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Despite all of his singing about being “halfway there,” it seems that Jon Bon Jovi is perfectly capable of going the extra mile (even though it doesn’t really matter if he makes it or not, etc.).

The singer of many a rock ballad that your one roommate insists on blaring at ungodly hours, Bon Jovi is currently making bizarre new headlines with a YouTube video of him performing a well-known Chinese love song… entirely in the song’s original Mandarin language.

The 1977 song, “The Moon Represents my Heart,” is apparently a Chinese classic and a popular choice at karaoke. Originally by Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng, Bon Jovi chose the song as a special gift to his many Chinese fans on the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day, at least according to this link from Bon Jovi’s official website – which, somewhat adorably, is also written in Mandarin.

Not being native Mandarin speakers, we took some time to scroll through comments left on Bon Jovi’s official site as well as a few others, and there’s nothing to suggest that the singer butchered the pronunciation in any way; an incredible feat for an aging American singer, given Mandarin’s notorious difficulty as a second language.

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Of course, Bon Jovi’s singing of the song in its traditional language isn’t all mushy, heartfelt intentions: the singer and his band are scheduled for a major tour of mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia, so the rendition is at least partially a publicity stunt, not that that makes it any less amazing. The frontman has also, apparently, sung songs in near flawless Spanish in the past as fan tribute as well.

Needless to say, this is certainly a much better performance than his uncredited turn in the classic 1990 Western, Young Guns II, as “Pit inmate shot back into pit.”

Source: AOL News Japan
Photos: YouTube/Bon Jovi