Arnel Pineda Wasn’t a Big Fan of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin” When He First Heard It
Arnel Pineda revealed in a new interview that he wasn’t a big fan of the Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin'” when he first heard it.
Speaking to Loudwire, the Journey singer, who was famously plucked from obscurity on YouTube and tapped to be the band’s singer, said, “Honestly, I was not a big fan of the song at first. I got introduced to the band from that song the album ‘Escape,’ ‘Open Arms,’ and that was the very first song I heard from them. But when I became a professional singer, a cover singer at the age of 16 years old, “Open Arms” was the first song that I sang.”
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Pineda added, “But “Don’t Stop Believin’” was there subconsciously. I was struggling with my life after my mother died and I went on to become this cover band singer in 1985, and I always told myself that I’m never gonna give up…But from the beginning I believed that there was something great that was going to happen to me. I just had no idea what…And then finally I met the band in 2007 through Mr. Neal Schon. We had a good talk first and he invited me over to San Francisco and I met them. And that’s when I finally realized, this song has been waiting for me to realize that it was the soundtrack of my life.”
He concluded, “It really means so much to me now, and now every time that I go for something, it suddenly rings in my head. It’s those three words – don’t stop believin’.”
Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” is among 29 new titles, which include both albums and singles, being added to the Grammy Hall of Fame this year. Also included among those titles are Bruce Springsteen’s 1973 debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and The Cars’s self-titled 1978 debut album.
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