Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" Becomes First Catalog Track Ever To Reach 2 Million Mark in Digital Sales

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NOVEMBER 5, 2008, 4:35 pm "Don't Stop Believin', the classic Journey power ballad, has just become the first catalog track in history to achieve online digital sales of more than 2 million units, according to SoundScan.

First made available through the iTunes Store on April 28, 2003, the truly timeless "Don't Stop Believin'" has become the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history and the sole catalog track to have crossed the 2 million (double platinum) threshold. (The term "catalog" is used to refer to a pre-digital era track released for digital sales prior to the launch of the iTunes Store.)

"Don't Stop Believin'" enjoyed a massive resurgence in popularity in June 2007 after serving as the soundtrack to the climactic final set-piece of HBO's hit mafia family television series, "The Sopranos."

Download sales of the song on iTunes rocketed an incredible 482% for the period from Saturday, June 9th (the night before "The Sopranos" finale) through Tuesday, June 12th, of that year. As downloads of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" reached record numbers, demand for the band's CD catalog began accelerating and continue to this day.

Following its original release in 1981, "Don't Stop Believin'," the second single from Journey's groundbreaking chart-topping "Escape" album, peaked at #8 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and at #9 on the Pop Singles chart. Propelled by what the All Music Guide has called "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock," "Don't Stop Believin'" quickly established itself as one of Journey's signature songs while defining the possibilities of the classic rock power ballad.

Like the rest of the Journey catalog, "Don't Stop Believin'" continues to connect with the hearts and lives of pop music lovers. The song has been a perennial favorite with producers and directors of both movies and television. It was featured memorably in "Monster," starring Charlize Theron and made its way onto iTunes' "Top 10 Most Downloaded Singles" list in 2005 following same-week appearances on both Fox's "Family Guy" and MTV's "Laguna Beach."

"Don't Stop Believin'" hit a grand slam in 2005 when it became the unofficial theme song for the Chicago White Sox, World Series Champions. Journey frontman Steve Perry performed the song at the World Series Championship celebration in Chicago.

(Dateline - New York - October 31, 2008; source: Legacy Recordings)



May 21, 2009 Don't Stop Believin' is a hit ... again!

Thanks to a phenomenal cover by the cast of Glee, a new show on Fox that had a sneak preview Tuesday, Don't Stop Believin' is the No. 1 seller on the iTunes music store today.

Even better: Journey's original version of the song is now up to No. 32 on the iTunes chart. Thanks to its continued use on shows like The Sopranos and Laguna Beach, it's the '80s anthem that lives on forever!

Someone at Fox stumbled onto brilliance by airing the pilot of the series months before Glee's actual debut. For those in the dark, the show tells the story of a young high school teacher who throws together a rag-tag group of misfits to reinvogorate the school's glee club, thus helping him relive his own glory days (sniff, sniff, okay, I'm tearing up) and to help ease the pain of his loveless marriage. (Okay, full out sobbing now.) Watch the full pilot on Hulu.

What magical powers does the '80s anthem Don't Stop Believin' hold over America ?

HOW IT STARTED: Don't Stop Believin' was one of first writing collaborations between singer Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who had just joined the band.

NOT A HUGE HIT THEN: Released on Journey's 1981 Escape album, the song wasn't even the biggest hit on the record, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Who's Crying Now and Open Arms both rose higher on the charts that year. The song does star in the 1982 video game "Escape" for the Atari home gaming system, where players have to guide band members past groupies and sleazy promoters to reach their scarab escape vessel.

"BORN AND RAISED IN SOUTH DETROIT": That line early in the song tends to drive people from Michigan crazy, since Detroit really has no South side. ( Windsor , Ontario , technically is south of Detroit .) One popular theory is that the band really meant Southfield , Mich. , a suburb that's ironically north of Detroit . Of course, it didn't matter when singer Steve Perry performed the song; he often changed " South Detroit " to the city the band was playing in that night.

REBORN IN THE 21st CENTURY: In 2005, the song broke into iTunes' Top 10 list of downloads after it appeared on Fox's Family Guy and MTV's Laguna Beach in the same week. The Chicago White Sox adopted it as then anthem during their World Series championship in 2005, with Perry singing the tune at the victory parade. Other TV shows playing it include The Apprentice, Scrubs, South Park and ...

THE SOPRANOS FINALE: On June 10, 2007, Don't Stop Believin' became the centerpiece to the final scene from HBO's hit series The Sopranos. Sales of the song on iTunes rose 482 percent over the next few days. Permission to use the song wasn't given until the very last minute and only after Perry -- afraid the song would be used in a murderous climax -- was told in advance how the show ended.

BUT STILL NO RESPECT: In November 2008, Don't Stop Believin' became the first catalog track in history to achieve online digital sales of more than 2 million units. But despite being eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for almost a decade, Journey has yet to be even named a finalist for induction. Why not? "It's all politics," Valory told the Times last year. "Without being either negative or positive about it ... sooner or later it's gonna happen. I have a feeling it's going to happen sooner, but I'm still not going to hold my breath."

UP NEXT: Will Don't Stop Believin' become a theme song of sorts for Glee? We'll wait to wait until the fall to find out. In the meantime, a new movie Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey -- a look at the band and its new singer Arnel Pineda -- is scheduled for a Dec. 1 release. We can't wait for the soundtrack!

Posted by Steve Spears at 10:21:37 AM on May 21, 2009



"JOURNEY ON BILLBOARD"

Chart: Top Independent Albums
Title: REVELATION
Year: 2008
Peak Position: 1

Chart: The Billboard 200
Title: REVELATION
Year: 2008
Peak Position: 5

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