Freddy Wexler caught up with Billboard's Katie Bain at MusiCares Person of the Year 2024.
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00:00 Okay, let's talk about Bon Jovi. You wanna?
00:02 I would love to.
00:02 Okay, what's your first Bon Jovi memory?
00:04 My first Bon Jovi memory is probably summer camp.
00:09 Just getting hyped.
00:11 Right? Any time I want to get hyped, it's Bon Jovi.
00:15 That's right.
00:16 And it's timeless.
00:17 It is timeless, never-ending adrenaline.
00:20 Totally.
00:22 Do you have a favorite?
00:23 I honestly don't.
00:25 'Cause I don't want to say the obvious ones.
00:27 What's your favorite?
00:28 Mine is "Born to Be My Baby."
00:30 Amazing. Amazing.
00:32 I can't-- I think it's a testament to his catalog.
00:36 It's too hard for me.
00:37 Is there one Bon Jovi song maybe that you wish you had written?
00:40 Well, I wish I was--
00:41 ♪ Shot through the heart ♪
00:42 I mean, you know, from a business standpoint.
00:45 From a royalties perspective, that would be the one.
00:47 Yeah, and just from a-- it's just freaking cool.
00:49 A hit that never, ever, ever fades.
00:52 You know?
00:53 Okay.
00:53 What are your plans for Grammy weekend?
00:57 I'm here tonight.
00:58 Got Clive tomorrow.
01:01 And then I've got the Grammys.
01:04 And I've-- I worked on an album that's nominated for Grammy
01:08 by Leve.
01:10 Artist named Leve.
01:11 But I also worked with Billy Joel and his new song, his first new song.
01:15 Oh, today?
01:16 Yeah.
01:16 Congratulations.
01:17 Yeah.
01:18 Thank you so much.
01:19 So I'm very involved in kind of overseeing that project.
01:23 So I'll be with him and the team throughout the weekend.
01:26 Grammy rehearsals.
01:27 We did those yesterday.
01:29 We have another rehearsal Sunday.
01:32 So it'll be a work weekend.
01:34 Okay, you're working a lot.
01:35 Tell us-- give us a behind-the-scenes moment of working with Billy Joel.
01:39 One was--
01:40 So you have to understand.
01:42 So when I was a kid, I used to dream of being Billy Joel.
01:46 Okay?
01:46 I was signed to Virgin Records.
01:48 The guy at the label said, "I'm gonna make you the next Billy Joel."
01:52 Now, that never happened.
01:53 But just to give you a sense of how much I idolized this songwriter and artist,
01:57 so when I finally got him in the studio, which no one had been able to do for decades,
02:02 I guess I caught him in a really good mood and was, you know, whatever, persistent.
02:09 When he finally started to sing on the microphone, I said--
02:12 I was freaking out, so I opened the door and said, "Billy!"
02:14 I, like, jumped on his shoulders and I was like, "How does it feel, man?
02:17 How does it feel after all this time?"
02:19 And I was so hyped, and he goes, "I like singing, I guess."
02:23 And I was like, "Got it."
02:24 And I, like, walked back into the studio and I'm like, "You better chill the F out."
02:27 Chill out. Be cool.
02:29 Literally chill out.
02:30 feel out.
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