An early morning Google search for “Jon Bon Jovi” on July 9, 2010, the date he and his band return to New Meadowlands after a brief break from their current world tour, yields 2,480,000 results. Biographies, discographies, photos, videos, news, so-called fan fiction, reviews, and commentary: it’s all there. Everything you want to know about Jon Bon Jovi is right at your fingertips. Love him, hate him, or indifferent to him, there is no denying that JBJ is still relevant even after twenty-five-plus years into his career.
Obviously, this writer has not visited all 2,480,000 results, but she has spent countless hours on the Internet searching for the best sites about Jon Bon Jovi. As with any list like this, some will disagree. Feel free to comment in the section at the end of this article. What sites should be included in the list, and what sites on the list do you not like?
First is the official site for all things Bon Jovi, bonjovi.com; it only makes sense. To get the full benefit from this site, though, one needs to join the Jon Bon Jovi fan club (Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi) for access to forums, chatrooms, and exclusives photos, videos, contests, and sales. Be forewarned, though: if you choose to post in a forum, you must have thick skin. While almost everyone in the fan club is friendly and tolerant, a select few have appointed themselves as BWJBJ police and will ridicule and ostracize anyone who says or does something they don’t like.
For information about Jon Bon Jovi’s off-stage endeavors, look no further than jonbonjovisoulfoundation.org, the official site of JBJ’s humanitarian effort to help break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. It provides a view of the lesser-known side of a rock music icon with a reputation for being self-absorbed and arrogant, whether said reputation is valid or not.
A site that provides creative, witty commentary is the Bon Jovi Examiner column at examiner.com. Written by Glenn Osrin, a.k.a. the Wizard of Osrin, the column has become quickly popular since its debut earlier this year. Articles there are often tongue-in-cheek with topics such as an expose of the reason behind JBJ’s insistence on using a white mic stand for performing and the twelve steps of recovery for a Bon Jovi-holic. And while some may dismiss the column as being mindless fluff, Osrin is a writer whose appeal is that he knows how to make fun of himself, a long-time Bon Jovi fan. It’s all in good fun.
The best fan-made site dedicated to JBJ may be the one at thegoddesshathor.blogspot.com. Updated regularly and often, you can currently find information there about the world tour that is every bit as helpful as that found at the band’s site as well as a blog, links to many other Bon Jovi-related sites, and a Bon Jovi fan fiction directory, among other things. The Goddess is a fan fic writer herself, but beware: her writing is wrapped in a bundle she describes as a “pornfolio.”
Also providing up-to-date news is bonjovifansite.com. None of the news there is original (you can find it elsewhere on the web), but it provides one-stop convenience for those who want the latest headlines without having to surf all over the ‘net.
For a more personalized approach, try cattehouse.blogspot.com. While not updated as often (only four posts so far this year), it is a peek into the life of one of the hardest of the hardcore fans, the groupies of the twenty-first century who may cyberstalk JBJ but who do it all for love. Blame it on the love of JBJ. One does get the feeling, though, that Catte writes mostly for her friends rather than all of Bon Jovi fandom, and she and her friends are obviously a tight-knit group.
Another noteworthy blog and probably the most credible is the one found at jovijunction.blogspot.com. Written by Big Apple Jovi Girl, it is not exclusively about Bon Jovi but is also about Broadway and other musicians she likes (although many of those musicians are somehow related to Bon Jovi). Big Apple Jovi Girl may have some friends on the inside as she seems to be the one to always score tickets to rare events, and the small number of links on her blogsite (as opposed to other sites that will link any and everything about Bon Jovi) suggests that she is particularly mindful of her reputation (relationship?) with the band.
Finishing the list of blogsites is the one at blameitonthelove.blogspot.com, a very active blog that has a newsy-feel and is probably the most professional.
Finally, this list wouldn’t be complete without mention of Anthony Kuzminski over at the-screen-door.blogspot.com. His blog is not dedicated exclusively to Bon Jovi, but when he does write about them, he is always interesting and is usually spot-on.
This top ten list has only nine spots filled so far. What site do you think should fill the tenth spot? Submit ideas below.
