Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You

What this video is

Released in spring 1989 as the third single from Bon Jovi's landmark fourth album New Jersey (1988), 'I'll Be There for You' arrived at the absolute commercial apex of glam metal and arena rock. The album had already spawned two Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles ('Bad Medicine,' 'Born to Be My Baby'), and this power ballad followed suit, hitting #1 in May 1989 and becoming the longest song to top the charts that year at…

Why it matters

A canonical specimen of the late-1980s glam metal power ballad format, demonstrating the genre's mastery of emotional dynamics: slow-burn verse, explosive chorus, prominent lead guitar, and rich vocal harmonies. The video's dual-source construction — controlled soundstage close-ups cut against raw…

The director

Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958, Vinita, Oklahoma) is an American music video and film director. A University of California, Santa Barbara alumnus, he cited David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes' as his career inspiration. He has directed over 200 videos for…