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Highway run Into the midnight sun Wheels go round and round You're on my mind Restless hearts Sleep alone tonight Sendin' all my love Along the wire They say that the road ain't no place to start a family Right down the line, it's been you and me And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be Oh, girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully Circus life Under the big top world We all need the clowns To make us smile Through space and time Always another show Wonderin' where I am Lost without you And being apart ain't easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy of rediscovering you Oh, girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully Faithfully I'm still yours I'm forever yours Forever yours Faithfully

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40 Years Ago: Journey’s ‘Faithfully’ Arrives in a Dream

With their eighth studio album, 1983's Frontiers , Journey's transition from prog-influenced rock to radio-friendly, arena-ready fare was all but complete — an evolution that included one of the decade's quintessential ballads in the Top 20 hit "Faithfully."

Written by keyboardist Jonathan Cain , "Faithfully" followed lead-off Frontiers single "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)," which had scored Journey a Top 10 pop hit while topping the rock charts — extending an impressive streak of crossover singles that stretched back to 1979's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." Although Journey's brand of polished bombast would eventually be seen as just another ingredient in the power ballad formula that took over the Top 40 later in the decade, it was still powerfully effective; at this point, the band had already graced the upper reaches of the pop charts with "Who's Crying Now" and "Open Arms."

Still, even in the context of a catalog not without its share of softer songs, "Faithfully" stood out — particularly for Cain, who dashed it off in a burst of creativity while the band was on the road. "He told me he got the melody out of a dream," Neal Schon said in the liner notes to their 1992 box set, Time Cubed .  "I wish something like that would happen to me."

"I don't think I've written a song so quickly. I mean, it was probably a half an hour," he told Songfacts . After scribbling out some lines on a napkin, he recalled feeling the rest of the composition come to him in a flood. "I'd never had a song come to me so quickly that it was anointed, supernatural. Literally, in 30 minutes I had written that song. I had the napkin in my pocket and I put it on the piano. I had a big grand piano there by the orchestra. I played through it and I thought, 'Man, this is good.'"

Clearly, Cain's bandmates agreed — and so did a number of Journey's musical peers. Not long after "Faithfully" hit the airwaves, Cain got a call from Prince , who, he recalled, played him "Purple Rain" and said, "The chord changes are close to 'Faithfully,' and I don't want you to sue me." To his credit, Cain came away from the conversation with anything but a lawsuit on his mind.

"I thought it was an amazing tune," Cain later said. "I told him, 'Man, I'm just super-flattered that you even called. It shows you're that classy of a guy. Good luck with the song. I know it's gonna be a hit.'"

As it turned out, it wasn't the only extra hit to grace the airwaves with a little bit of "Faithfully" DNA. Bryan Adams ' longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance attributed road-induced musical osmosis to their own 1984 hit "Heaven," admitting they were influenced by that song in particular after Adams toured with Journey as their opening act.

But ultimately, it was still a personal statement from Cain — and one that, in the moment, had exactly the impact he intended. "I knew it had something," he told the Tennessean . "I knew anytime you have that innocence and that transparency and you’re able to let your guard down as a man, and tell a woman that you’re forever hers. I was having trouble with my marriage at the time, and so my wife came on the road and I played it for her. And she just gave me a big old hug. It meant a lot to her that I had written it."

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Story Behind the Song: Journey's 'Faithfully'

One morning, Journey's Jonathan Cain woke up in his tour bus to the stench of diesel fuel and with the beginning of a rock anthem scrawled on a napkin. He told the story of writing "Faithfully" to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Bart Herbison: “Highway run into the midnight sun.” There is not a greater opening line in the history of music. I'm thinking “Stairway to Heaven,” the first two lines aren't that good. Wow, Jon!

Jonathan Cain: Well, I was on a bus and we were rolling along after a show. I sat out waiting for some of the crew to come with us. They were taking the big stage down. I was seeing these riggers pulling it all down, and I just sat out there in this big empty auditorium. I thought, "Man, you know, these guys are sacrificing this time with their families or loved ones to be out here with us." And I started thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a song we could sing for all of us, because we're all missing our loved ones, and all making that road sacrifice?” So I went to the bus with that thought. And I had a napkin and it was those first four lines.

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More: Story Behind the Song: 'Don't Stop Believin' '

BH: A songwriter actually did write a song on a napkin?

JC: On a napkin, yeah. “Wheels go round and round, you're on my mind.” And then I (thought), “Well, I'm tired. I’m gonna keep this and go lay down in the bunk.” So I did. And back in those days, you wake up smelling like diesel.

So we were up to upstate New York. I took the napkin to my (hotel) room, put all my bags down and just fell asleep. I woke up and I looked at the napkin. And I had a little Casio MT30 keyboard. I was plunking around on it and I’m trying to get an idea for the melody. And then, you know, "Restless hearts, sleep alone tonight. Sendin' all my love along the wire.” What next? Well, I reckon it’s a Holy Spirit moment, because I've never written a song in 20 minutes.

BH: I think you’re feeling guilty, is what I’ve always read. Cause you would typically go to Steve ...

JC: Yeah, so I’m filled with this idea. And it’s a supernatural moment that I’ll never forget. There was sunlight just streaming in the window. And me and this napkin, and a little keyboard this big on the bed, you know?

… We go to sound check, I’ve got my napkin in my pocket, and everybody goes to dinner except me. I wander back into the symphony piano room, and I find this big nine-foot Mason & Hamlin, this big old beautiful piano from the '40s. … There I am and I’ve got my napkin. And I sat it in front of me, and I start. And I’m like, “This is better than I thought it was gonna be. This is gonna be good.”

BH: You had to know it was special, right?

JC: Well, I knew it had something. I knew anytime you have that innocence and that transparency and you’re able to let your guard down as a man, and tell a woman that you’re forever hers. I was having trouble with my marriage at the time, and so my wife came on the road and I played it for her. And she just gave me a big old hug. It meant a lot to her that I had written it.

BH: Tell me you still have that napkin.

JC: I do not. You know what happened? This is a sad story. This is the way things go. They were, Sony, was looking for memorabilia. You know, for their floor downstairs they have like this big exhibit they were going to put up. And so they asked me if I had my lyrics, and I gave them my book with the napkin, and I never got it back.

BH: So they still have it?

JC: No, it's gone. I looked. Everything is gone.

BH: Universe, bring that back. It’s his.

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Faithfully by Journey

Songfacts®:

• Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain wrote this song about the challenges of being a married man on the road in a rock band: Always another show Wondering where I am Lost without you At the time, he was married to his first wife, Tané, a singer who had a #37 hit in 1982 called "Holdin' On," which Jonathan co-wrote and produced. He and Tané divorced a few years later, despite him pledging in this song to be "forever yours... faithfully."
• In his Songfacts interview , Jonathan Cain said, "God gave me that song," as he wrote it so quickly. "I started it on the bus heading to Saratoga Springs," he said. "I woke up the next day with a napkin on the side of my nightstand and I looked at the lyrics, 'Highway run into the midnight sun.' Then I got this supernatural download: This is the rest of the song. I wrote rest of it down, almost frantically. I'd never had a song come to me so quickly that it was anointed, supernatural. Literally, in 30 minutes I had written that song. I had the napkin in my pocket and I put it on the piano. I had a big grand piano there by the orchestra. I played through it and I thought, 'Man, this is good.' The Lord gave me permission to finish it. Normally I would go to Steve Perry or somebody and say, 'Help me finish this song.' No. God gave me the mind to finish it, and the rest is history. That would be a love song to God, absolutely."
• According to the liner notes in Journey's Time3 compilation, Cain paid tribute to Journey road manager Pat Morrow and stage manager Benny Collins in the line, "We all need the clowns to make us smile." "He told me he got the melody out of a dream," said Neal Schon. "I wish something like that would happen to me." "Basically it's a road song," Cain said. "You know I'm being a good dog out here - don't worry about it."
• Like " Rosanna " by Toto, this contains lyrics delivered by the lead singer but written by another member of the band, which led many fans to believe Steve Perry wrote the song about a particular girl.
• Journey's first music video was for this song. At the time, finding a director for a video wasn't easy, especially in America, so the band's manager, Herbie Herbert, hired the guys from NFL Films to shoot footage of the band on the road and onstage. So the same guys who filmed Walter Payton scoring touchdowns also filmed Steve Perry shaving his mustache. Journey hated making videos, but couldn't ignore the promotional impact of MTV. The network favored acts like Journey at the time because they were trying to position themselves with a rock format.
• The song was performed by Lea Michele and Cory Monteith in the first season finale of Glee , along with several other Journey songs in the same episode. In the week after the transmission of the episode, download sales of the Glee version were sufficient to return the song to the Top 40 of the Hot 100.
• When he was young, Jonathan Cain wanted to be a priest. He attended the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago and survived the 1958 fire there that killed 95 people. He stepped away from his faith, and after going through turmoil with Journey and enduring two failed marriages, he had an epiphany on a road in Florida, where he found himself calling out to God. He joined the New Destiny Christian Center in Orlando, Florida, and in 2015 married its pastor, Paula White. In 2016 he released his first album of worship music, What God Wants to Hear . Looking back on "Faithfully," he saw it in a different light. "If you take 'Oh girl' and you put 'Oh God' in there, you've got a Christian song," he told Songfacts.
• More songs from Journey
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• More songs covered by the Glee cast
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• Lyrics to Faithfully
• Journey Artistfacts

Comments: 39

• Luna Loud from Royal Woods, Michigan You know, dudes, it's too bad this band's videos suck because their songs are so effin' amazing. And I'm with you 'Raf from Clovis, Ca; this song gets me in the feels every time.
• Chase Tart from North Carolina I’m 14 and this has to be my favorite song, which testifies to this song being so timeless. Not many musicians would credit God with the gift to write songs, so major props to Jonathan.
• Anonymous from Nacogdoches Texas I get the joy of rediscovering you...
• A-bomb from Duluth, Ga Usa And being apart ain't easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy Of rediscovering you Oh girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours, faithfully
• Rafael Burgos from Clovis, Ca This song makes me cry.
• Stuartdevoy from Cornwall, United Kingdom I was always ridiculed at school for liking Journey, not that any of the kids had ever heard there stuff, I'm English) I guess they weren't hip enough. then glee sing there songs and everybody's saying how good they are, all those years they missed out on, there is a lesson there somewhere. this is a great track used to stand in my bedroom with a tennis racket pretending to Neil Schon.
• Betty from Bedford, Oh I thought this song was written by Steve Perry but I guess not LOL songs that are written about something you feel are the best songs. This is one of my ultimate favorites songs.
• Hannah from Ottawa, On ANY Journey song is a good song but I particularly like Faithfully and Open Arms. They remind me of the early 8o's when I was in middle school. We always heard these songs at the school dances.
• Megan from Stevenson, Al OMG! This song is so great! One of the greatest bands in history...
• Mariana from Timisoara, Romania I decided to have this song played at my wedding when I first heard it, years before I met my husband. It is so beautiful and so romantic!
• Jordan from San Antonio, Tx my bf is the best to me. im so thankful for him and how he treats me. after everything he still cares for me tremendously.. i cried when i heard this song after he told me it reminds him of me like crzy. he is a very known band...and this song fits his commitment towards me . i love him
• Tt from Columbia, Sc A piece of history a song that will last forever and a day ,
• Danny from Your Town, Ia A song that will stand the test of time. Our grandkids will be talking about this one. My 17 year old already does.
• David from Youngstown, Oh One of the most unintentionally funny songs ever. The lyrics are so cliche. "They say that the road ain't no place to start a family" and "Circus lights under the big top world." So ridiculous. Forever yours...faithfully
• Theresa from Murfreesboro, Tn Journey's best song - hands down.
• Brandon from Kalamazoo, Mi my favorite song of all time....just hits me every time...Steve Perry's voice it's so good
• Jackie Moritz from Philadelphia, Pa When I first heard this song I was 13, now almost four years later this song still is my favorite! My best friend Jarred & I dedicated this song to each other. He moved away two years ago and to me this song describes how faithful we are to each other.
• Aaron from Jacksonville, Fl When I first heard this song when I was 17 it has gotten me through a lot of tough times! One of there best!!
• Rhodora from Quezon , Philippines This song was written by Jonathan Cain on a napkin of The Hilton Hotel when they were on the road, touring.
• Aldrin from Manila, Philippines very romantic journey song..beautiful song lines accompanied with steve perry's powerful vocals and neil schon's guitar..man i have nothing to say about this song but for me its a classic..
• Erikka from Buckeye, Az This song is probably the most romantic song I have ever heard!! I love it! I asked the DJ at prom if he would play it, and he asked me "Who's Journey?" I thought he was joking. I was 10 years younger than the guy, and he didn't even know who Journey is!! Pitiful, just pitiful.
• Jeff from Chicago, Ga Randy jackson played bass on the Raised on Radio album and toured with the band.. that hot pink outfit he wore should be outlawed!!
• Melissa from Lorton, Va I love this song... I remember when I was four and my dad would play this song on the radio to help me go to sleep. It is one of my favorite Journey songs.
• Jeff from Austin, Tx I agree with Scott from Columbus. That is a fantastic line. And the line before it as well..."Two strangers learn to fall in love again". Unbelievable song, easily one of the best ever written. And as usual, Steve Perry sang the hell out of it.
• Chris from Miami, Fl I used to love this song because I would always dedicate it to my gf wenever i would hear it but after all that it really meant nuthing. Its a great song with lyrics that have meaning but honestly I don't like it anymore =[
• Julia from Knoxville, Tn Ryan, it's ironic that I notice you're in Mobile, AL. this song was popular when I lived there.
• Julia from Knoxville, Tn My best friend was able to go to a Journey concert, and that is what makes her get emotional now when she and I both hear the song.
• Matt from Bristol, United States I first heard this song about 10 years ago on a TV advert for a sale on sofas at BHS :P Then, last year, I bought a Journey album and was instantly reaquainted.
• I. Orta from Austin, Tx it stinks being born in 89 cuz nobody tells you about all this great music that was created before any song that came out was manufactured from a make up artist an excutive and some eye candy to sell records. i wanna know what the good times were like, especially when gas was low. and 80s people thought they knew everything, i wanna know!!!!
• Mike from Orleans, In This is my favorite Journey song. i am one of a few students at my high school who listens to Journey.
• Brad from Redding, Ca Has anybody seen the music video for this? It has got to be one of the most unintentially funny things I've ever seen. The shot of Steve Perry about to shave his moustache is hilarious.
• Millerman from Dacusville, Sc Hey Danny in Cape Breton (sounds like a beautiful place), it was 3 years after this song was released before Randy Jackson came on board for the Journey lads. Cheers, mate!
• Robert from San Francisco, Ca Great ipod song while riding throught the streets of SF!
• Danny from Cape Breton, Canada totaly wicked song i was wondering if american idol judge randy jackson played with journey or this track as a basist, i am sure he has, as said earlier this one will take you back to that special one who will always be faithfully!
• Scott from Columbus, Oh The line: "I get the joy of re-discovering you" is nothing short of genius and inspiring...what a beautiful way to say I still appreiciate your love and how much it inspires me. Fooking beautiful! Journey was a certainly one of the best combinations of musicians to ever become. Bravo!
• Jayna from Youngstown, Oh Journey is by far the GREATEST band in the entire world!!! i love open arms best song ever! faithfully is my 2nd favorite song!! JOURNEY KICKS ASS!!
• Dee from Indianapolis, In This has to be one of the best love songs ever written. Between this and Open Arms you can't go wrong for slow dancing or romancing. This reminds me of some of my 1st crushes I had as a early teen. I still can tear up over this one at times.
• Ryan from Mobile, Al True True...it is a great song. I do think of the one that got away :'(
• Joe from Ocala, Fl You can't hear this song without thinking of the girl that got away in your own life.

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Behind the Song: “Faithfully” by Journey

by Tina Benitez-Eves September 10, 2021, 9:44 am 1 Comment

Highway run / Into the midnight sun / Wheels go round and round / You’re on my mind. 

Videos by American Songwriter

“In all honesty, it’s a road song,” says Jonathan Cain.

Observing the band’s touring crew, many of which didn’t have the money to fly their wives and kids around with them, the Journey keyboardist felt drawn to write a song about being on the road, far removed from loved ones, and found “Faithfully,” the first lines coming to Cain one evening after a show when the band was stuck in a snow storm.

“I watched the crew take down the whole stage—the speakers, the lights, the trusses,” Cain tells American Songwriter. “I watched the daredevils climb to the top like ‘Oh, my God, this is like a circus performance.’ I was so touched, and I thought we didn’t have a song, but if we had a song, or we sent one home to our loved ones, like a postcard to help bridge the distance between the road and home what would it be.”

Snowed in for the night, Cain started writing the first few lines of “Faithfully” on a napkin.

“I started thinking about me and my relationship, and I was missing my new wife at the time, and we were having trouble,” shares Cain. “There were early signs that we would probably split apart. I knew I needed to do something that said, ‘I love you, and whether or not you want to leave me, here it is,’ so I got on the bus, and there was this grey sky, and the moon was doing some kind of crazy stuff in the clouds, and it looked like the midnight sun. Then I wrote Highway run / Into the midnight sun / Wheels go round and round / You’re on my mind.”

After starting the song, Cain downed a beer and went to sleep, awakened by the smell of diesel fuel from the band’s bus. “In the morning, I saw the napkin sitting there on the nightstand and I said to myself, ‘This is a good song, so I started automatically lining up the lines and filling it in. In 30 minutes, all the lyrics were done. Then all of a sudden, I believe the Holy Spirit sent it to me, but I thought of the line ‘I’m forever yours, faithfully.’” 

Cain took the napkin to the band’s next soundcheck in Saratoga Springs, New York, placed it on his piano, and started quietly singing “Faithfully,” working out the melody and piano parts, yet never recorded any demo until he revisited “Faithfully” with the late producer Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, Heart) and finally recorded the track.

Olsen played the song for Heart’s Ann Wilson, who loved it, but it was a Journey song. By the time the band was recording Frontiers, they needed a ballad, and “Faithfully” was ready to go.

“Perry said to me ‘I’ll sing it on one condition, you can’t be in the room when I’m singing,’” remembers Cain. “I said, ‘fine,’ and we cut it in three takes. We never played it before. We never rehearsed it. That’s how good Journey is.” 

He adds, “Neil didn’t know what to play, and I looked at him and I said, ‘be a French horn”… and the song became a classic.”

Reflecting more on the track, Cain tells American Songwriter that the circumstances around the song give it deeper meaning threaded in love, faith, and music. “It was my first year out on the road, and I was in a really grateful place being young with a band like Journey, and grateful for how far up God had elevated me,” says Cain. “My identity was sort of acknowledged, finally. As a writer and performer, I felt like I belonged there. I didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, I don’t deserve this.’”

Replacing original keyboardist and Journey co-founder Gregg Rolie, who left the band to explore new projects and start a family, Cain, then 31, began working on the band’s seventh album, Escape , writing many of the tracks, including “Faithfully,” along with singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon in 1983. By the time Frontiers was released Cain already had “Don’t Stop Believin”—an encouraging phrase his father shared with him when he was younger—“Open Arms,” and more Journey hits under his belt. 

“I feel like I earned every bit of it,” says Cain of the recognition he felt by the time “Faithfully” was released. “At the same time, I was grateful.

Today, the song, which originally peaked at No. 12, has never left the Journey setlist, but Cain regrets that “Faithfully” never found placement in a film. He can’t even get the song covered, and once approached Garth Brooks as well as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill to cover the ballad.

“I can’t get it covered,” laughs Cain. “I guess they’re afraid of the original. It is a great song.”

Read Jonathan Cain’s recent interview with American Songwriter , here .

One Comment

According to Allmusic.com, “Faithfully” by Johnathan Cain has been covered 18 times including versions by Lorrie Morgan and Cain himself.

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Journey Have Revealed The True Meaning Behind Their Hit “Faithfully,” And It’s Not What You’d Expect!

Image via vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net

I’m forever yours…

Back in 1983,  Journey released one of their most popular, and emotional songs to date:  “Faithfully.”  The song is a power ballad that is commonly played as a slow dance song at weddings, proms and other celebrations. It showcases lead vocalist  Steve Perry’s amazing voice, and is one of the band’s best songs!

Not many people know the true meaning of this classic tune. The song is a love song, and most people think that it’s about a guy who is just expressing his love to a woman he loves. This is true, however songwriter and keyboardist  Jonathan Cain revealed the true meaning behind this amazing song!

Cain wrote this song about the challenges of being a married man on the road in a rock band. He said: “God gave me that song. I started it on the bus heading to Saratoga Springs. I woke up the next day with a napkin on the side of my nightstand and I looked at the lyrics, ‘Highway run into the midnight sun.’ Then I got this supernatural download: This is the rest of the song. I wrote rest of it down, almost frantically. I’d never had a song come to me so quickly that it was anointed, supernatural. Literally, in 30 minutes I had written that song. I had the napkin in my pocket and I put it on the piano. I had a big grand piano there by the orchestra. I played through it and I thought, ‘Man, this is good.’ The Lord gave me permission to finish it. Normally I would go to Steve Perry or somebody and say, ‘Help me finish this song.’ No. God gave me the mind to finish it, and the rest is history. That would be a love song to God, absolutely.”

That’s a pretty inspiring story of how this wonderful song was written! I bet you’ll never listen to it the same way again! Check out the song down below and enjoy!

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I Liked Detective Pikachu, But Im Still Waiting For A True Live-Action Pokmon

• Detective Pikachu was not the live-action Pokmon adaptation fans expected, lacking traditional elements like gym battles and trainers.
• Despite its success, Detective Pikachu never received a sequel, leaving the future of live-action Pokmon adaptations uncertain.
• Netflix's success with One Piece proves that a true Pokmon live-action adaptation focusing on adventure and battles could work well.

Detective Pikachu may have been a great standalone film, but it was not the live-action Pokémon adaptation I’ve always wished to see. One of the most popular IPs in the world, any new Pokémon property has massive potential and usually becomes a commercial hit. Surprisingly, though, Detective Pikachu (2019) never got a sequel. The film made $450 million at the worldwide box office on a $150 million budget, with Detective Pikachu 2’s status being unclear ever since. In 2021, Variety reported that a live-action Pokémon series was in early development at Netflix.

With no updates on the rumored series and the uncertainty regarding Detective Pikachu 2, it might take a while before Pokémon returns to live-action . With One Piece becoming one of Netflix’s most-watched shows of 2023 and a Naruto movie in the works from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Cretton, now seems the perfect time for beloved gaming and anime properties to receive live-action adaptations. Although Hollywood does not have a perfect track with live-action anime, I believe Pokémon can work in this format, yet not in the style of Detective Pikachu .

Detective Pikachu Was Great (But Not Really Live-Action Pokmon)

Ryme city had no gym battles, trainers, or pok balls.

Detective Pikachu was a fun movie that brought Pokémon to live-action for the first time since the inception of the franchise in 1996. The character models from all Detective Pikachu Pokémon looked incredible, and the visual effects did them justice. Having been a Pokémon fan for as long as I remember, I was incredibly excited to see the Generation 1 Pokémon in live-action for the first time. Fortunately, Detective Pikachu did not disappoint on that matter. The film also had a compelling story about Tim reconnecting with his father thanks to an unusual Pikachu and a mysterious plot revolving around Mewtwo.

Detective Pikachu is mainly about Tim investigating his fathers accident with Detective Pikachu by his side.

However, when compared to the Pokémon anime and most of the games, Detective Pikachu was hardly a proper live-action Pokémon adaptation. Of course, it was a live-action movie set in the world of Pokémon , yet it did not match the tone or the premise of Pokémon that most people are familiar with. Detective Pikachu takes place in Ryme City, a place where humans and Pokémon co-exist differently from the rest of the world. There are no Pokémon gyms, battles, or tournaments in Ryme City. Not even Poké Balls can be found there.

The first few minutes of Detective Pikachu make it clear that the movie will not be a traditional Pokémon story. As soon as Tim arrives in Ryme City, audiences learn that this place was designed to be unlike any other region in the Pokémon world. The movie makes sure that audiences understand that they will not see classic Pokémon battles or Tim challenging a gym trainer like Ash would do all the time. Detective Pikachu is mainly about Tim investigating his father’s accident with “Detective Pikachu” by his side.

Why Detective Pikachu Ignored Most Things That Define Pokmon

Detective pikachu was based on the 2016 game.

As much as I enjoyed Detective Pikachu , I would have liked to see a more traditional Pokémon story with gym trainers and tournaments in live-action. However, that was never going to be Detective Pikachu . The Ryan Reynolds-led movie was loosely based on 2016’s Detective Pikachu game, which was quite different from usual Pokémon games. Detective Pikachu was not about a trainer leveling up and catching Pokémon around the map but rather a mystery players had to solve with the help of a talking Pikachu. The Detective Pikachu game was more narrative-driven than most of the franchise’s releases.

The Detective Pikachu game got a sequel in 2023, Detective Pikachu Returns .

Therefore, while I was surprised that the first live-action Pokémon movie was going to be based on Detective Pikachu , the decision made sense. It is arguably easier to turn a story like Detective Pikachu ’s into a three-act blockbuster movie than to bring Pokémon ’s serialized format to the big screen. Tournament movies have a very distinct structure to them, whereas detective stories are made into movies all the time. The Detective Pikachu film was a reasonable way of turning the saga into a movie franchise, but I wished the first live-action Pokémon property had tried a different approach.

What A True Pokmon Live-Action Adaptation Would Look Like

Pokmon is about the adventure (and pokmon battles).

A true live-action Pokémon adaptation would keep the essence of the franchise – adventurous Pokémon trainers embarking on exciting journeys to make their dreams come true. That is not to say there should be a Pokémon movie about Ash Ketchum or Red, only that focusing on battles and tournaments would be a more exciting way of adapting Pokémon to other media. After almost three decades, Pokémon has built a visual identity that can work in live-action properties regardless of how unique it is. I would love to see a Pokémon movie or show following a brand-new character and their journey.

Detective Pikachu 2 Happening Really Shouldn't Be This Hard, 5 Years After Pokmon's $450M Success

Detective Pikachu made over three times its budget at the global box office. And yet, despite a positive reception, a sequel still hasn't happened.

Of course , a live-action Pokémon movie or even a show would have to make changes to the game’s structure , especially regarding the pacing. A movie cannot be about a trainer going from gym to gym and eventually fighting the region’s top trainer, which does not mean that a more traditional Pokémon story cannot work in live-action. A Pokémon film could combine classic Pokémon battles and challenges with an overarching story and recurring villains. That said, a big-budget TV show would be the best way of bringing Pokémon into live-action.

Netflixs One Piece Success Proves Pokmon Can Work In Live-Action

One piece live-action was not afraid of the animes tone.

It made sense for the first Pokémon live-action movie to be very different from the anime at a time when adaptations of beloved anime properties had mostly been extremely disappointing. However, things have improved since 2017. Hollywood’s live-action anime adaptations could improve massively after the success of Netflix’s One Piece , which faithfully covered Eiichiro Oda’s manga while bringing in new fans. One Piece season 1 embraced all the “weirdness” of Luffy's story and treated the world created by Oda with a lot of respect, proving that anime adaptations can stay truthful to the source material.

A big-budget series can explore different corners of the Pokmon universe as its protagonists go from region to region seeking to be the very best.

Netflix’s One Piece captured the spirit of adventure that defines Luffy’s journey, which is also the ideal tone for a Pokémon story. As funny as it may sound, Ash’s true Pokémon Master title in the anime was “the friends he made along the way” – the journey was always more important in Pokémon than the tournaments. A big-budget series can explore different corners of the Pokémon universe as its protagonists go from region to region seeking to be the very best. Despite Detective Pikachu ’s underwhelming box office. Pokémon can still make for a successful live-action franchise.

Sources: Variety

Detective Pikachu

Director Rob Letterman

Release Date May 10, 2019

Cast Bernardo Santos, Kadiff Kirwan, Bill Nighy, Justice Smith, Ken Watanabe, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Kathryn Newton, Ryan Reynolds, Suki Waterhouse, Rita Ora

Runtime 104 minutes

Franchise(s) Pokemon

Is this the Summer of Rock? How tours from Creed, Def Leppard, others are igniting fans

They claimed the Summer of Love in 1967 .

2024 is primed to be the Summer of Rock.

Not because rock songs are topping music charts or surging on streamers. They're not. It's because titans of the genre have decided to unleash themselves on the road, giving fans a gluttony of opportunity to revel, whether they prefer hard rock, metal, alternative or punk.

Just look at who is on tour. There are the guitar slingers in Def Leppard, Green Day and Journey; the resurgent Nickelback ; reunions of Jane’s Addiction and Blink-182 ; a 25-year anniversary for Slipknot; adrenalized hits from Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette ; and, perhaps most surprisingly, the monster return of Creed, who will embark on the biggest tour of their career July 17. Even those sultans of stadium shows, the Rolling Stones , continue their age-defying lap around the country through July.

As Neil Young once sang , “Rock ‘n’ roll can never die.”

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

This summer, it’s about to thrive.

When it comes to rock fandom, there's 'a fresh new energy,' says Creed frontman

Many of the rockers on tour this summer are pulling in fans from two buckets: those who listened during their heyday (people who remember when you went to MTV to watch music videos) and those who are discovering the greats for the first time (young music fans expanding their musical horizons).

“There is this fresh new energy,” Creed frontman Scott Stapp says. “My 17-year-old is tapping into Nirvana and Soundgarden and old Metallica, and she’s hearing it for the first time. We’ve carried that theme in how we’ve designed this tour, as though there was never time off. This is the 2024 version of what we did in 2002.”

Creed is leading one of the most anticipated tours of the summer. Their Summer of ’99 trek is sold out, according to Live Nation, and will bring openers 3 Doors Down and Finger Eleven, with a rotation of Daughtry , Switchfoot, Tonic and Big Wreck joining certain dates.

It’s the first time in more than a decade that Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips have toured, a scenario that Stapp likens to “that friend you have that you don’t talk to every day, but you pick up where you left off. It feels right."

Though many ticketholders likely lived during the Summer of '99 referenced in their tour name, a slice of them are newer fans driven by the use of Creed's songs in viral TikTok videos, the Texas Rangers' use of "Higher" in its pregame soundtrack during its World Series-winning run, and even by Grammy-winning R&B/hip-hop artist SZA giving permission to think Creed is cool, saying "I will be a Creed fan forever" in her 2023 “ SZA: Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year”  interview. Even Live Nation’s statistics show the key demographic of ticket buyers to the band’s tour at 25-34.

Even though Stapp, through a vibrant solo career , and Tremonti, with the successful rock outfit Alter Bridge , have stayed visible, the revival of the band’s popularity has been revelatory.

“It’s not common,” Stapp concedes, “unless you can remind me of someone with this resurgence after this amount of time.”

These rock 'n' rollers are 'clearly the real deal'

Though there are fewer stadium tours in 2024, concert promoter Live Nation reports to USA TODAY that sales for shows in arenas, amphitheaters, theaters and clubs are up double digits year-over-year, with more than 100 million tickets sold so far.

“We have a more diverse set of artists on the road than ever before,” said Omar-Al Joulani, president of touring for Live Nation Concerts. “While many rock bands will be touring, there will also be a wide range of artists across various genres."

Indeed, if there is a through line to this season’s rock-heavy itinerary, it’s that while nostalgia inevitably seeps in, most of the bands filling amphitheaters and stadiums have never been too far from public consciousness, whether with new music or enduring affection for their hits.

More: The Sphere in Las Vegas really is a 'quantum leap' for live music: Inside the first shows

On June 13, perennial stadium-fillers Def Leppard released the stomper “Just Like 73” with guitar ace Tom Morello adding his signature wizardry. Though the band, which dropped “Diamond Star Halos” with the crunchy single “Kick” in 2022, has no shortage of smashes to tear through onstage, the thought of merely trotting out classics is unappealing.

“It would be really lame to be out there as a nostalgia act or doing it for the money,” says Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen , who noted that “Just Like 73” will be on the new set list alongside evergreen fist-pumpers "Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Photograph" and "Armageddon It." “We got into music because we wanted to be in a band, and for us, (playing live) is very easy because you still really want to do it.”

Def Leppard will share this summer’s stadium stretch , which kicks off July 6, with Journey. The Steve Miller Band occupies a regular opening slot, and Cheap Trick and Heart will dot other dates with their melodic guitar rock.

Journey is never far from a spotlight, with “Faithfully” still landing on prom night playlists and, of course, the self-generating popularity of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which will live on as long as new generations discover “The Sopranos.”

Though the band released the album “Freedom” in 2022, they plan to hit rewind/repeat on the vintage tape deck this tour.

Thanks to the “great chemistry” shared between not just the members of both chart-topping, guitar-forward bands but also their audiences, Journey guitarist and co-founder Neal Schon expects sold-out sing-a-longs across the nation this summer.

“ Def Leppard had a lot of radio success at the same time we did, so history kind of puts us together,” Schon says. “We first met them many years back when they were broke, but you immediately admire people in your same rock arena who are clearly the real deal.”

Is rock ‘n’ roll dead? Yes. No. Maybe? But enjoy it this summer

Most of the artists sweating for your entertainment this summer are close to, if not in, AARP territory – Lavigne is a relative youngster at 39 – and the debate continues about the current state of rock ‘n’ roll and who might maintain longevity to fill amphitheaters and stadiums in 20 years.

Mammoth WVH with Wolfgang Van Halen is the type of rock outfit carrying an old-fashioned torch as they open stadiums with Metallica, play club shows in between and will join Creed for a fall arena run.

Greta Van Fleet spans the globe this summer at a combination of festivals, theaters and arenas, and Dorothy, fronted by singer Dorothy Martin (who duets with Stapp on his single “If These Walls Could Talk” ) is the kind of power-lunged belter who makes you nearly blow a speaker.

Collen believes rock is more of an idea – “People love the idea of a rock star,” he says – and artists he considers rock icons, such as Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison , have no one in their shadows.

“You’re got getting new versions of that,” Collen says. “I think the image part of rock is dead.”

More: R.E.M. performs together for first time in nearly 20 years

Stapp, meanwhile, points to country music and the cross-pollination of rock and country as a meaningful migration.

“In a weird way, the country music scene is reinvigorating rock,” he says.

The future of rock might be hazy, but for now, there are plenty of guitar amps ready to be turned to 11.

So for those who still want to rock, we salute you.

This Korean Horror Film Is One of the Scariest Movies of 2024

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Exhuma is an effective traditional occult horror, exhuma's multi-layered plot is exceptional, exhuma’s realism is innovative to conventional horror, why exhuma sets the bar high for modern horror.

• South Korean horror sets a new standard for the genre, with contemporary films like Exhuma focusing on psychological impact over jumpscares.
• Exhuma 's multi-layered plot delves into Korean folklore, offering a unique and innovative approach.
• Exhuma avoids cliches by building tension through storytelling, delivering a chilling, well-crafted horror experience.

Horror is an incredibly subjective genre, and it requires the quality of finding common ground that can resonate with the audience on a collective level. Since fear depends on a person’s perspective, horror movies can’t always hit the mark generically. A viewer may find jump-scares bone-chilling, while someone thinks a slasher movie is far more terrifying than ghosts. However, if there’s an industry that has been exceptional in putting out impeccable horror content, it’s the South Korean film industry.

From modern masterpieces like The Wailing to spellbinding psychological horrors like Forgotten , the South Korean horror game is high sky. Another entry that has recently elevated the genre’s credibility and potential is Jang Jae-hyun’s film, Exhuma. Mixing the terrors of traditions and spiritualism, Exhuma instills a creeping fear that’s no slave to jumpscares or special effects, and that's what makes it one of the best horror movies of 2024.

• Exhuma is the biggest South Korean movie of 2024.
• The movie stars Kim Go-eun as Lee Hwa-rim, Lee Do-hyun as Yoon Bong-gi, and Choi Min-sik as Kim Sang-deok.
• The movie is a supernatural horror with traces of folklore and spiritualism.

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One of the most fascinating aspects of South Korean horror movies is their minimum reliance on in-your-face terror. Even novice horror fans have become wary of the basement that’s off-limits or that creepy house that sells for cheap. It’s been done a gazillion times, and fans have been wondering how long it will take filmmakers to realize that horror is beyond bendy witches and devil’s spawn .

It’s safe to say that with the likes of Late Night With the Devil , I Saw The TV Glow , and The First Omen elevating horror standards in 2024, Korean cinema has made its fair contribution to that struggle. Exhuma debuted in February and racked in a whopping $97 million worldwide, making it Korea’s biggest hit of 2024. It’s no surprise that a good supernatural horror came out of Korea, but the real pointer here is why this movie works while countless big-budgeted Hollywood movies don’t. Sydney Sweeney’s recent horror flick, Immaculate , failed to impress the audience, while The First Omen , with the exact same premise, wowed the viewers.

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Movies like Exhuma and The First Omen represent the new generation of horror that is fueled by psychological impact rather than visual. Exhuma is a supernatural horror that is focused on spiritualism and shamanism. There are elements of raging spirits and ominous powers in the movie, but it’s so well-crafted that the viewers are unable to predict the next move. The film starts with a famous Korean shaman named Hwa-rim and her assistant Bong-gil, who are hired by a wealthy Korean-American family.

They are hired to find the cure to a mysterious illness that has been plaguing the family, including their newborn son. Hwa-rim discovers that the family is being haunted by their ancestor’s angry spirit, who is in agony because of the discomfort of their grave. This is how the movie introduces the concept of exhumation, which is linked both to spiritualism and the art of Chinese geomancy, called Feng Shui. The collaboration of these unique elements gives Exhuma a promising start that pays off tenfold as the story progresses.

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There’s nothing simple about the richness of Exhuma ’s plot that’s bathed in Korean traditionalism, especially the way it portrays shamanism. Hwa-rim is a modern-day shaman with both professional knowledge and innate abilities. It’s revealed later in the film that Hwa-rim is a certified expert who studied shamanism and its related fields in an institution under qualified professors. This well-blended detail uplifts the otherwise cliched approach to characters who can “deal” with spirits.

They’re often introduced as awkward middle-aged or old ladies who go about waving and touching things to feel the “entity.” Hwa-rim and her protégé completely win the audience the moment they’re introduced. They are young yet well-prepared and talk straight to the point. When Hwa-rim tells the family about the curse, she straightforwardly puts it out there that the spirit is powerful and malicious and will require a critical ritual to be tamed.

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That’s when she recruits a renowned geomancer named Kim Sang-seok, one of Korea's few remaining authentic geomancers. Sang-seok is well-versed in the art of exhumation, but when he’s led to a nameless grave in the worst possible place, he immediately feels that they shouldn’t be meddling with this particular grave. From then on, the movie dives deeper into culturalism and its effects on the living who forget about their dead.

What’s terrifying about Exhuma is not angry spirits or weird creatures lurking in a gravesite, but this creeping horror makes the audience believe that there’s more. The movie has a multi-layered plot that encourages the audience to look beyond the simple premise that the film has deliberately set up to mislead the viewers. Dividing the movie into two parts is clever because when the viewers think that the movie is about to close the case, the real terror comes knocking.

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The best part of Exhuma is the gradual tension that builds up without taking help from unnecessary jumpscares or directions. The horror tension comes almost naturally to Exhuma ’s setup, especially when Hwa-rim performs the exorcism ritual during the grave digging. The entire act, from the time they discover the grave to its relocation, is superb and peak horror. The eerie setting, the acting, and the direction are enough to set chills down the spine. The audience might be anticipating the horror elements to kick in during the exhumation process.

However, the real scare comes after they have dug the grave since it’s obvious that they weren’t supposed to do that. Exhuma strays away from conventionality and works towards conviction through storytelling. The characters don’t need to tell the audience the level of evil they are dealing with. The buildup and the lineup of the events are enough to convince the viewers of the realism of the story. They talk about the facts and explain to the audience why they think that exhumating this particular grave is a risky thing.

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After the gang takes the remains for relocating, it’s revealed that the grave was only a decoy for hiding something more sinister. Thus begins the second act of the movie, which deals with old myths and legends and increases the urgency of the mission. Even with their lives on the line, the characters are well-preserved in their emotions and preparedness. They do their research and take no pride in overemphasizing the graveness of the situation. That’s one of the things about a conventional horror movie that’s not sitting well with the audience anymore.

There’s no need to complicate the terror through inconclusive scenes that don’t even qualify as having a psychological impact. Moreover, several horror and supernatural thrillers and their unhealthy affiliation with cryptic endings have also taken a toll on the audience. It’s extremely frustrating to spend 90 minutes trying to invest in a lore that isn’t even explicitly explained or concluded. As for Exhuma , its plot may have been deep and complex, but the movie doesn’t end without a definitive conclusion. It may have started with a family curse, but it ends with bigger stakes.

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While Exhuma ’s first arc would seem like an improvised version of an everyday supernatural horror movie, the second arc is more endearing and captivating. Instead of demons trapped in houses or vengeful ghosts, Exhuma introduces a Japanese Samurai ghoul whose goal and existence date back to the Japanese invasion. The movie connects mysterious rituals and traditions of different cultures with a modern backdrop. It highlights the importance of old tales and myths for those who faithfully believe in them. 2024 has given horror fans a promising start , with many movies breaking the mold and paving the way for a new era for the genre. It’s about time that moviemakers stop exaggerating clichéd supernatural elements and look towards unconventional themes.

Exhuma is a brilliant piece of cinema with its stunning cinematography and performances that are convincing down to the last scene. The movie has this uncanny ability to put the viewers right in the middle of the action, but it doesn’t seem too pronounced or sudden. There are no detailed introductions of the characters, but the audience is able to connect with them as the story progresses. The chemistry of the team, despite being mere acquaintances, works incredibly well for the movie. Exhuma tries to be an invasive horror folktale that instills fear through its chilling atmosphere and occasional eeriness. It’s safe to say that the movie has no baseless horror, and it works hard to be more of a story-based horror movie than just a cluster of clichés and ghosts with makeup.