The Top Selling Digital Song Is…(sadly) by Journey
Don’t Stop Believin‘, the Journey power ballad, has become the first catalog track ever to sell more than 2 million downloads according to SoundScan. First made available through the iTunes on April 28, 2003, "Don’t Stop Believin’" has become the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history and the sole c
atalog track to go
double platinum.
Why Don’t Stop Believin’ ?
The song is perennial favorite with producers and directors of both movies and television. 2005 was a good year for Don’t Stop Believin’ when it was featured in "Monster," starring Charlize Theron, made its way onto iTunes’ Top 10 Singles in 2005 following same-week appearances on Fox’s "Family Guy" and MTV’s "Laguna Beach." and became the unofficial theme song for the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox. It also enjoyed a huge resurgence in June of 2007 as the music for the climactic finale of "The Sopranos."
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I am sad that you are sad, things could be much worse.
Let’s not forget the renewed interest in Journey after the addition of Steve Perry vocal dead-ringer Arnel Pinada from the Philippines and their double CD+DVD release Revelations which included a live CD of all their hits. It has to be recognized that iTunes feeds the older generation and their ’80s tastes.
Ummmm…..why is this sad? This is a great song, and Journey’s a great band!
Uh, this is the greatest karaoke song of all time, so in that respect, it makes sense.
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit!
Hypebot, are you what I’ve been hearing called “East Coast” media elite?
What aspect of this is sadder… the fact that no new bands have replaced Journey in the realm of today’s rock n roll audience, or that they’ve only sold 2 million downloads? I assume at least 30x as many “unofficial”and “unpaid” versions of that track are circulating.
As a longtime San Francisco resident, with a soft spot for heartland rock songs that references the motorcity, I can’t even try to truly hate on Journey, or Bob Seger, REO Speedwagon and any of their AOR survivor pals. Let’s just say that that the not-so feel-good un-anthemic and oft incoherent “products” disbursed by the Radiohead, Of Montreal, Linkin Park, Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie generation simply aren’t going to be filling the void after Journey has finally left.
For some reason it seems easy to pick on Journey, but no one can deny their lasting appeal, and the connection millions still have with those damn songs. They were still filling the sheds this summer, long after their peak, while current far hipper and even legacy chart acts like R.E.M struggled to do even half the business.
It’s sad to me for music as a whole that most bands around will never taste even a minute fraction of Journey’s remarkable commercial success, and most will sell downloads in the depressing dozens rather than the hundreds of thousands, not to mention millions.
Sorry if I offended. Actually, no I’m not.
I admit fully that Journey and that whole era of fairly mindless arena rock never appealed to me.
But my greater point and what made me sad is that one of the more meaningful songs from a variety of artists from Leonard Cohen to The Beatles to Bob Dylan were not the top digital seller.
Are you kidding me? Journey was the soundtrack to my life in the 80s. Those were good times! Peace, prosperity, and Journey (with Steve Perry… hot!)
Sorry, folks, but Journey pretty much sux – arena rock retreads with a penchant for the melodramatic. Even REO Speedwagon rocked harder than the J-boys at their best.
BTW, there is no such place as “South Detroit”.
writer obviously has no desire for research and understanding.
study the music of Neal Schon and the history of the musicians in the band. seriously musically talented individuals have comprised the reincarnations of journey.
beatles? sure after drug use and visiting central asia (periods of growth and inspiration). their first albums were pop music at best.
journey is timeless.
Don’t be a hater!
Journey Rocks on so many levels. Why you cant see it I have no ideal but I will always listen to Journey as long as it is Steve Perry not “the Poser” guy. Thats just too much like millie vanilly (spelling) crap!
I am not sure why all the news sites headlines are saying that this is the BEST SELLING DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ~*EVER*~; they aren’t saying it right – after the headline, they say that it’s previously on other format. Get it right. The best selling digital download ~*EVER*~ is Hikaru Utada’s “Flavor of Love” selling 7.7 Million copies.