When we found out Journey was going to add a stop in Honolulu to its current tour, we were as excited as anyone who's got a few Journey tunes buried in some untitled playlist on their iPod.

Like everyone else who's ever listened to pop music, we can't help but love "Open Arms." And "Don't Stop Believing." And "Wheel in the Sky." And "Faithfully." And "Lights." And ... see? We were excited.

When the first scheduled Honolulu show sold out in two hours, we were a bit taken by surprise, but only because we weren't in that group of people dialing and redialing Ticketmaster's number at 9:02 Saturday morning hoping to score good seats.

We chalked up the sellout to this city's concert-loving boomers who are just waiting for a concert they can sing along with. Add to them the younger pop culturalists who wouldn't miss an iconic band because they just don't miss out on events like that, and we figured that accounted for the speedy sellout.

Then a second show was added, and it sold out, too. Even faster than the first one.

When a third show on O'ahu — and fifth in Hawai'i — was added and it also sold out quickly, it was soul-searching time.

What makes these guys tick? Why all the love for a band whose heyday was back in the big-hair and mullet days of the 1980s? They "should've been gooone ..." long ago.

Have we forgot we're already nine years into the new millennium and bands with an average age over 40 just aren't supposed to draw this much attention from Twitterers and Facebook faithful?

Why, why, why?

We're not angry about it. Far from it. We just want to know what makes these guys so popular.

Is it Hawai'i's Filipino population standing by new lead singer Arnel Pineda, the most famous Filipino since Imelda Marcos?

Is it that Pineda was discovered via a YouTube video — meaning Journey had officially "gone viral" — garnering a whole new set of younger fans along the way?

Or is it just that this is how Journey rolls (again), now that they've found a singer that can hit Steve Perry's high notes?

We took our questions to the street to find some answers, but if you're still not happy with what we found, go to www.honoluluadvertiser.com/journeyforum and log your own theory.

For the next week we're going to keep this online Journey forum open so readers can register their thoughts on the band's popularity and its performances.

Meantime, here's what we found the old-fashioned way, by hitting the pavement for some man-on-the-street interviews:

"I seriously just love Journey. I always have. I saw them in concert in Detroit in the '80s with Steve Perry, and it was great. The new guy's great too, but he's not Perry, so that's kind of a downer for me, but he's the closest the band has ever gotten since Perry left, so I'll take it."

— John Jarecki, 49

"Everyone knows Journey, whether or not you consider yourself a fan. Plus, they're, like, '80s legends. That's a good enough reason to see them. Yeah, I'm going. I saw the new lead singer guy on 'Ellen' a while ago. That guy can wail. He sounds just like the original guy, which is great for the old-time fans. Is it bad to say that?"

— Gabe Lee, 24

"No, I wasn't surprised at all (that the shows sold out). It's Journey. Everyone knows Journey."

— Misha Loughton, 31

"Honestly, I just want to hear that new lead singer. I'm not a huge fan, but I do want to see if he's as good as everyone says he is. I've watched those YouTube videos comparing the first lead singer to this guy, and it's pretty unreal."

— Jamie Stevens, 29

"I'm a die-hard Steve Perry fan. Does the new kid compare? Of course not. If it's not Steve Perry, it's not Journey. But I'm still going. I have to hear it for myself. Will I change my mind about the singer? I doubt it."

— Jim Wheeler, 43

Why do you love Journey? Join the forum