His eponymous debut album from 1982 is said to have provided a blueprint for the hard rock of the '80s. During the '80s and '90s, he worked with fellow hard rockers Lita Ford and Jon Bon Jovi -- he contributed heavily to the latter's 1990 solo debut Blaze of Glory -- as mainstream rock began to adapt his innovations. Nova found his greatest commercial success as a songwriter and producer for Celine Dion, earning a Grammy for her 1996 album Falling Into You. This success allowed Nova to be picky with his projects, but he eventually returned to his own recording career in 2018 with the release of 2.0.
Nova learned guitar when he was 15 years old, inspired equally by Jimi Hendrix and jazz. While he cut his teeth in local clubs, he also played George Harrison in a production of Beatlemania, spending his extra hours working as a studio engineer. Eventually, he landed a publishing deal, which led to a 1982 contract with Portrait Records.
Portrait allowed Nova to produce his own 1982 debut, which resulted in the album sounding unlike most other hard rock on the radio at that time. "Fantasy" hit at precisely the right moment, burning up the AOR rock charts but also receiving heavy play on MTV. This helped "Fantasy" reach the Billboard Top 40, climbing to number 23 while making it all the way to three on their Mainstream Rock chart. The album's second single, the power ballad "Fooling Yourself," reached 65 on the Hot 100, but Aldo Nova had legs, earning its first platinum certification in 1989 and a second in 1994.
Nova had a difficult time capitalizing on this success. On his 1983 sequel Subject…Aldo Nova, the guitarist ratcheted up the synthesizers and tied together the songs with a vague concept, conceits that made the album feel vaguely New Wave. "Monkey on Your Back," the album's lead single, went to 12 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, but "Always Be Mine" couldn't get past 107. The album nevertheless managed to earn Gold certification in 1994. The record label intervened during the recording of 1985's Twitch to help steer him back onto the charts but it didn't help: the album stiffed upon its release. After its commercial failure, Nova asked to be let out of his contract with Portrait; his time with the label would be wrapped up with the release of the 1991 compilation, A Portrait of Aldo Nova.
At that point, Nova decided to recede from the spotlight. He chose to work as a session musician, producer, and professional songwriter, areas where he was experienced. During his ascent on the charts, he appeared on records by Michael Bolton and Blue Oyster Cult, but by 1984, he also was working on records by Lita Ford and Bon Jovi. The latter proved to be a crucial connection. In 1990, he played on Jon Bon Jovi's solo debut, Blaze of Glory, where he helped come up with the title track's lead riff. Bon Jovi had a history with Nova -- Nova appears on the 1984 debut by Jon's band -- and the rocker paid it forward six years later, signing Nova to his Jambco imprint and releasing Blood on the Bricks, but the record didn't go anywhere commercially, nor did the 1997 album Nova's Dream.
Of greater importance to Nova in the late 1990s was his collaboration with Celine Dion. He worked with the singer on some of her first albums, co-writing the song "A New Day Has Come," and the collaboration continued through her 1996 album Falling Into You. He produced part of the album, taking home a Grammy Award when it won Album of the Year in 1996. Another Grammy arrived when he worked with Latin rock group La Ley on Uno, which won the Grammy for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album in 2001. In 2003, he co-wrote "This Is the Night," which became a hit for Clay Aiken after he won American Idol.
Nova was firmly a behind-the-scenes artist by the 2000s, working as a producer and songwriter, toiling away on a rock opera called The Life and Times of Eddie Gage for the better part of a decade. Instead of releasing that, Nova mounted a comeback in 2018 with 2.0, an album where he offered new versions of his old hits.
His album "The Life and Times of Eddie Gage" was released in 2022.
Tonite
Aldo Nova Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Same empty words we spoke in the dark
As I watched you leave I tried to pretend
That I was strong and we could never burn
But now I sit here alone, a fool with a bleeding heart
Oh, tonight I need, tonight I need your love
To lift me up
To lift me up
I see your face when I turn out the lights
I reach out to touch you but there's nothin' there
I wish I could hold you tonight
And make all your wrongs go right, whoa yeah
Oh, tonight I need, tonight I need your love
To lift me up
Tonight I need, tonight I need your love
To lift me up
I tried to call you tonight, I needed an answer
My feelings are too strong to fight
'Cause I need you here with me tonight
Oh, tonight, tonight I need your love
To lift me up
Tonight I need, tonight I need your love
To lift me up
Tonight I need, tonight I need your love
Lift me up
'Cause I need you over and over again, oh yeah
Lift me up
I try to hide it but I can't pretend
So lift me up, lift me up, lift me up
The lyrics of the song "Tonight" by Aldo Nova describe the feelings of a person who has recently lost their significant other. The words spoken between the two lovers when they were together now sound empty and meaningless, and the person is left alone with a bleeding heart. The singer wishes that they could hold and comfort their former partner, and that they could make all their wrongs right. The person longs for their love to lift them up and provide them with the strength to face their feelings, making it clear that their need for their ex-lover is desperate.
The chorus repeats the line "Tonight I need your love to lift me up" several times, emphasizing the longing and need the singer has for their ex-lover. They have tried to call their partner, hoping for an answer, but their feelings are too strong to forget. The song ends with a plea for the ex to return to them, to lift them up.
Overall, the lyrics of "Tonight" convey deep emotions of loss and longing for someone who has left. The chorus repeats the phrase "to lift me up," a declaration of the importance of the love of the person who has left, highlighting how deeply connected the two lovebirds were.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear them over and over again
I keep hearing the same meaningless words we spoke when we were together, they haunt me.
Same empty words we spoke in the dark
We spoke meaningless words to each other when we were together, in the darkness, in the absence of real feelings.
As I watched you leave I tried to pretend
I tried to pretend that I had the strength to let you go, knowing that we couldn't survive without each other.
That I was strong and we could never burn
I was lying to myself when I thought I was strong enough to move on from you; we had an emotional connection that was too strong to be destroyed.
But now I sit here alone, a fool with a bleeding heart
I sit here alone, feeling foolish and hurt inside, as if my heart is bleeding from missing you so much.
Oh, tonight I need, tonight I need your love
I need your love and affection tonight to make me feel better and to give me a reason to continue.
To lift me up
Your love and affection will help me feel better, to rise again and to move on.
I see your face when I turn out the lights
I see your face in the darkness after I turn off the lights, and I miss you deeply.
I reach out to touch you but there's nothin' there
I reach out to touch you, but you are not physically there; it's just my imagination that makes me feel like you are there.
I wish I could hold you tonight
I wish I could hold you, to feel your warmth and comfort, but I can't.
And make all your wrongs go right, whoa yeah
I wish I could make everything right between us, to forgive each other and to move on positively.
I tried to call you tonight, I needed an answer
I tried to call you tonight, to get an answer from you, to know if you still care for me.
My feelings are too strong to fight
My feelings for you are overpowering that I cannot fight them; I still love you.
'Cause I need you here with me tonight
I need you by my side tonight, to comfort me and to make me feel better.
Lift me up
Your love and affection will help me feel better, to rise again and to move on.
I try to hide it but I can't pretend
I try to hide my emotions, to pretend that everything is fine, but I can't hold it in anymore.
So lift me up, lift me up, lift me up
I need you to lift me up, to help me feel better, to rise again and to move on.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Tom Deluca, Aldo Nova
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind