In September 1987, Bon Jovi came to Japan for the final leg of shows on their epic Slippery When Wet world tour. In an indication of just how huge the New Jersey hard rock band had become since the release of their third album in August '86, they were booked to play no fewer than seven nights at Tokyo's legendary 14,500-capacity Budokan arena, in addition to playing shows in Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka and Shizuoka. And yet, they were not the biggest Western artists touring the country at the time, as Michael Jackson was launching his world tour in support of Bad with a frankly astonishing 14 stadium shows in Japan.
In Tokyo, by coincidence, both artists found themselves staying in the same luxury hotel, with the Bon Jovi touring party occupying the 13th floor, and Jackson taking temporary residence in the penthouse suite above. On the afternoon of September 24, the date of Bon Jovi's opening Budokan show, Jackson summoned Jon Bon Jovi to his suite, and during the ensuing conversation, the King Of Pop agreed that he would join the rock band onstage for one song at the close of their Budokan run on September 30, as he himself had no gig that evening.
