Bono wasn't being sarcastic when he mentioned Bon Jovi. He meant what he meant. Bon Jovi are perhaps the only contemporaries of U2 who still remain relevant. They still make great hits, have been together for the longest time, and have still maintained some margin of commercial success (whereas other bands compared to U2 like R.E.M, Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode are still around but have zero commercial relevance these days).
It is a tribute and the greatest compliment to HTDAAB to say that aside from LAPOE, all of the songs are singles. Contrast this to say the POP album, where Staring At The Sun was the only legitimate single and the rest of them were fillers. The ultimate goal would be to make an album with all singles, and no fillers. Sadly, I have to agree with you that LAPOE is a filler song. They should have replaced with with Are You Gonna Wait Forever which had a better hook and was more sing-a-long. LAPOE is also one of their weaker songs thanks to the chorus of "where is the love" which seems to be borrowed from The Black-Eyed Peas and Hanson.
Clayton has mentioned that the goal was to make an album full of hits (see Time magazine article). Even McGuiness mentioned that he wants the album to be #1 in 32 countries, while Bono talked about Vertigo being #1 during the UK Hall Of Fame thing. The goal is commercial success because that is how you get your songs noticed. And when your songs get noticed, you are able to get your message across a broader spectrum. U2's message is usually about God, and what better way to spread the good news of God than to make an album that will sell gazilions of copies to reach a wider audience. And the only way to do that is to make an album full of singles.
With regards to the falsetto in SYCMIOYO, it sure reminds me of the BeeGees more than Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi doesn't make any falsettos. But whenever Bono sings higher notes at the top of his lungs in this album, and some raspiness of his aging voice shows - then you hear the Bon Jovi influence there. The falsetto of SYCMIOYO has both Bono and Edge singing, as compared to other U2 falsettos in the past where it is only one of them. Having two falsettos in unison is clearly a salute to the BeeGees.
Cheers,
J