Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey – Review

24th May 2014

This Rock Doc tells the story of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino rock singer who after being discovered by the band Journey on Youtube is chosen to be their new singer. In the face of fan doubts, new found fame and the chance to live his dream, how will Pineda cope with the tour?

This is an amazing story with everything you could want from it; rags to riches, overcoming of temptation and it all couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Pineda comes across as incredible humble and while we see him struggle to maintain his humility in the face of sold out, 30,000 seat crowds, he remains grounded and a real star.

Whereas Overnight showed the dark side of overnight success, Don’t Stop Believin’ is far more positive, and really it has no choice but to be thanks to Pineda’s unwavering humility and optimism and Journey’s timelessly uplifting rock ballads. Pineda’s voice is really something to behold and is enough to create some authentic chills witnessing his immense talent blossom.

It utilises great story telling techniques like mirroring Journey’s rise with what Pineda’s story in the same era, allowing for great depth into Pineda’s life and how miraculous this meeting was. On the other end of the scale, the bulk of the film is clips of the stage show and Pineda’s “I can’t believe this is happening” fly on the wall moments, which can get slightly repetitive.

A big thing about this that some rock documentaries lack is showing just how hard life on the road is. It isn’t just being away from people and being tired, but maintaining your health and what it means to act as a professional in this setting.

While it finds itself covering the same ground from time to time, overall this is an uplifting and heart warming documentary full of goosebump inducing classic rock anthems and a real heart in subject Pineda.

Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey is released on DVD and Blu-Ray June 30^th

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