Synopsis

The video presents Bon Jovi as a band preparing for and performing a major concert. It opens with the musicians moving through backstage corridors and rehearsing in stark black and white. As the performance builds, the image shifts into vivid color, revealing a packed audience and a full-scale rock show. During the final chorus, Jon Bon Jovi is lifted above the crowd on a harness, turning the song's communal energy into an extravagant concert finale.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed on September 17, 1986, at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

• Two versions are in circulation: one changes from black and white to color during the performance, while the alternate version is presented entirely in color.

• The production recreated a large Bon Jovi concert, complete with a crowd, stage effects, fireworks, and flying equipment.

• Jon Bon Jovi's flight over the audience was performed with a harness attached to wires, with stunt coordinators and spotters involved in the sequence.

• The video's contrast between monochrome rehearsal footage and the colorful concert has been interpreted as a visual transition from preparation to shared live triumph.

• Heavy MTV rotation helped turn "Livin' on a Prayer" into Bon Jovi's breakthrough signature song. The single became the band's second consecutive No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

• The video passed one billion views on YouTube in February 2023, becoming Bon Jovi's second video to reach that milestone.