Bon Jovi recorded his new album, Bon Jovi: 2020, in early 2019, so it goes without saying that the superstar needed to pivot the direction of some of the project to reflect the hardships that we’ve gone through this year.

Speaking with iHeartRadio prior to his set at our 2020 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday (September 19), the rock star recalled the making of the album, which is due out on October 2. Recorded in March 2019, the sessions saw the band record their way through Christmas, before the project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The overturn in life as we knew it prompted the band to return to the studio and take a more socially conscious approach. "In a topical 2020, just shy of the election, everything else is covered on this record. I've really taken a chance," he said. "I'm just saying, ultimately, I really went out on a limb. It's not You Give Love a Bad Name. This is a very heavy record."

"When I wrote 'Do What You Can,' I realized what a universal message it could be if I got it right. No matter, who you are or where you're from on the planet Earth, we experienced this together," he said, calling the song "a daunting task" as every word of it had to be real.

Steve Martin and Martin Short September 17, 2017 Jacobs Pavilion Cleveland, Ohio