Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘Watermelon Sugar’ Cover Only Makes Harry’s Original Version Sound Better

Now that the world is opening back up, live shows are slowly coming back, and music fans everywhere can expect artists will be just as excited about this development as entertainment-starved audiences. Jon Bon Jovi wasn’t the first name on my personal bingo card for artists I couldn’t wait to see get back on stage, but as Stereogum points out, his benefit show last Friday at Clubhouse, a new venue in East Hampton, New York, included a pretty high-profile pop cover.

Apparently, during the set Job indulged in the classic Beatles cover “Here Comes The Sun,” which might’ve just gotten him in the mood to play a more current British pop song, Harry Styles’ beloved ode to touching, “Watermelon Sugar.” Now, it might just be that we haven’t heard people performing live for a while, or it might be a testament to how excellent Harry’s voice truly is, but Jon’s version of the song just doesn’t capture it. I actually don’t think it’s awful, and it was probably just an off-the-cuff idea for a cover, but it lacks all the joy and exuberance of Harry’s original and tries to distill it down into a simple acoustic guitar strum. Still, what a co-sign from an artist who 1D fans might not expect would share their passion! Check out a fan-shot snippet of his cover below.