25

Oct

“Don’t Stop Believin’” in Midnight Til Morning (MTM) – a Journey snippet Gleeks would stay up for

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“Glee” (2009-2015), the musical dramedy television series, is set for a reboot and while I’m not quite sure how that would pan out, considering the unfortunate demise of Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera, and Mark Sailing, there’s one piece of content that you won’t wanna miss – Midnight Til Morning’s snippet of “Don’t Stop Believin’” with hints of “(G)/glee”. Who knew that the Australian-American pop rock quartet were Gleeks? From the intro of the snippet on Instagram of the official account of Midnight Til Morning, one wouldn’t expect much – just quite like the Glee version, very theatrical and choral acapella style beginning, perhaps slightly calmer and slower to fit the members’ capacity. But once Mason Watts launches into song, especially with his raspiness, you’d just want to repeat that snippet over and over. What stood out was Conor Smith’s falsetto, powerful yet not piercing. You can feel the emotion as delivered by Shane Appell when he starts the chorus. It’s also worth highlighting how Midnight Til Morning divided the lines/verses, eventually coming together at “It goes on and on and on and on”. It is a tough song to sing, considering Journey started in the early 70s and recorded the song in 1981.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” had a theatrical, more upbeat and modern take on “Glee”, making it a massive fan favourite.  In “Glee”, the song is featured repeatedly in different episodes, and one of which was a dedication (in season 5, episode 13) to the club’s director, following the announcement by the school’s principal that the club will be deactivated in Season 5 Episode 11. At the same time, the club’s director was also facing personal issues, having experienced a lost birth – an unborn son.

Is Midnight Til Morning hinting at a possible guest star appearance on the reboot of “Glee”? That is for both you and me to find out later.

Midnight Til Morning, who came in fourth, was formed on Netflix’s 10-episode “Building the Band”. To date, the pop-rock outfit has been posting a combination of new music and cover versions on their social media accounts, including TikTok.

Journey, the American rock band, has been inspiring many since its formation in the 1970s. George Tickner, the band’s co-founder, had passed on in 2023. For a short term, Tickner left the band to pursue a career in medicine on a full scholarship. It is said that he eventually left the band. However, in 2005, he re-united with the band, when Journey was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

There are changes in the lineup of Journey, including one about a Filipino Arnel Pineda (formerly of The Zoo), who joined the band as the lead singer in 2007, after successfully auditioning for Journey. Pineda was sent an email from Neal Schon, who got his contact information from Noel Gomez (a close friend of Pineda’s), who had uploaded many YouTube videos of The Zoo doing covers of musicians including Led Zeppelin, Journey, Aerosmith and The Eagles. Like many people, Pineda was wary of the email, thinking it was a hoax. However, after being persuaded by Gomez, he responded to the email. And the rest, as they say, is history.

As of 2026, Neal Schon is the only remaining co-founding member of Journey. Arnel Pineda has expressed his intention to leave the band, due to a number of factors. So far in 2026, there’s no official confirmation on Pineda’s exit, as Journey kicked off the band’s multi-year “The Final Frontier Farewell Tour” in February where he served as the lead, and a final hometown show set for November 2026 in San Francisco. Schon has plans for an offshoot project “Journey Beyond”.

About Author

Yong Jo Leen

Jo Leen now spends her days crafting compelling content for Inkscribehub. She was previously attached to a business intelligence firm.

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