New Single - You guys got it all wrong, well some of you
 

(Sorry if this is a little choppy but I wrote it real quick)

I will start by saying that Bon Jovi does need to re-find their nitch again. However, I don't think they are entirely to blame.

In the US, current rock does not exist anymore. There are no MAIN rock stations (some underground ones). It's a shame. Right now, Bon Jovi best fits in with the Adult Contemporary music category (95.5 WPLJ in the NY area). This is not necessarily a bad thing. (Don't get this confused with Light FM). It's more Lady AntaBella, Daughtry, Nickelback. It's basically music that doesn't fit in with Club, Dance, Rap, etc. I wouldn't even consider Daughtry or Nickelback real rock. They sound overproduced as well. Rock is officially dead people. Where did Creeds new album go? And the list goes on forever.

I think most people give Jon way too much credit. Yes, it's his vision and yes he is the final decision maker, however, he's got a whole team working with him. He's not designing album covers (they probably give him a choice of 3 and say pick 1), he's not making videos (just a vision). Yea, he co-writes his music but I'm sure research is involved by his record co. instructing him to target a specific audience. And the producers make the sound.

Bottom line, he's a puppet to his record company as all artists are. Jon is all talk in interviews.

I've heard people say that the band needs to take a break. And what? Come back when they are 60? Tico's getting up there you know. lol The band's had 2 record breaking tours, 2 consecutive #1 albums, multiple Grammy nominations. Why would they stop? Because a few wrong choices were made as lead singles. We all agree there are some good songs in the post 2000 era. Just not released as singles or given away as demos. The band still has it. It's just not being made public.

I think a lot of people are just like Jon and want the big radio hit. They want the respect as a fan to say, "Yea! Bon Jovi's still got it and I've been a fan for 20+ years".

Who's to say if ALWAYS was released today, it would be a big hit. I remember hating that song when it first came out. "This ROMEO is bleeding".... I was like WTF. But it grew on me, became a hit, and now it's a classic.

Lets get to the single..... Bon Jovi music is so accessible. It's all over the net. More so than any other band. And it's in Demand. You Tube is flooded with every live performance ever done. You could literally rip any song from Bon Jovi off You Tube. Studio or Live. The new single was played and 5 minutes later it was on every fans ipod. This hurts the band with album sales. And this is why they don't release singles anymore. Without releasing singles, it's hard to chart them correctly.

With all that said, the job of the new single is to go after a target audience and make them aware of the new greatest hits. And that's it! If it becomes a hit, that's just a bonus. There is no money being made off the single. The single is not supposed to represent the album b/ it's not a new album. It's a hits complication. That's why the single was given to the fans for free. They want to get the song out there to cause awareness and advertise that a new Greatest hits is coming out.

Times have changed since the last greatest hits in 94. If you wanted the song you buy the album or the single. Now if you want the song, you download it and move on. It's almost to the point where you wouldn't want the song to supersede the classic hits.

I agree with many of the points you make here, and it is right to think everything in the current music industry context.
I just believe that that there are a few good reasons why most of the fans didnt welcome this new single that are irrelevant with the inudstry's climate.In my opinion these seem to be the most important:

1)The title: definetely the least important issue,but its not wrong to say that most of us were misleaded and anticipated a more rock sound,especially with the buzz 'that this is our house' created only a month ago.
2)The feeling of a poor effort.Literally Bon Jovi (Jon and Richie) have written this song MANY times before.So, it's not a matter of whether we would have liked this song if it was on an album,but whether we feel that this is an appropriate and honest attempt to deliver a leading single for a GH.Jon has said many times that he writes from his heart,the most honest place he knows,but I don't think this song justifies this statement.
3)The Circle. This is for me the most important issue. It became obvious really quick that Jon and Richie didnt stick to what they were saying about how proud they were about this record.The album was not at all supported by the band live,and only a few tracks were performed,with the highight of 'Brokenpromiseland' being played only once.
According to the band,when they were launching their career,they had to play hard every night original material and try to win the crowd.So,for me it is unacceptebale for such a band who was raised with this philosophy,to not at least make a decent effort to work and promote these songs.By releasing this single and the GH album, the circle is officially dropped by the band way too soon,something that makes Jons words about the need to have a voice and comment on the big changes during the last years just empty and meaningless.
4)The production.This is a second official Bon Jovi release in one year(!!),and they sound different.Its not a matter of whether its bad or good,but whether the cirlce and this single's production fit.I feel that the circle implied that the band is going somewhere,and suddenly 'what do you got' terminates everything by sounding different.It gives the feeling of disorientation and the sense that Bon Jovi is going backwards way too soon.

So, if you think of all these factors (consiounsly or subconsiously) in context, you realize why fans are disappointed.I dont believe that for these big mistakes the record company and the music industry are to blame.Bear in mind that Jon said that he actually told the company to wait for the GH, because he wanted to release the circle.It was his decision.And if part of the agreement was to release the GH2 in November,then 'What do you got' doesnt sound as a natural transition from the circle to the GH2,which could be in the benefit of all four:the circle,the GH2,Bon Jovi and us,the fans.