Journey singer offers to leave the band via online fan vote after his performance at Rock in Rio was criticized
Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of Journey, was devastated after critics panned his performance at the recent Rock in Rio festival in Brazil.
Pineda, 57, came across a video online showing him having trouble with his earphones and struggling to hit the right notes at a concert in Rio de Janeiro last week.
The singer, who has been with the band since 2007, was so affected by his performance and the criticism he received for it that he started an online poll where fans could vote him out of the rock band.
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Journey frontman Arnel Pineda gave fans the opportunity to vote him out of the band. (Getty Images)
“Nobody in the world is as shocked by this as I am,” Pineda wrote on Facebook. “It’s really unbelievable how a thousand right things you did are forgotten just because of this.”
Pineda noted, “Mentally and emotionally, I have suffered and I am still suffering… but I will be OK.”
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The singer of “Don’t Stop Believin’” offered fans the opportunity to have their say on what would happen to the band after the exciting show.
“So here’s the deal,” he wrote. “I’m now offering you the chance (especially those who hated me from the start and never liked me) to simply write ‘GO’ or ‘STAY’ here.”
Pineda added: “When GO hits 1 million… I’m quitting for good… are you ready guys?”
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He thanked “all fans and friends” who had believed in him since “day 1”.
Pineda’s earphones didn’t work properly during the concert, which affected his voice. (Getty Images)
Journey guitarist Neal Schon, who discovered Pineda on YouTube years ago, encouraged his bandmate to ignore the haters.
“Arnel, don’t listen to those blogs,” he wrote online. “They’re all bought. You’re ripping it off!”
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Steve Perry, known as “The Voice,” left the band for good in the late 1990s after the group enjoyed great success with hits such as “Faithfully,” “Open Arms,” and “Wheel in the Sky.”
Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Steve Smith (from left to right) from the original rock band Journey. (Roger Ressmeyer)
After Perry’s departure in 1998, the band recruited Steve Augeri to fill his shoes. When Augeri left the group in 2006 due to vocal problems, lead guitarist Neal Schon discovered Pineda, a Filipino club singer, while browsing YouTube videos.
Pineda was flown from Manila to the United States in 2007 to join the band.
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