J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our first single of 2026:
OPEN UP
The song we spoofed here, "Open Arms," was Journey's highest-charting hit (#2 for six weeks). It was held out of the top spot by two songs ApX already spoofed "Centerfold" by The J. Geils Band and "I Love Rock' n' Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.
"Open Arms" was also the theme of my high-school senior prom. When I approached the girl I'd end up taking, it was the first time I'd ever had the courage to ask anyone out. That was about a month before the dance, so we went on a few other dates in the meantime, the first of which was a trip to the movie theater to see On Golden Pond, starring Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn, who won Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars for their performances.
Based on what Jesus tells the church in Laodicea in the Book of Revelation, the people in that congregation weren't going to get any awards for the way they were acting: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15, 16).
Yet He still hadn't given up on them: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." The whole idea of Jesus having to knock on the door of His own church to try and get them to let Him in is pretty shocking. But I think it's probably far more common now than it was in the first century.
"Open Up" features J. Jackson on lead and backing vocals, Rich Mannion on keyboards, Tom Tincha on guitars, Keith Haynie on bass, and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion.
SOUL REVIVER
This first two verses of this parody are based on personal experience, but the title is rooted in Isaiah 57:15: "For this is what the high and exalted One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”
The power and majesty of the music seemed ideal for a song about an awe-inspiring encounter with the living God. My favorite couplet is "I was looking; I don't know why — when He looked back, I could have cried." I really did have an inexplicable restlessness and urge to read the Bible and seek the Lord, but I truly was stunned and profoundly touched to discover He was already looking for me, even though He knew exactly where I was.
This is the second time we spoofed Journey and Asia on the same single, but I didn't notice until after everything had been recorded. Both times, the parodies were of songs from the same albums — Journey’s Escape and Asia's self-titled debut. Both singles came out in January and were our first releases of their respective years (2015 and 2026).
Since we called the first one Journey to Asia and used a photo of ApX guitarist Tom Tincha by the Great Wall of China on a 2007 missionary trip, we called this one Journey 2 Asia and used a photo of ApX mixer David Michael by the Wall on a 2012 missionary trip. Interestingly, the Journey parody this time is about Laodicea, one of "the seven churches which are in Asia" (Revelation 1:4, 11).
"Soul Reviver" features J. Jackson on lead vocals, Rich Mannion on keyboards, bass, and backing vocals, Tom Tincha on guitars, and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion.
