No, it’s not Justin Bieber. He is Jonathan O’Neal during his high school talent show when he sang Journey’s “Faithfully“.
Big fans know how unbelievably difficult it is to sing a Journey song. The voice of Journey is the legendary Steve Perry. In fact, he is known as “The Voice”. A nickname coined by another famous frontman by the name of Jon Bon Jovi.
Steve Perry’s voice is instantly recognizable.
He is the only one with the range, the tone, the unmistakable power, and the mind-blowing control. So much so that many other notable names like Brian May of Queen, Randy Jackson, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, and many others have lavished praises upon praises on Perry’s voice.
Younger generations, listen to a Steve Perry track.
So for a high school kid like Jonathan to take on a Journey song… Well, he’s got guts. The song “Faithfully” was written by keyboardist Jonathan Cain and despite it not having a chorus, it went on to become one of the band’s most iconic hits with Classic Rock Magazine calling it the greatest power ballad of all time.
Jonathan performs the song in its original key of B-major too, and though he doesn’t have that rockstar tone to his voice, he is able to nail that trademark intro, highway run into the midnight sun.
All that while handling peer pressure.
He takes a few steps here and there on the stage, making sure to keep the audience’s eyes on him while he goes about singing the words,
“Restless hearts
Sleep alone tonight
Sendin’ all my love
Along the wire”
The song was written by Cain while on a tour bus headed to Saratoga Springs in New York. He finished it the next day in half an hour attributing it to his Christian faith. The lyrics are a love story. A music man and his lover, being on the road while having to raise a family and all the challenges that come with it while constantly assuring her that he is forever her man faithfully.
Pretty sure Jonathan knows the story.
He sings it with so much emotion considering how hard it is to do. In fact, online viewers are wondering why he isn’t on The Voice. He could definitely make it. He’s got fans!
“You are a very talented young man, keep going in that direction, you will make it to the big time!”
Jonathan’s got the range.
He is also able to control and sustain those high notes when needed which is really impressive considering he was just a high school student here. Jonathan wrote it, and years later, another Jonathan sang it. How cool is that?
Not once does he make a mistake. He sings the entire song, nailing each note, each verse, without running out of breath. You can bet the guys from Journey would be impressed with this kid.
He should sing their other songs!
The song was released in April of 1983 and nearing 40 years later is still very much an icon of rock ballads. It’s also one of those late-night karaoke with the guys and girls kind of song. And maybe someday, Jonathan can sing it to a girl.
Listen to his amazing rendition of this Journey classic below!
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Source: Jonathan O’Neal, Journey
