ARNEL Pineda, the Filipino frontman of the legendary American rock band Journey, came to the point of letting fans decide if he should leave the group as the lead vocalist.

This, after his performance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil drew flak when he failed to hit the notes of the song “Don’t Stop Believin.’

In a Facebook post, Pineda admitted feeling “devastated” by what happened.

The short clip video of Pineda’s failure to hit the note of the song went viral on social media and gained mixed reactions.

While others laughed over the said performance, others came to support the Filipino singer.

“First of all, shame on ‘behind the songs’ for this negative post. As a professional singer for over 4 decades I can attest that every singer that performs regularly or tours has bad nights” Tony Harnell commented.

Other netizens also encourage those bashers to give the singer a break.

“It’s really amazing how 1 thousand right things you have done will be forgotten just cause of THIS..and of all the places, it's in Rock In Rio” said Pineda.

He went on to admit that he suffered mentally and emotionally and is still “suffering.”

“So here’s the deal here now… 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…” the Filipino singer said.

He furthered that if the “Go” reactions reach one million, he will step out from the band for good.

The singer also thanked all the fans who believed in him from the beginning. The 57- year old singer has been with the Journey since 2007.

Amidst the criticism he received after his performance, Pineda got big support from his bandmates.

The band’s keyboardist Jonathan Cain took to social media to express his support for Pineda.

“Arnel, 16 years and strong! You’re not going anywhere! Love you and grateful for you,” he captioned in his photo with Pineda.

Their guitarist Neal Schon told Pineda not to “listen to these blogs.”

“They are all bought. You’ve kicked ass!” he commented.

Among the songs Journey has popularized are Open Arms, When You Love a Woman, Separate Ways, Send Her My Love, and After All These Years.(LAO)

• Tags
• # Arnel Pineda
• #Rio de Janeiro Brazil
• #Don’t Stop Believin’
• #Filipino Singer Write to New MyTV I.T.