Jovi and the Duke of Sussex will be working together for the upcoming Invictus Games. The “It’s My Life” singer shared how he scored the gig with the royal to Entertainment Tonight’s Nischcelle Turner and gave an update about it after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step back from their royal duties.
Jovi said that he was called to write the song “To Be of Service” for a documentary in the U.S. Although he never served, he understood that it was going to be a daunting task. He was the narrator talking about soldiers with PTSD and service dogs.
At the time, he was thinking about the Invictus Games and the British soldier, so he reached out to Prince Harry and they decided to record a new rendition of his military-inspired song titled “Unbroken.”
“So I sent it to Prince Harry knowing that they had this choir,” Jovi told ET. “And after months of getting up and through the changing hymn, he loved the idea.”
Jovi admitted that he thought the idea would fall apart after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to leave the royal family. But they assured him that their collaboration is pushing through.
“But I got a call two days later saying, ‘Oh, no, no, no, not only is it not falling apart but it’s the first thing on his docket when he comes back. We’re doing this,’” Jovi continued.
“So I went to England before COVID took over. We went to the famed Abbey Road Studios and with the Invictus choir re-recorded the band’s song and released it today with them, for them, as a battle cry for all those men and women who have served.”
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the world after they recorded the song. However, its proceeds will still go to the Invictus Games Foundation.
Prince Harry was slammed by netizens when he announced his collaboration with Jovi in a “tacky” move. In the clip, the royal says that he is “living on a prayer” in referenced to Jovi’s most famous hit song, but it didn’t sit well with royal followers.
Prince Harry announced a few weeks back that the Invictus Games 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19.