Bon Jovi and hash browns

I've heard Dead or Alive, You Give Love a Bad Name, Living on a Prayer and most of the other tunes sung tonight, but I have no real opinion about Bon Jovi's music. Ryan calls them one of the greatest bands of all time and qualifies himself by recounting their huge touring and record sales successes. But, do big numbers make them great?

I don't know. Some would say so, but I see McDonald's signs everywhere boasting how many billions of customers they've served, and I know I can make a better burger than they can.

I hate McDonald's. And I think McDonald's hates me. Something in the hash browns has me running for the bathroom every time. I guess synthesized potatoes are the price you pay to be forever remembered as one of the greatest fast food places in history.

What price does one have to pay to be remembered as one of the greatest rock bands in history, I wonder? If it has anything to do with making musical hash browns, I don't ever want to know. Bon Jovi knows, however, and for good or ill, he was more than happy to share his nuggets with the contestants.

What was his prognosis for Blake? Failure? He didn't actually say it -- no way -- you don't get to the top by being specific. But he didn't like the idea of a 16-bar drum break on a singing show. I wonder, now that most Idol watchers and judges alike seemed to like the idea of taking a chance, if tomorrow he will reveal somehow that he knew all along that "rolling the dice" was a good move for Blake?

Speaking of which, I may not like all the beatboxing, but I completely respect and admire his determination to do something different. I wonder if the arrangement was truly his? Back when I was on the show, we had to sing to a track and didn't get the chance to work with the band on any arrangements. It was all tracked in a studio after we selected the song. It would have been next to impossible to work up an alternate version of the song.

Now I imagine the contestants do all their rehearsing with the band and have a chance to collaborate with Ricky Minor in any changes made. My guess is that if the artist has an idea, Ricky writes the parts out. Still, having the ideas and the will to follow through is cool.

Anyway, back to Jon Bon and his bits of wisdom. I think he got it right for everyone else -- in a bland way. Phil sounded good (even though he was stiff and generic), Melinda and Lakisha took it to church, Chris had a hard time making Dead or Alive his own and Jordin picked a tough song for herself. Five out of six ain't bad.

Tomorrow night I suppose we'll get to see if this rumor of greatness is true.

Answers to Reader Questions:

Do the contestants actually get paid?
Yep. Once you're in the top twelve, that is.

Are you excited in any way, shape, or manner about being a part of the Idol Camp?
Yeah, very excited. I went to summer camps as a kid and I remember all my teachers' names and all the good times I had back then. I like the idea of reciprocating those experiences.

Thanks for reading and all the questions. Feel free to post more.

Jon Peter Lewis was a finalist on the third season of "American Idol." His newly released debut album, "Stories From Hollywood," is available everywhere online and can also be downloaded at americanidol.com. Visit Jon's Web site for more.