Jon Bon Jovi was honored on February 2 in Los Angeles as the Recording Academy’s MusiCares Person of the Year — with a whole host of A-listers on hand to celebrate the rocker for his philanthropic work.
Bruce Springsteen‘s appearance seemed to be up in the air following the news of his mother Adele’s passing on January 31, but he still attended, which meant a lot to Jon.
“I want to thank my hero, my friend, my mentor Bruce Springsteen,” he said, according to Forbes. “Bruce’s mom passed two days ago. When I first got the news, he was already on the airplane on the way here. But he wanted to be here tonight for MusiCares. And he wanted to be here tonight for me, and I’m forever grateful to you.”
The night kicked off with Bon Jovi performing “Legendary,” a song from their upcoming album, although despite rumors original guitarist Richie Sambora would join the festivities, he was a no-show. The band was then joined by Springsteen for “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and Springsteen’s “The Promised Land.”
Among the night’s other performances: Melissa Etheridge and Larkin Poe performed “Blaze of Glory”; Jelly Roll performed “Bad Medicine”; Maneskin‘s Damiano David sang “Keep the Faith”; Mammoth WVH played “Have a Nice Day”; Sammy Hagar performed “You Give Love A Bad Name,” and Shania Twain sang “Bed of Roses.”
In addition to the performers, Paul McCartney was in the house for the celebration, with Lenny Kravitz, Gayle King, and Kylie Minogue acting as presenters. Jon also got video wishes from the likes of John Mayer, Pink, Ed Sheeran and others.
The night ended with Bon Jovi back on the stage, joined by many of the night’s performers, for a finale of the Jersey rockers’ biggest hit, “Livin’ On A Prayer.”
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