The big surprise was the absence of the longtime rhythm section of bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith. His quite able replacement Arnel Pineda has been on the job for 15 years now. Steve Perry, of course, hasn’t been in the band for decades. The other surprise was that just two of the five men who originally performed “Don’t Stop Believin’” were on stage Monday night. It has long since become Journey’s signature song and, really, the band wouldn’t be as popular as they remain to this day if they hadn’t written it. 111 on Billboard’s year-end Global 200, which ranks the world’s top songs based on digital sales and streaming. “Don’t Stop Believin'” stands as the biggest selling song from the 20th century in digital downloads. It continues to be used at major sporting events and has earned generations of new fans thanks to its use in “The Sopranos” finale and “Glee,” among many other films and television shows. First released in 1981, the song has somehow managed to get bigger and bigger.
Yes, Journey has a whole lot of other hits (more than you might remember), but “Don’t Stop Believin’” is on an entirely different level. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center in front of a near-capacity crowd of more than 14,000.Īfter opening with semi-sloppy takes on “Only the Young” and “Stone in Love,” the band played “Don’t Stop Believin’” as the third song of the night. It’s tough for a long-running band like Journey to surprise their audience, but the classic rockers did just that Monday night when they headlined St.