Arnel Pineda Offers to Leave Journey if Enough Fans Say ‘Go’

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!"

Read More: Jonathan Cain Wins Lawsuit Against Neal Schon

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."

'Journey' (1975): "Of a Lifetime"

Journey's recorded output begins here, with a seven-minute jazz fusion-influenced, at times Pink Floyd-ish excursion that boldly stepped away from Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon's previous work in Santana. "Talking about Santana screws up the whole concept of everyone in this band," Rolie lamented in Don't Stop Believin'. "A lot of people would come to see us and expect conga drums. The last thing I was to see for the rest of my life is conga drums!"

'Look Into the Future' (1976): "You're on Your Own"

Their slow-fast approach gives "You're on Your Own" a noticeably modern feel; Rolie's heartfelt singing centers it all.

'Next' (1977): "Here We Are"

Perhaps Journey's heaviest-ever pop song. Rolie had a knack for Beatles-esque touches (see their earlier cover of George Harrison's "It's All Too Much"), even if it was buried in a cacophony of sound from Schon and Aynsley Dunbar (see their earlier cover etc. etc.).

'Infinity' (1978): "Feeling That Way / Anytime"

These paired songs took a convoluted path, as everyone reworked both halves into a legacy-defining moment for Journey and their new singer. "Feeling That Way" began as a Rolie track called "Velvet Curtain" then evolved into "Let Me Stay," which was considered for Next. When Steve Perry arrived, he added a gliding new chorus, and they were halfway there. Meanwhile, the Robert Fleischman co-written "Anytime" – released as a separate, No. 83-charting single but forever linked on the album and rock radio – was going nowhere. At one point, Journey almost dropped it altogether. Then Schon decided to tap the music of his childhood by adding a Beatles-sounding lyric, "Anytime that you want me." The then-new mixture of Perry and Rolie's voices did the rest.

'Evolution' (1979): "Just the Same Way"

Built off a Rolie piano riff, "Just the Same Way" once again leveraged Journey's layered harmony vocals, already a trademark of producer Roy Thomas Baker from his previous work with Queen. Baker achieved this effect by having Perry and Rolie double and triple their parts, an incredibly time-consuming new approach that had already almost derailed "Anytime." (Rolie and Schon still considered themselves jam guys at this point.) But that's what ultimately gave this song – and Journey themselves – such a striking propulsion.

'Departure' (1980): "Any Way You Want It"

Perry said the vocal and guitar interplay on "Any Way You Want It" was inspired by the performances of Phil Lynott, after Thin Lizzy opened for Journey. "I loved his ability and phrasing," Perry revealed in Open Arms: The Steve Perry Anthology. "This guy is one of the more under-recognized geniuses of that era." Perry and Rolie brought a tight focus to the bursts of shared vocals that close things out, fashioning Journey's second-ever Top 40 hit.

'Escape' (1981): "Don't Stop Believin'"

It difficult to believe, considering how rightfully ubiquitous this anthem has become, but "Don't Stop Believin'" barely cracked the Top 10. What's up with that, 1981?

'Frontiers' (1983): "Send Her My Love"

One of four Top 40 hits found on this album, the lonesome No. 23 anthem "Send Her My Love" is notable for an ambient turn by Schon (he used a high-end Lexicon 480L echo unit) and perhaps the most intriguing drumming contribution on Journey's string of familiar ballads from Steve Smith. A jazz lover who later founded his own combo, Smith added a slyly involving polyrhythm lifted from Miles Davis' "In a Silent Way."

'Raised on Radio' (1986): "Girl Can't Help It"

Perry essentially took control of Journey in the run-up to this project, switching out band members for sidemen with whom he'd worked before, then serving as the project's de facto producer. That led them to some song treatments that moved well away from anything Journey had done before, or since. "Girl Can't Help It," one of three Top 40 singles from Raised on Radio, was the exception. This was classic Journey, spit-shined up for a new era.

'Trial by Fire' (1996): "Forever in Blue"

As with "Girl Can't Help It," from their last album with Perry, "Forever in Blue" represents that rare moment when the latter-day edition puts it all together again.

'Arrival' (2001): "We Will Meet Again"

Deen Castronovo's inventively layered rhythm gives "We Will Meet Again" a distinct character among Journey's more anthemic-leaning tunes, setting the stage for a moment of controlled fury from Perry successor Steve Augeri. It all builds toward a sweeping vista reminiscent of Journey's Roy Thomas Baker-helmed sides like "Winds of March" and "Opened the Door" – a welcome development, indeed. And as with those two 1978 tracks, "We Will Meet Again" serves as an emotionally resonant side-closing moment.

'Generations' (2005): "Faith in the Heartland"

The urge to return to an everyday working-stiff theme has been almost unavoidable for a group that, in no small way, is best remembered for "Don't Stop Believin.'" And yet "Heartland" never slips into tribute – or, worse still, parody. Credit goes most of all to Augeri, who strikes a visceral pose on upbeat tracks like this one, singing every line as if his whole heart is in it. Unfortunately, Generations went nowhere, and Augeri – citing throat problems – was gone after just two albums with Journey.

'Revelation' (2008): "Where Did I Lose Your Love"

Here is Arnel Pineda's version of the familiar arena-ballad Journey sound. On one level, it's very much in the style of their Escape / Frontiers era. Castronovo and Jonathan Cain, who co-wrote this track with Schon, even close things out with a fierce entanglement that must have brought older fans right back to "Separate Ways." But Pineda adds a few new wrinkles along the way to ultimately move past the same old Perry comparisons.

'Eclipse' (2011): "Edge of the Moment"

Castronovo and Ross Valory create a foundation-rattling rhythm, while the big-voiced Pineda ably conveys a fiery sense of sensuality required by the song's narrative. But "Edge of the Moment" will always belong to Neal Schon, who is by turns melodic, out there, gurgling, eruptive – and nothing like we've heard from him since the days of the spaceman 'fro. Long after their hit single-making days, and a couple of albums into Pineda's tenure, Journey finally found their rock-music mojo again on this track, emerging with a sense of furious third-act abandon.

'Freedom' (2022): "The Way We Used to Be"

Journey's COVID-themed video for "The Way We Used to Be" reflected its beginnings as a loop created by Neal Schon while Journey was separated by quarantines. He added some guitar then sent the skeletal results over to Jonathan Cain, but questions remained. After all, the band hadn't released a new song in more than a decade. "He sent it back very shortly after with demo vocals and lyrics," Schon later enthused, "and I said to myself with a smile, 'We’ve still got it!'"

Next: Journey Albums Ranked Worst to Best