Maru and I love Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer.
We don’t play it often, but when we do, there is gut-busting lip syncing happening all round the kitchen.
In my opinion, the song is 80’s magic due to Jon Bon Jovi’s vocal performance; especially the stunning high notes in the choruses. He exhibits a vocal range that few men are able to achieve.
As a fan of the song, I also tried to look up live versions, and when I did, I found something really strange: there are no live performances where Jon Bon Jovi sings the high notes.
None.
Zip.
Nada.
Zero.
Every time it gets to the high notes in the chorus, Jon Bon Jovi holds the mic out for the audience to sing them.
I thought it may be an age thing, as the timbre and richness of a singer’s voice does change as they get older. But even in the live performances from the 80s he doesn’t go for the high notes.
My suspicion is that Jon Bon Jovi—with the magic of a sound engineer and pitch correction—was able to record the song in a studio, but is unable to replicate the performance on a stage.
This got me pondering a larger point: when we create our own products, services, or experiences, do we want to record it right once, or do we want every live performance to be unforgettable at the high notes?