TORONTO -- Rock band Bon Jovi's latest album went through some last-minute song changes before it was released, with lead singer Jon Bon Jovi switching out two tracks for songs about COVID-19 and racial inequality.

Bon Jovi told CTV's Your Morning that the group's latest album "2020" was set to be released May 15 and was initially titled for the pivotal U.S. election year.

"When I thought of the album title, I think there was a bit of a wryness to it. It was going to be an election year, [Bon Jovi ‘2020’] sure would make a cute T-shirt and a bumper sticker," Bon Jovi explained in an interview on Monday. "And then, as the writing process began, I found that it was becoming more topical and it wasn't taking sides. I almost considered myself a witness to history."

However, he said the meaning behind the record changed for the group when the coronavirus pandemic hit and they had to cancel their world tour and delay the release of their new album.

"If we're going to go out on a limb and discuss having a topical record, we're going to have to face this COVID situation that we are all living together," he said.

The new record also features a song about another timely issue: racial inequality.

Along with the rest of the world, Bon Jovi found himself unexpectedly experiencing a world-altering health crisis, followed quickly by the staggering events of George Floyd’s death and the ensuing national movement against anti-Black racism.

"While the lockdown was happening, we all witnessed the death of George Floyd, and that brought to light a sore topic, especially in America, and the movement was really starting to catch hold of Black Lives Matter," Bon Jovi said.

Bon Jovi said he knew these two issues could not be left off of a record titled "2020."

Working from a home studio, Bon Jovi crafted two new songs -- "Do What You Can" and "American Reckoning" -- to encompass these events and make the album a complete body of work.

Bon Jovi explained that the inspiration for the COVID-19 influenced "Do What You Can" came after his wife snapped a photo of him helping out in one of his community restaurants during the pandemic.

"I didn't wake up that morning thinking I need to write a COVID song. What we were focused on was helping out in the population that we've been working with for a decade. She snapped my picture without my knowledge, when we got home and she asked me for a caption. I didn't think of it I just said 'If you can't do what you do, you do what you can,'" he said.

It wasn’t until the next day that the rocker realized that what he said sounded more like a Bon Jovi song title than an Instagram caption.

"So I sat down and wrote that anthem, and it was a song of inclusion more than any song I'd certainly ever, ever written," Bon Jovi said.

Inspired by how the world was uniting to get through the health crisis, Bon Jovi solicited song lyrics for the new track from people across the globe.

"I was Zooming with kindergarten classes in Florida, and talking to people in the former Soviet Union. People from around the globe sent in verses and performed and put it on YouTube and Instagram," Bon Jovi said.

Bon Jovi said he believes that the "greatest gift" of a musician is the ability to use their voice to speak out about issues their passionate about. He feels he has done just that with "Do What You Can," adding that the track has brought people closer together during a trying time.

"I was able to sing along with them and it because it was just organic. I think that's what made it so, so moving," he said.