NBC has named Jon Bon Jovi as its new artist in residence. For the next two months, Jon will only be seen on NBC owned outlets, such as The Today Show and the NBC Nightly News. Jon has a new album coming out on November 10 called The Circle, so normally he would be promoting it on many networks. But NBC has the exclusive.
Mr. Bon Jovi is being called NBC's "artist in residence" for the two-month period — and that means he won’t be anywhere else. "Of course you usually try to be out there everywhere, when a new album is coming out," Mr. Bon Jovi said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “So we have to sacrifice certain shows and relationships. We hope this doesn’t jeopardize any of them. But in a shrinking media environment, you have to kind of reinvent the wheel.”
Mr. Bon Jovi said he brought the idea to NBC's chief executive, Jeff Zucker, after Mr. Bon Jovi's music manager Jack Rovner proposed it.
"Jack said, 'Forget about Top 40 radio; how about Top 40 TV?'” Mr. Bon Jovi said.
Mr. Zucker liked the idea, and after conversations with Jeff Gaspin, NBC’s chairman of entertainment, the "artist in residence" concept took shape.
The lineup of appearances will include a concert outside the studio plaza in Rockefeller Center on the Today show on Nov. 25; Saturday Night Live on Dec. 12; and an interview on Inside the Actors Studio on Nov. 16. Mr. Bon Jovi noted that the Bravo show, which usually centers on actors, will cover the history of his band as performers and some of Mr. Bon Jovi's film work.
This is the first time we've ever heard of a television network having its own artist in residence. We think they should do more than interviews and chat shows, though. He needs to have dramatic cameos in every single NBC Universal show, from Top Chef to Heroes. He can act, so it shouldn't be a problem. We mean it. We want to see Jon Bon Jovi every time we turn on NBC, Bravo or Syfy. Stargate Universe: SGU -- he's an alien. On Heroes, he needs a super power and he'll be there to save Hiro from his brain tumor. We are so ready. And we want his hair styled differently -- and fabulously -- on EVERY SHOW. He has great hair, you know.
We think that ABC should then retaliate by making Lady Gaga its next artist in residence. She can appear on FlashForward, Dancing With the Stars, the works. Now that ought to shake things up.
NBC has 
