VEWERS disagree (often angrily) about whether “The Sopranos” finale was a hit or a rat. But one thing is certain: It has resurrected Journey’s old-school hit “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Since the episode aired Sunday, the power ballad has climbed the iTunes charts to No. 19 – nearly halfway to reaching the No. 9 status it received when it was first released in 1981.
The tune played in the final, climatic moments after Tony sat in a diner booth and flipped through the jukebox, then hit the “don’t stop” chorus as the screen abruptly went to black.
“Since ‘The Sopranos’ aired, the requests for the song that are being texted and called into us are off the hook,” adds Bob Buchmann, program director and afternoon personality for the classic rock station Q104.3. “It’s incredible how many people want to hear it on the radio since hearing it on the finale.”
Even the band members can’t believe how essential their song proved to be in one of the most-anticipated moments in television.
“It was better than anything I would have ever hoped for,” Jonathan Cain, Journey keyboard player, told CNN.
Although the group was asked if the song could air in advance, the members weren’t told how it would be used. It was a pleasant surprise – at least for the band.
But even before “The Sopranos,” it seems no one has stopped believin’ in the song’s universal symbolism. Previously, it’s been featured on Fox’s “Family Guy” and on MTV’s “Laguna Beach,” causing it to creep periodically into the Top 10 on iTunes.
“The song is a pitch to maximize your life, and that’s a universal pitch,” Buchmann says. “And in terms of ‘The Sopranos,’ there are many ways to interpret the ending of the show, and the song is applicable to all of those theories. No matter what you think about the ending, the song fits.”