On This Day in 2007, a Mobster’s Uncertain End Inspired Journey To Find a New Vocalist and Return to the Road

On this day (June 10) in 2007, “Made in America,” the series finale of The Sopranos, aired on HBO. The much-discussed final scene of the episode cuts to black, leaving audiences to ponder the uncertain fate of Tony Soprano. Journey’s 1981 hit “Don’t Stop Believin’” plays in the background of the scene. Nearly 12 million people tuned in for the landmark episode. As a result, sales for the two-decade-old hit skyrocketed, and the band started looking for a new singer.

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It had been a tough few years for Journey. Vocalist Steve Perry left the band in 1998. Later that year, they replaced him with Tall Stories singer Steve Augeri. He recorded and toured with them until 2006. He stepped down during their 2006 tour after being accused of using recorded vocal tracks during shows to hide his failing voice. The band replaced him with Jeff Scott Soto of Talisman fame to finish the tour. Then, in June 2007, they announced that he was no longer on the roster.

Those lineup changes, combined with poor sales, made finding a new vocalist less of a priority. Then, “Don’t Stop Believin’” became the soundtrack to the TV moment everyone was talking about.

How The Sopranos Reinvigorated Journey

After the series finale of The Sopranos aired, sales for “Don’t Stop Believin’” hit a milestone. Per The Guardian, sales of the single on iTunes jumped 482% in the week after the episode aired. By November 2008, it had surpassed 2 million sales. It was the first single released before the streaming age to sell that many digital copies.

“David [Chase] had called us, and we knew a year in advance that the song was going to close the show,” Jonathan Cain said. “That period of time before was a dark one for Neal, the guys, and I. We didn’t have a singer, and these coincidences just started to appear,” he added.

“Journey’s popularity had been based on a generational fan base, passed down from parents to kids,” Ross Valory pointed out. “What we discovered with the Glee phenomenon and The Sopranos is that we’re finding school kids singing these songs, and they weren’t raised with them.”

That increased popularity with a wide audience led them to start searching for a new vocalist. They eventually found Filipino singer/songwriter Arnell Pineda on YouTube and invited him to join Journey.

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