On Wednesday it wasn’t just the contestants who were on “American Idol’s” center stage.

Chris Daughtry, Season 5 finalist, and Jon Bon Jovi were also in the spotlight.

Jon Bon Jovi performed a song from the band’s latest album, “Superman Tonight.”  He also responded to Ryan Seacrest’s references to the singer’s age.  Seacrest asked Bon Jovi, who is 48 years old, how the band was able to keep things fresh after being in the music business for decades.

Bon Jovi replied good luck and hard work.  Also good friends putting us in all of the right places.

Chris Daughtry did a performance of “September,” a single from “Leave This Town,” his latest album.  Daughtry said the song was his way of attempting to explore his childhood and come to terms with it.

When Seacrest asked Daughtry, “American Idol” alumnus, to provide the final four contestants with some advice, he said the industry was fickle and encouraged the singers to stay true to themselves.

Bon Jovi, after only one performance on their lengthy US outing, has added a few encore engagements. Kid Rock has also been named as the opener for a handful of upcoming dates.

Kid Rock will be opening for the veteran rockers for seven dates on their “The Circle Tour.” The dates include a recently added fourth concert for New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on July 9.

Three other concerts will be performed by Bon Jovi at the stadium, officially opening the future home for the NFL football teams New York Jets and New York Giants. Each date will be featuring a different band for the opener. On May 26 Train will perform, on May 27 Gavin DeGraw will open, and on May 29 the opener will be OneRepublic.

Second night shows have been added for Toronto as well as Chicago. The international schedule for Bon Jovi is available on the band’s website.

“The Circle” was released in November and is the 10th studio album for Bon Jovi. Producer John Shanks (Jane’s Addiction, Sheryl Crow) worked with the band on the set. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 chart. It was the second No. 1 debut for the band in a row and fourth for them overall. According to data from Nielsen Soundscan, during the first week of the album’s release it sold 163,000 copies.

“Lost Highway,” the previous full length album from Bon Jovi, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 chart in 2007 and spawned the hit single “Make A Memory.” “Lost Highway” was the first chart topping set for the band since “New Jersey” in 1988.

Bon Jovi made their first live Grammy appearance in January at the 52nd Awards ceremony. They performed “We Weren’t Born to Follow” as well as “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Livin’ on a Prayer” that was voted in by the fans.

Three little known or unknown bands will be earning spots on the biggest concert stage in New Jersey this May via the “Wanted a SuperBAND Tonight!” Bon Jovi contest.  Winners will be playing 20 minutes sets, opening the May 26, 27 and 29 shows for Bon Jovi in New Meadowlands Stadium, the Jets and Giants new home.

Seven other stops from the current tour for Bon Jovi will have the same offer.  Contestants can got to Facebook.com/bonjovi or BonJovi.com/ourstage to upload their tracks.  Fans will also be able to cast their votes for the tracks there free of charge.  For each of the venues winners will be chosen from the top 20 artists ranked by fans for each of the venues.  Entries must be made by April 21.  On April 30 the final fan rankings will be announced.  On May 6 the winners will be revealed.

Train will also be performing with Bon Jovi at New Meadowlands Stadium on May 26.  On May 27 Gavin DeGraw will join the band and on May 29 it will be OneRepublic.

Special guests have been announced by Bon Jovi for the band’s forthcoming shows to inaugurate New Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey.

Train will provide opening support for the veteran rockers on May 26, and Gavin DeGraw will open on May 27, followed by OneRepublic on May 29. The historic shows will open New Meadowlands, the future home for the New York Jets and New York Giants.

Currently, the band is entering the spring-summer portion of their expansive “Circle World Tour.” On March 29 Bon Jovi will be in Washington D.C. The trek will resume in April with two St. Paul, MN shows on April 7 and 8. The outing’s current leg, including a couple European June dates, will wrap up in Chicago on July 30.

The international schedule for the band is listed on their website.

“The Circle,” the 10 studio album of Bon Jovi’s, was released in November. John Shanks (Jane’s Addiction and Sheryl Crow) produced the set. It debuted in the top spot of Billboard’s 200 chart. It was the second consecutive No. 1 debut for the band and their fourth overall. Nielsen Soundscan reports that during the first week that the album was released it sold 163,000 copies.

Last August, the first single “We Weren’t Born To Follow” hit the airwaves. “When We Were Beautiful,” the second single, appeared in October.

“Lost Highway,” the previous full length set from the band, was released in 2007 and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 chart. The set spawned the hit single “(You Want To) Make a Memory.” The previous No. 1 album for Bon Jovi was their 1988 album “New Jersey.”

Bon Jovi performed at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards ceremony in January. It was their first live Grammy appearance. The band performed “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” 2005’s “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Livin;” on a Prayer,” their classic hit from 1986 that was voted in by fans.

Bon Jovi, Grammy Award winning rockers, will be kicking their new tour off February 19 in Seattle, WA at Key Arena.  For the first three songs there will be live free webcast.  The band’s “The Circle Tour” is scheduled to last for around two years, with the group performing in 30 countries and 135 shows.

Fans are very excited about the upcoming tour.  In addition to playing their standard hits, Bon Jovi is also planning to perform a lot of album tracks that the band hasn’t performed in many years.

In terms of the tour’s set lists guitarist Richie Sambora said, let’s put it this way, the repertoire will be quite vast.  We will be going back and playing some material we haven’t performed in 20 years, such as songs from our first two albums.  There are so many albums and songs for us to choose from.  Fans will call in lots of times to our fan club.  They’ll say hey can you do “Dry Country”or maybe “Hardest Part is the Night” from our second album and obscure stuff like that.  That’s what we plan to do.

There might be a night when we will perform the entire album “Lost Highway” or “Slippery When Wet.”  Stuff like that.  Then I’m sure we will be performing the entire “The Circle” a couple times on the tour.  We’ve very proud of this album and the evolution that occurred while making this record in terms of songwriting and musically and stuff like that.

Bon Jovi’s new tour will support “The Circle,” the band’s 11th studio album.  It was released last November and debuted as No. 1 in many countries all over the world.  That included the United States.  Bon Jovi has sold over 120 million albums.  They’ve also performed in more than 50 countries and over 2600 concerts.  Definitely they’ve “seen a million faces and have rocked them all.”

Bon Jovi, Grammy Award winning rockers, will be kicking their new tour off February 19 in Seattle, WA at Key Arena.  For the first three songs there will be live free webcast.  The band’s “The Circle Tour” is scheduled to last for around two years, with the group performing in 30 countries and 135 shows.

Fans are very excited about the upcoming tour.  In addition to playing their standard hits, Bon Jovi is also planning to perform a lot of album tracks that the band hasn’t performed in many years.

In terms of the tour’s set lists guitarist Richie Sambora said, let’s put it this way, the repertoire will be quite vast.  We will be going back and playing some material we haven’t performed in 20 years, such as songs from our first two albums.  There are so many albums and songs for us to choose from.  Fans will call in lots of times to our fan club.  They’ll say hey can you do “Dry Country”or maybe “Hardest Part is the Night” from our second album and obscure stuff like that.  That’s what we plan to do.

There might be a night when we will perform the entire album “Lost Highway” or “Slippery When Wet.”  Stuff like that.  Then I’m sure we will be performing the entire “The Circle” a couple times on the tour.  We’ve very proud of this album and the evolution that occurred while making this record in terms of songwriting and musically and stuff like that.

Bon Jovi’s new tour will support “The Circle,” the band’s 11th studio album.  It was released last November and debuted as No. 1 in many countries all over the world.  That included the United States.  Bon Jovi has sold over 120 million albums.  They’ve also performed in more than 50 countries and over 2600 concerts.  Definitely they’ve “seen a million faces and have rocked them all.”

During next year’s Bon Jovi tour don’t expect that you will hear a show full of their greatest hits. Jon Bon Jovi said when the band heads out on the road in February the mix will include some rare tracks. He talked about having a conversation recently with a reporter suggesting that they break more of the obscure tracks out that Bon Jovi sometimes plays while in Europe or rarely performs. Bon Jovi says they will play their hits but will also mix the set list up. Yes we will always want to do those, but what if one night we don’t end up playing “Always?” It was a ballad and monster hit for us. What if one night you just aren’t in the mood to play ballads so you don’t. Personally I think that we have earned our right to have the freedom to do that.

Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi guitarist said, he is ready to play which ever tracks their frontman would like to play. Jon is our quarterback. He will call our set list. There will also be some audibles. It happens a lot. Sometimes we will be in our dressing room getting ready and Jon says, let’s pick up “Keep the Faith” or “These Days” or something we haven’t played for ten years. On the spot we will learn it. Then we take it to the stage that night and play it. It really depends on what we are feeling in terms of where we are at or what is going on.

The band will be out backing The Circle, their new album.

Who says that you can’t ever go home again? Newark HIV/AIDS patients finally can thanks to Jon Bon Jovi, the Jersey born rocker.

Today Bon Jovi officially helped to open the HELP Genesis JBJ Soul Homes. It’s a 51 unit affordable housing complex in the North ward of Newark. Fifteen of the units are solely dedicated to HIV/AIDS patients. It’s the first project for that in the state of New Jersey.

In front of a full lobby of the new building Bon Jovi said, today I think the sun is definitely shining brighter down on New Jersey. We have realized a dream today.

Approximately eighteen months ago, Bon Jovi and Maria Cuomo Cole, HELP USA chairwoman, approached Cory Booker, Newark Mayor, with the idea of providing affordable housing featuring community services along with state of the art construction and design. Despite poor economic conditions, Bon Jovi and Cole along with the political backing of Booker, got the $10.4 million project funded through tax abatements and charitable donations.

Following the event Booker said, a great deal of philanthropy was brought together in order to create New Jersey’s nicest affordable housing.

The project developer, HELP USA, was established in 1986. They have built approximately 30 housing projects and 2400 units all over the country. This is the group’s first New Jersey project. Cole gives Bon Jovi credit for bringing figures together from the political, fashion and music worlds in order to see the project to its fruition.

Cole said, Jon always emphasize how important the “we”is. This private/public partnership has been on of the most productive for HELP in 20 years.

Kenneth Cole, Cole’s husband, worked together with Bon Jovi. He created a jacket line along with a fragrance for generating revenue to fund the building. The JBJ Soul Foundation, Bon Jovi’s group, donated $1 million for the project.

The LEED certified building features three, two and one bedroom apartments. They come with hardwood cabinets, coriander counter tops and Energy Star appliances. The building also has two different homework labs furnished with computers for the children, along with a lab for job counseling, a fully stocked art studio complete with easels, as well as a dozen new Mac computers for community members and residents.

The fifteen apartments that have been dedicated for HIV/AIDS patients are furnished with tables and chairs, a dresser, a bed as well as grab bars and modified sinks for accommodating handicapped residents. Broadway House, which is a facility that provides long care services for adults with HIV/AIS will help residents with managing their medications as well as linking to addiction counseling and other outside services.

According to Hyacinth AIDS foundation officials, one of New Jersey’s first advocacy groups for AIDS, this project is crucial and also very unique.

Kim Hunter, who is Hyacinth’s correctional services manager, said this is very much needed. There is really an absence of projects of this kind in our area.

With the exception of health care, Hunter says that housing is the most important issues that affects HIV patients.

Hunter said, I specifically work with HIV-positive female and male offender populations. There is always a big barrier trying to find stable housing for them.

Vouchers are being provided by the Newark Housing Authority for the fifteen HIV-positive residents along with eight others. They were all taken from the Authority’s affordable housing waiting list.

A lottery with 500 income eligible Newark citizens was used to choose the remainder of the residents. The residential units are priced at a level for families that earn under 50 percent of the area’s median income. For a one bedroom the rent is $551 up to a three bedroom renting for $773.

The first official resident of the building, 37 year old Reuben Napper, was there to thank all of the groups who had helped to bring the project to its fruition.

Napper, an HIV patient who when he became sick lost his trucking job said, I am very excited that I get to transition into my very own apartment. Now I can work towards moving on in life. It really is a dream come true for me.

After taking a long break following the creation of “Alter the Ending,” the newest Dashboard Confessional album, front man for the band Chris Carraba is very happy to hit the road once again, and in particular is thrilled about opening up the first leg next year of Bon Jovi’s tour of North America.

Carraba said, I love the band. They are amazing. The songwriting prowess they possess has inspired me very much, although it probably isn’t obvious in my songwriting. They are also one of the archetypes in terms of live bands from the past thirty years. I am really looking forward to watching them play each night.

Carraba added, when I was just a young kid I heard something Bon Jovi said that has stuck with me. He said if a song couldn’t stand up with only an acoustic guitar that meant there really wasn’t a song there. I think that there is a lot of truth in that. That boils it down to the simplest equation. If it really is a good song it will be effective. It is a very good litmus test.

The dates for Bon Jovi start in Seattle on February 19 and will continue through until April. They are only part of the planned touring for Dashboard Confessional in 2010. Carraba along with John Lefler, guitarist, are playing acoustic dates currently in support of “Alter the Ending.” The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 19 in November.

The acoustic shows are being done instead of a tour of the full band. It was canceled abruptly due to a family emergency that was not disclosed. Carraba has continued to be discreet regarding the circumstances leading to the cancellation. He would only confirm it didn’t involve any of his family.

Carraba said, I really can’t say very much in order to respect the situation. Everyone is dong well. I think that we are through the thickest part.

Dashboard Confessional will be playing some headlining shows in between the Bon Jovi dates. They are also planning there own headlining North American tour as well as into other territories.

Carraba said, I hope to also do lots of shows with lots of my friends. It took us lots of time making this record as well as taking us off the road a lot. I am looking forward getting back out there to have the camp experience of touring life.

We probably will not be home too much next year. I am very happy about that.

Dave Matthew Band, Kenny Chesney and Bon Jovi top the confirmed performers list for a new outdoor festival spanning multiple days that is scheduled for next July. The festival will take place at Churchill Downs, home of the legendary Kentucky Derby.

HullabaLOU Music Festival will take place in Louisville, KY at the racetrack on July 23-25 and feature over 65 bands.

Performers will represent the musical genres of Bluegrass, adult contemporary, country and classic rock. They will be performing on five stages over the course of the event. The event is being designed by its organizers to be an event held on an annual basis.

Other performers and acts scheduled to play at the festival include Dwight Yoakam, Michael McDonald, Joan Osborne, Gov’t Mule, The Black Crowes, Loretta Lynn, Colbie Caillat and Jason Aldean along with many others.

Quint Davis, consulting producer as well as the director and producer of New Orleans’ Jazz Fest said, the performers who are scheduled to play at the HullabaLOU festival will put the event instantly on the map for the country’s major music festivals.

The price for tickets for the festival will range from $60 covering a general admission pass for one day, up to $975 covering VIP admission for the entire three days. On December 4 tickets will go on sale starting at noon Kentucky time.