Jon Bon Jovi Covered Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar,” And It Was Not Great

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NEWS MAY 13, 2021 10:17 AM BY TOM BREIHAN

People are getting vaccinated, pandemic restrictions are easing up, and live shows are starting again. One of the natural side effects of that whole phenomenon is that rock stars are once again going to attempt to hype up crowds by playing goofy and potentially ill-advised covers. It’s just nature’s way. Right now, we get to remind ourselves of how that’ll look.

This past Friday, Bon Jovi leader Jon Bon Jovi played a solo show at the Clubhouse, a new venue in East Hampton, New York. The show, a benefit for Meals on Wheels and Project Most, reportedly featured Jon playing a bunch of his Bon Jovi songs, as well as covers like the Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun.” He also did Q&A bits with people in the audience. So this was all a low-key, informal rich-folks affair. Maybe thats why Jon Bon Jovi felt comfortable taking on Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.”

Conceptually, it’s cool that Jon Bon Jovi, a man who was once a preening heartthrob chart-topper, saluted a younger man who is currently a preening heartthrob chart-topper. In practice, though, maybe Jon Bon Jovi should retire this one before his band gets back to playing arenas. Watch it happen below.