[8][9][better source needed] Escape, Journey's seventh and most successful album, reached number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded another of their most popular singles, "Open Arms".

After one performance in Hawaii, the band quickly abandoned the "backup group" concept and developed a distinctive jazz fusion style.

It took a while for the politics to sort of shape up.— Neal Schon[24]As Journey's album sales did not improve, Columbia Records requested that they change their musical style and add a frontman who would share lead vocals with Rolie.

Journey went on tour with Fleischman in 1977, opening for bands such as Black Sabbath, Target, Judas Priest, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

[32] With their new lead singer and new producer, the band's fourth studio album, Infinity, released in January 1978, peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard 200.

[39] Keyboardist Gregg Rolie left the band following the Departure tour to start a family and undertake various solo projects.

[40] Keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman was brought in to record the lone studio track, "The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love)", on the band's live album Captured.

Released in February 1983, the band's second-best selling album sold over six million copies, peaking at number two on the Billboard charts, and spawning the hit singles "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", "Faithfully", "Send Her My Love", and "After the Fall".

[49] During the tour, NFL Films recorded a video documentary of their life on the road, Frontiers and Beyond, shooting scenes at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with more than 80,000 fans in attendance.

[52] Raised on Radio was released in May 1986, peaking at number four on Billboard's album chart, but underperforming compared to the band's previous two efforts.

The tour featured both Randy Jackson on bass and Mike Baird on drums, and was videotaped by MTV for a documentary that included interviews with the band members, which was called Raised on Radio, the same as the album title.

Steve Smith devoted his time to his jazz bands, Vital Information and Steps Ahead, and teamed up with Ross Valory and original Journey keyboardist Gregg Rolie to create The Storm with singer Kevin Chalfant and guitarist Josh Ramos, along with Herbie Herbert as the band's manager, as he did with Journey with Scott Boorey.

[64] In October 1993, Schon, Rolie, Valory, Dunbar, Smith, and Cain reunited and performed at a private dinner for their manager Herbie Herbert at Bimbo's in San Francisco, with Kevin Chalfant on lead vocals.

[65][66] After the breakup of Bad English in 1991, Schon and Castronovo formed the glam metal band Hardline with brothers Johnny and Joey Gioeli, releasing only one studio album before his departure.

Steve Smith and Ross Valory reunited with Journey and the band started writing material for their next album, with rehearsals beginning that same month.

The album's hit single "When You Love a Woman", which reached number 12 on the Billboard charts, was nominated in 1997 for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

[72][73] Plans for a subsequent tour ended when Perry, troubled by pain while hiking in Hawaii on a 10-day break in August 1996, discovered he had a degenerative bone condition and could not perform without hip-replacement surgery, which for some time he declined to undergo, later admitting he had other physical issues.

[74][75][76] The band took a break following the album's release to work on solo projects, waiting for Perry to make up his mind on if he wanted to tour.

Following a phone call between Cain and Perry, the latter announced that he would be departing from Journey, releasing himself from the band's contracts and making the decision to semiretire from the music business, disappearing from the public eye again.

Steve Smith later exited the band, citing that Journey would not be the same without Perry, and returning to his jazz career and his project Vital Information.

After auditioning several high-profile candidates, including Geoff Tate, Kevin Chalfant, and John West,[79] Journey replaced Perry with Steve Augeri, formerly of Tyketto and Tall Stories.

Journey embarked on a tour in the United States titled Vacation's Over, which began in October and concluded at the end of December in Reno.

The band only performed one club gig in support of the EP, but later began another tour of the United States from May to August in 2003, that included their teaming with Styx and REO Speedwagon in Classic Rock's Main Event.

During the tours, however, suggestions arose that Augeri was not singing, but was using backing tracks to cover up his deteriorating vocals, resulting in him getting attacked by the fans.

Schon was so impressed that he contacted Pineda to set up two days of auditions, which went well, naming him the official lead vocalist of Journey on December 5, 2007.

"[101][102] In 2007, "Don't Stop Believin'" gained press coverage and a sharp growth in popularity when it was used in The Sopranos television series final episode[103] prompting digital downloads of the song to soar.

[125] On March 3, 2020, Schon and Cain announced that they had fired Smith and Valory and were suing them for an alleged "attempted corporate coup d'état," seeking damages in excess of $10 million.

[165] On September 22, 2024, Pineda took to Facebook to respond to criticism following the band's performance at Rock in Rio, where he struggled with his ear monitors on stage.

[167][168] During the COVID-19 pandemic, "Don't Stop Believin'" was used as an anthem for patients who were being discharged from New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital and Henry Ford Health System after defeating the virus.

[169][170] On August 21, 2021, Journey played the song live at New York's "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert", which was scheduled to celebrate the city's emergence from the pandemic.