Singer Arnel Pineda has asked fans on social media to vote on whether he should remain Journey’s frontman after a criticism of his recent performance at Rock in Rio.
As seen in footage of the band’s set at the festival, Pineda clearly struggled to hit the high notes, with his voice cracking during the band’s biggest hit “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The subsequent criticism must have been enough to get the attention of Pineda, who took to his personal Facebook page to address it head on.
In the post, Pineda, who’s been Journey’s singer for the past 17 years, said he was “very aware” and “so devastated” about his vocal issues during the Rock in Rio set and even shared the pro-shot clip that highlighted his shortcomings on “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Going a step further, Pineda pleaded with his fans and followers to vote on whether he should still be Journey’s singer.
His post read:
“no one more than me in this world feels so devastated about this… its really amazing how 1 thousand right things you have done will be forgotten just cause of THIS..and of all the place, its in Rock In Rio…
mentally and emotionally, i’ve suffered already, and im still suffering..but i’ll be ok.. so here’s the deal here now..i am offering you a chance now ( especially those who’s 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..are you game folks? let’s start…
God bless all of you and thank you once again to all of the fans and friends who believed in me dince [sic] Day1″
The post has since garnered a ton of engagement, and most have come to Pineda’s defense. Nearly all the visible comments have encouraged the singer to “STAY.”
One of the comments read: “Anyone with half a brain knows these songs were written for a certain kind of vocal range, and you have it! Everyone has bad days, don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Pineda’s vocal issues potentially open the door for further turmoil within the Journey camp.
After a messy legal dispute, longtime members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon appeared to finally make progress in patching things up in late August, reaching an agreement regarding the management of their shared business subsidiary. As previously reported, Cain sued Schon for mismanaging the business and overspending at the band’s expense — all this coming while Cain and Schon were actively sharing the stage for Journey’s now-wrapped summer North American tour with Def Leppard.
Below you can see Pineda’s Facebook post and a clip from the Rock in Rio set.