After being criticized online for his performance during Journey’s recent appearance at Rock in Rio, lead singer Arnel Pineda says he’ll quit the band if enough fans vote “go” on his Facebook page.
Journey performed at the annual Brazilian festival last Sunday (Sept. 15), and video of Pineda struggling to hit the right notes was circulated online. “No one more than me in this world feels so devastated about this,” the singer posted on Facebook. “It’s really amazing how [a] thousand right things you have done will be forgotten just cause of THIS… and of all the place[s], it’s Rock in Rio. Mentally and emotionally, I’ve suffered already, and I’m still suffering.”
After thanking all the fans that have attended Journey shows this year, and saying that he feels “immense gratitude, humility and honor” every time he’s on stage with the group, Pineda offered to walk away if enough fans say that’s what they want: “So here’s the deal now, I am offering you a chance (especially those who hated me and never liked me from the very beginning) to simply text GO or STAY right here.. and if GO reaches 1 million… I’m stepping out for good.”
As of press time approximately 2,600 people have commented, and it appears that the majority are in the “STAY” camp. Journey guitarist Neal Schon made his feelings clear in a Facebook comment about the story: “Arnel dont listen to these blogs. They are all bought. You’ve kicked ass!”
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Pineda has been Journey’s lead singer since 2007, and this is not the first time he’s offered to step aside. In 2014, while noting that he would “never quit” the band, Pineda declared he would happily bow out if former singer Steve Perry ever wanted to return: “He can take over too. It’s his righteous place anyway..wanna see them happy together. I’d be more than happy to give way,” he said, adding, “As long as they need me, I will be there.”
In the Rock in Rio video Pineda can be seen struggling with his in-ear monitors. In 2022, drummer Deen Castronovo revealed that the singer had solved long-running vocal issues by working with a vocal coachm and because the band turned down their onstage volume.
“To think that he’s been struggling with this for 14 years, he said. I had no idea. I think it was something that he didn’t know if he had the liberty to say, ‘Hey, I need to fix this’ or ‘You guys need to try something different here,’ either get a new soundman or whatever,” Castronovo explained. “But once we got this guy, Tom, everything changed. He’s a different guy. [Pineda’s] a different guy. Oh, my God, it blew us away. I think it’s been 15 shows since that [change], and every night, he sounds amazing.”
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Singers may come, and singers most certainly may go, but some great songs remain.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
