A new vinyl and deluxe rollout propels Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet back into the spotlight, driving a more than 3,000% surge in sales. American rock group Bon Jovi backstage at the Monsters Of Rock festival in Mannheim, West Germany, 31st August 1986. L-R. David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi, Tico Torres, Richie Sambora, Alec John Such. (Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns)
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Almost 40 years ago, Bon Jovi changed hard rock history forever with the breakout album Slippery When Wet. By the time the full-length arrived, the group had already built a fan base and made a name for itself, but the project turned the New Jersey hometown heroes into global superstars.
Decades later, a special re-release has turned one of the most successful rock albums of all time into a winner again, as Slippery When Wet returns to multiple Billboard charts and even manages to debut on one tally it’s never appeared on before.
Slippery When Wet Finally Becomes a Vinyl Bestseller
Slippery When Wet debuts on the Vinyl Albums chart this week. The project opens at No. 12, just missing out on the coveted top 10. Bon Jovi almost collects its second appearance inside that highest tier, as Forever, the group’s 2024 full-length, launched and peaked at No. 5. Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection also first appeared on the Vinyl Albums list in 2024, hitting No. 24 for one frame in the fall.
Bon Jovi Follows Nine Inch Nails and Buckingham Nicks
Bon Jovi scores the sixth-highest debut on the Vinyl Albums chart this week as Slippery When Wet launches. The tally this frame is led by the Tron: Ares soundtrack, credited to industrial, electronic, and rock act Nine Inch Nails. Buckingham Nicks, which features two members of Fleetwood Mac — Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks — sees its long out-of-print self-titled album open at No. 2, while Cardi B’s Am I the Drama? kicks off its time in third place. Newcomers The Favors and Lola Young launch their albums The Dream and I’m Only Fucking Myself at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.
How Slippery When Wet Became a BestSelling Album in 2025
Bon Jovi also reappears on the Top Album Sales chart, which details the bestselling full-lengths and EPs in the country regardless of format or genre. Slippery When Wet reenters at No. 24, marking a new high point for the classic. The Bon Jovi set first appeared on the list in May 2020 and has now spent 10 weeks on the ranking.
Slippery When Wet also manages to break back onto another American chart, the Top Hard Rock Albums ranking. Bon Jovi reappears at No. 16, coming in just a few spaces beneath its No. 12 peak with its 1986 blockbuster.
Sales of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet Skyrocket Over 3,000%
According to Luminate, during the past tracking period, the special re-release of Slippery When Wet helped the title sell just under 3,700 copies across all formats in the United States. The week before, the title only managed a little more than 100 pure purchases. That’s an uptick in sales of more than 3,000% from one frame to the next.
New Slippery When Wet Vinyl and Deluxe Editions Drive Massive Demand
Slippery When Wet is a bestseller again as Bon Jovi dropped multiple new versions of the hard rock favorite. A limited-edition picture disc vinyl, priced at $40, is still available on the band’s website, while another LP — one filled with liquid that actually moves when the record is played — went for $100 and sold out quickly. While the vinyl offerings include just the original album, a deluxe expanded double CD and digital version feature acoustic takes, remixes, and live recordings that fans had never heard before.
How Slippery When Wet Made Bon Jovi Global Superstars
By the time Bon Jovi released Slippery When Wet, hard rock was king, and Jon Bon Jovi and his bandmates wanted to be the biggest name in the field. The album shot right to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and helped usher in a new era of arena-sized rock anthems. The full-length produced three of the group’s defining smashes: “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Each of those tunes became not just hits, but staples of rock radio, and they are still played regularly to this day.
Slippery When Wet has been certified 15-times platinum by the RIAA, meaning it has shifted at least 15 million copies between pure purchases and streaming equivalents — and most of those come from actual sales.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/10/06/bon-jovis-biggest-album-surges-3000-in-sales/
