands out there. They have scored a few hits with HAND, Who says, Memory and a really minor hit with born to follow. The public needs a break from them as much as they need a break from they're album/tour cycle, nothing's been really massive since the Bounce album/tour Launch.

[crashed]

Fact; wherever I've been in the world, I've randomly met a Bon Jovi fan, and once a random stranger who was a local in a tiny island in the Maldives gave a thumbs up to my Jovi shirt.

It doesn't really matter how big they were then and how big they are now. I think even us fans can't really grasp it. Simply, their still one of the biggest bands there ever was.

[ticos_stick]

This big

[--------------------------------------------------------------]

[wolffex]

don't know about europe or the states, but they are pretty big in canada, and sold out all the shows, even the stadium shows were a huge success.

we might be in the same continent but Canada and U.S are very very much different. When I saw them earlier this year, each shirt on the stand was sold out (which is about $40). There was also lot of people trying to buy tickets outside the venue. Rock is still pretty big in Canada and much more accepted here than in the states (at least rock bands like Bon Jovi, GNR, U2, Metallica, etc...)

The Circle was #1 on Canadian Charts and went platinum, Lost Highway was also #1 (3x platinum), HAND and Greatest Hits also #1. Pretty sure it was same for Crush and Bounce.

[The Northern Cowboy]

I haven't met that many fans here in Vancouver, actually. Those that I've met that DO like Bon Jovi are casual of the casual. Someone I know that went to the second Vancouver night thought the show sucked because "Jon didn't talk enough". She also thought that it wasn't fair that the two nights had such different setlists, and said that "they shouldn't cater to the diehards and play stuff nobody knows". It's this kind of mentality that drives me mentally insane. Unfortunately, almost everyone I've talked to seems to have that kind of attitude.

At least the person mentioned above isn't as bad as the idiots that decide to talk loudly through 70% of the show because they don't know the songs and they're drunk out of their f-ing minds.

So are Bon Jovi still big? Yeah, everyone knows that hits. But most people aren't anything more than your casual fan that wants to hear Livin' On A Prayer for the nth time.

Yep. It SUCKS to live in Vancouver if you're a Bon Jovi diehard.
I'm going to start a blog about why certain people shouldn't go to concerts.

[steel_horse75]

Beatles aside maybe name a band thats been big for nearly 30 years and I mean that in terms on constantly selling 10m ablums every new album and concerts sold out everywhere?
It dont happen anymore.
Bon Jovi are huge live act selling out most places but they will never sell records like they used to.