Journey’s Arnel Pineda and Jonathan Cain. Image: Instagram/@jonathancainofficial
After Arnel Pineda offered to leave Journey over his poor performance in Brazil, the band’s keyboardist Jonathan Cain stressed that they have been “strong” together for 16 years and that the lead vocalist is “not going anywhere.”
Pineda’s earlier proposition stemmed from the criticisms he received after he struggled hitting the high notes of the band’s song “Don’t Stop Believin'” at a music festival in Rio de Janeiro.
Pineda initiated a voting poll for fans to decide if he would “go” or “stay” in the band, with the singer noting that he would be “stepping out for good” if the “go” vote reaches 1 million.
Cain then came to Pineda’s defense, with the former expressing his support and gratitude to the singer via an Instagram post on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
“Arnel, 16 years and STRONG! You’re not going anywhere! Love you and grateful for you,” Cain wrote, showing a photo of him and Pineda while performing together.
Aside from Cain, Tony Harnell of Norwegian hard rock band TNT also voiced his support for Pineda. Harnell also slammed the Facebook page Behind the Songs which shared the “negative post” about Pineda.
“As a professional singer for over [four] decades, I can attest that every singer that performs regularly or tours has bad nights. I don’t see the point of this post other than to incite negativity toward Arnel,” Harnell said in the comments section of the page.
“The guy has done a great job,” Harnell further said of Pineda. “I’d like to challenge anyone out there to have a perfect night every night doing Steve Perry songs. Let the guy do his thing!”
Image: Facebook/Behind the Songs
‘Spiritual journey’
Pineda addressed the matter anew in a video shared also on Tuesday, saying the band is “good as one” and that the recent incident was just part of his “spiritual journey.”
“Firstly, I want to apologize for the inconvenience I have caused all of Journey’s faithful fans out there,” he said. “I didn’t do it for some selfish reason, nor to feed me with such gratifying feeling.”
He then lamented how some “exploited” him for ill intentions, adding that those people hide behind cellphones and computers to express hatred toward the singer.
Nonetheless, Pineda underscored he’s grateful for the good people who came to his rescue and extended kindness.
“There’s still so much good in this world, really I believe so,” he said.