After taking a hit from fans following a less-than-stellar performance during the band’s Rock in Rio appearance in Brazil, frontman Arnel Pineda has vowed to leave Journey if that’s what enough fans want. However, his bandmates, Deen Castronovo and Neal Schon, have made it clear they are standing firmly behind him.
Arnel Pineda Leaves It Up to the Fans
Journey took the stage earlier this month at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Afterwards, online footage began circulating of Arnel Pineda stumbling over the high notes in “Don’t Stop Believin.’” The frontman was apparently struggling with his ear monitors.
Videos by American Songwriter
As we’ve likely all experienced, the internet can be a very unkind place. Left “devastated” by the widespread criticism, Pineda took to social media to invite fans to vote him out of the band.
“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,” wrote Pineda, who took the reins in 2007. “and if GO reaches 1million… im stepping out for good.”
Journey Bandmates Won’t Stop Believin’ in Arnel Pineda
In a rare social media post, drummer Deen Castronovo fired back at “the trolls” who have blasted Pineda’s vocals.
“I know very few who can pull off what Arnel does without ego and with passion and grace. BACK OFF TROLLS!” wrote Castronovo, who first joined Journey in 1998. “You are MESSING with MY FAMILY NOW and I am A RABID PROTECTOR OF MY OWN!!!”
Lead guitarist Neal Schon also rejected the “absolute garbage fabricated bulls—” about his bandmate. In a separate Facebook post, the Journey co-founder took it a step further, pinning the band’s sound issues on festival headliners Avenged Sevenfold.
[RELATED: Journey’s Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon Resolve Legal Dispute over Band’s Financial Issues]
“[We] found out much later that we got extremely limited by Avenged Sevenfold that means that hardly hardly any sound can get out of the PA to the audience,” Schon, 70, wrote on Facebook. “It’s a bulls— move.”
Featured image by Antonio Lacerda/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Most Viewed
-
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Singer Kelsea Ballerini accepts her New Female Vocalist award onstage at the 4th ACM Party for a Cause Festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on April 1, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for ACM) -
The Beatles on the set of 'Top Of the Pops', plugging their new single 'Paperback Writer'/ 'Rain', 16 June 1966. The group had previously appeared on the show but this was their only appeararance live in the studio. Left to right: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon. (Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) -
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Guitarist Matt Pike of American heavy metal group Sleep performing live on stage at The Roundhouse in London on April 30, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Nixon/Metal Hammer Magazine/Future via Getty Images) -
HOLLYWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 02: Dolly Parton and Stella Parton attend the premiere of "Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors" at the Egyptian Theatre on December 2, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic) -
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 04: Steve Miller and The Steve Miller Band perform during the San Francisco Fest 2016 – On The Green at AT&T Park on September 4, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by C Flanigan/FilmMagic) -
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Tyler Farr performs on FOX News Channel's "Fox & Friends" All-American Summer Concert Series outside Fox News Channel Studios at Fox News Studios on June 23, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images) -
Kris Kristofferson, honoree during 37th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony – Show and Dinner at Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by L. Busacca/WireImage for Songwriter's Hall of Fame) -
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – MAY 05: Keith Richards speaks onstage during the exclusive launch event of The Rolling Stones new album “Foreign Tongues” at Weylin on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG)