Some folks were skeptical and others ready to celebrate. After all, Bon Jovi made history last year when "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles soared to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, making them the first non-country act to hit that summit in decades. They won a Grammy for the tune in February, the group's first.

Will history repeat itself? The new single, "Make a Memory," which previews the band's June 19 Island/Mercury Nashville release "Lost Highway," debuted at No. 39 on Hot Country Songs earlier this month and is currently No. 35.

Six of the tracks were produced by John Shanks, and six -- including "Make a Memory" -- by Nashville's Dann Huff, known for his work with Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban. Bon Jovi also tapped further into the Nashville creative community, co-writing with Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson and Brett James, and recording duets with Big & Rich and LeAnn Rimes.

The result is a collection of songs that strike a perfect balance -- rock enough to appeal to longtime Bon Jovi fans, yet with a Nashville flavor that should satisfy country fans who loved "Who Says You Can't Go Home."

"The line is so blurred between new country and (adult top 40), it wasn't a difficult leap," Bon Jovi says. "We had to just make sure we weren't patronizing the true country format. Could you have imagined me walking into an award show where 15 or 25 other artists are and saying, 'Howdy, y'all,' with straw in my teeth and a cowboy hat on? I would have expected them to run me out of Dodge."

As a result, much of "Lost Highway" reflects some of the turmoil band members were facing. "I was watching my friend going through a very painful divorce and his father had stage four cancer," Bon Jovi says of guitarist/songwriting partner Richie Sambora. "We were dealing with a lot. Dave (Bryan), my keyboard player, was going through a terrible divorce at the same time. So it was all around me. That's how I got the idea for "Whole Lot of Leavin'."

"Until We're Not Strangers" is a sultry duet with Rimes. "I wanted somebody with a strong voice who could pull it off dramatically because I knew it was a dramatic lyric," Bon Jovi says. "I didn't want a young girl that couldn't provide the sexuality in the lyric. She has a seasoned voice. She may be a young woman, but she's been around for a long time and she knows how to translate a lyric."

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