Jon Bon Jovi Teams Up With ‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince’ Harry For Invictus Games Track

Jon Bon Jovi revealed his cute, new nickname for Prince Harry, with whom he will team up with for a charity recording of Bon Jovi’s single “Unbroken.” The New Jersey rocker revealed in a new interview that he will call the royal “the artist formerly known as prince,” referring to the title change Harry will undergo as he and wife Meghan Markle step out of the spotlight as working British royals.

During a sit down with The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, Jon revealed several tidbits regarding the surprise collaboration between himself and the youngest son of the late Princess Diana that was teased by Harry in an Instagram post on February 21.

The Duke of Sussex posted a series of fake text messages that were reportedly exchanged between himself and Jon where they spoke about the project and Harry’s possible participation in it. It was revealed in the fake exchange that Jon would be working on the project sans his Bon Jovi band members, Tico Torres, David Bryan, Hugh McDonald, and Phil X.

In the new interview, Jon teased that he was trying to figure out how to address the royal when the two meet for the first time on February 28 at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios.

“I’ve been asking, ‘What do I do? How do I address him?’ And then I realized I’m gonna call him ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince,'” joked Jon in a video upload to YouTube.

In the fake text exchange posted by Harry, he reportedly tells Jon to not expect him to sing on the collaboration. However, Jon has other plans for the royal that might not include using his vocals on the updated track as revealed in the above video clip.

“I’m gonna hand him a tambourine and see what he’s got going.”

The single, “Unbroken,” appears on Bon Jovi’s latest album Bon Jovi 2020, a project two years in the making and an album that will be a direct break from the rock tunes the band has released over the course of a 38-year career. The songs will reportedly explore the current political climate of today’s world and address other important topics that have inspired the rock ‘n’ roll legend.

Jon wrote the song as told through the eyes of a serviceman returning home from a military tour.

It shines a spotlight on veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder. Proceeds from the original tune go to the Patriotic Service Dog Foundation.

Jon also revealed in the interview with The Chris Evans Breakfast Show that he initially sent the tune to Prince Harry as a way to partner with the royal on his Invictus Games.

The Invictus Games is an international adaptive multi-sport event, created by the prince, where injured or sick armed services personnel compete is a series of athletic events designed to show off their strength. The next series of games will occur this May in The Hague, The Netherlands.

He explained that the backing singers for the track would be 12 veterans, who will sing the chorus to the existing Bon Jovi track to create a new version of the song.

“We’ll release it as a single here in time for their games and hopefully raise them some money,” the rock ‘n’ roller, who hails from a military family himself, explained.

Both his mother Carol and father John Sr. served in the United States Marine Corps.