Good write-up but you are not telling us anything completely new.

I do need sources in order to believe this 100%. The number one hole in your story is you stating that Jon and Richie wrote Sex Sells but this was supposed to be Jon's 3rd solo so Jon would be the songwriter, not Richie.

Jon Co-writes with a ton of people, it's no secrete and I'm sure percentages vary. He might contribute 10% on some and 90% on others.

In the late 90s, the music scene changed so much that Jon and Bon Jovi were becoming lost. They still had mega talent just didn't know which direction to go in. I think These Days and DA are brilliant but it wasn't matching the current music scene in America.

In 2000, Alternative music was out and The Boy Bands, Ricky Martin, etc were becoming it. The Record Co saw this as an opportunity for a Bon Jovi comeback. They fit right in with that pretty boy image. The Record Co / Max Martin threw them a song. Jon tweaked it. "My Heart Is Like An Open Highway, And Please Don't Ever Break it, I'll Cry" went to "My Heart Is Like An Open Highway, And Frankie Said I Did It, My Way"..... Richie didn't like it, he was wrong etc etc. Same with Tommy and Gina.

This is all old news.

As far as AALY, the Bounce record was just weird. I think this is second to 7800 where Jon had limited control. That's why no song were on the GHs. So your AALY story could be true. This happens all the time in the music business.

Bon Jovi are not the most perfect song writers but they are very talented song writers. They have given or thrown away much more then they have taken in. And the ones they have taken in, they tried making their own as much as the record company allowed them to.

At the end of the day, it's a business and the record company owns them. They could write the most perfect album and if the record company says no, use this Max Martin song instead, then that's what they do.

IMO, Bon Jovi loses no credibility with me for situations that are out of their control especially when it come to record company decisions.

Jon just threw a song to the Beach Boys, I doubt that started with Max Martin first. Bottom line, Bon Jovi are more then capable but there are just some thing out of their control. You can tell when Jon speaks, he has an extensive vocabulary. He is definitely a talented guy