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Video: Kelly Clarkson Gets Feedback From Jon Bon Jovi on Her Cover of ‘It’s My Life’

Kelly Clarkson is getting musical kudos from rock superstar Jon Bon Jovi. 

In a “Kelly Clarkson Show” clip, which appeared online Oct. 30, the singer asked Bon Jovi for feedback on her performance of Bon Jovi’s song “It’s My Life.”

“I noticed that you had to change the key; it was in a girl key,” Bon Jovi observed shrewdly. “God bless you for it. But yeah, it was cool. Thank you for doing that.”

Clarkson and Bon Jovi Talk Frank Sinatra

On Clarkson’s show, Bon Jovi went on to discuss how he came to write “It’s My Life,” along with Richie Sambora and Max Martin. He said he had to fight to keep the lyric “Like Frankie said, ‘I did it my way’.” It resonated with him because of his approach to making movies and making music.

“And I won the argument simply because I had to sing the song every night,” Bon Jovi explained. 

In that line, “Frankie” refers to Frank Sinatra, who famously sang the song, “My Way.” But Bon Jovi said people interpreted the line differently, identifying with “Frankie” themselves or associating “Frankie” with someone they knew.

“That’s the magic of a great song, is people make it their own,” Bon Jovi added.

“I think everybody has their own kind of take on a song that you had a completely different idea about, and why you wrote it,” Clarkson agreed.

Bon Jovi grew up playing music in New Jersey, so he admits he will always be in Bruce Springsteen’s shadow somewhat. Still, he told Interview magazine that it’s important to him to stay close to his musical roots.

“You know, I became a recording artist when I was 20, 21,” he said. “I made my first million by the time I was 35. It means shit to me. What matters is not all the commercial success but the heart that went into that: five kids from Jersey doing what they wanted to do. Same thing with what I’m doing now, in both the music and the movies.”