Jon Bon Jovi says he had surgery to fix vocal problems: I'm 'getting it back together'

It sounds like Jon Bon Jovi's vocal problems are halfway there.

The Sayreville native said he's had surgery on his vocal cords to correct problems that go back a decade. The issue came to a head during the band's 2022 tour of the South and Midwest that was fraught with scrutiny.

“I've had major reconstructive surgery in my vocal cords, and I never had anything like this ever,” said Bon Jovi Feb. 7 at the Pollstar Live! music industry event at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. “So it's been a difficult road, but I found a doctor in Philadelphia who did something called a medialization because one of my cords was literally atrophied.”

Medialization is a procedure that provides support to a vocal fold that lacks either the bulk or mobility (or both) that it once had, according to voicedoctor.com.

“Sometimes people get nodules — that's a pretty common place,” said Bon Jovi, according to multiple online postings of the event. “Sometimes deviated septums and things that they've done take its toll on the cords. The only thing that's ever been up my nose has been my finger. So it was very difficult this last decade to have to contend with something that was out of my control.”

Bon Jovi showed the audience a weak vocal cord with his fingers.

“The strong one was literally taking what was left of the weak one,” Bon Jovi said. “So they put a plastic implant in it for the last almost two years now. I've been in this rehab, getting it back together, but I'm getting very close.”

Jon Bon Jovi fronted his band as they performed a new song, “Legendary,” at the recent MusiCares “Person of the Year” gala, where the frontman was feted. Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and more attended and performed.

“Friday night (at the MusiCares gala) was my first live performance in two years,” Bon Jovi said. “The new record's done. So now I just want to get back to two and a half hours a night, four nights a week, before I'm going to go out there on the road again. But I'm confident in my doctor.”

More: Jon Bon Jovi vocal issues: What is going on and how can it be fixed?

More: Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney fete Jon Bon Jovi at MusiCares gala in Los Angeles

Returning to the road will depend on his voice, he said.

“My health has been the first and foremost topic of discussion, but I'm well on the road to recovery,” Bon Jovi said. “If I can't be great, I'm out.”

The rocker was interviewed by his agent, Rob Light of Creative Artists Agency at the Pollstar event. Light’s daughter, Jesse Light, is engaged to Bon Jovi’s eldest son, Jesse Bongiovi.

Upcoming for the band is “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” the first-ever docu-series on the band’s history with “full cooperation from all past and present members.” The series debuts April 26 on Hulu.

Also, Bon Jovi, who’s opened several JBJ Soul Kitchen charity restaurants, will open a commercial restaurant called JBJ's Nashville in Nashville. It will be “a state-of-the-art fusion of rock 'n' roll and country,” according to the venue's website, jbjnash.com.

The opening is expected in the spring.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jon Bon Jovi says he had vocal cord surgery to fix singing problem