Still feels like the first time | Arts & Entertainment

When a legacy rock band goes looking for a new lead singer, it’s often a global search. When Journey went to replace longtime frontman Steve Perry, they found his replacement in Arnel Pineda from the Philippines. 

Foreigner is one of the most commercially successful rock bands of all time with worldwide sales exceeding 80 million records, including 38 million in the U.S. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2024. Shortly thereafter, they found themselves in need of a lead singer.

The band did not have to look far when they sought to fill the role. They found their guy in Luis Maldonado, who was already in the band, playing guitar and singing back-up vocals.

It is extremely rare for a musician to move from supporting cast member and background vocalist to become the frontman in a commercially successful rock band. The only noteworthy example is Genesis, when Peter Gabriel left the band and Phil Collins took over lead vocals from his perch on the drum kit. 

Today’s makeup of Foreigner features Maldonado, who is joined in the band by keyboard player Michael Bluestein, bassist Jeff Pilson and guitarist Bruce Watson. They take the stage at Belly Up Aspen for two acoustic shows on Sunday and Monday as part of “Foreigner: The Hits Unplugged Tour.”

A rock juggernaut

Foreigner was formed in 1976 in New York City by original vocalist Lou Gramm, guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Ed Gagliardi, keyboardist Al Greenwood, drummer Dennis Elliott and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald. 

Jones came up with the name for the band. Because Elliott and McDonald were British and Gramm, Greenwood and Gagliardi were American, half the band would always be foreigners regardless of what country they were in.

Foreigner released its self-titled debut album in 1977. The album yielded two Top 10 singles in the U.S. — “Feels Like The First Time” and “Cold as Ice.” They followed a year later with another blockbuster album, “Double Vision,” whose title track “Hot Blooded” also reached the Top 10. 

Foreigner kept its streak going and by the time they had released their first six albums, every one of them had achieved multi-platinum status with songs that cracked the Top 10 — a remarkable feat of consistency. They were the first band since The Beatles to have their first eight singles chart in the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Since their early days as one of the most commercially successful rock bands ever, Foreigner has had many lineup changes, not uncommon for a band celebrating its 50th anniversary. 

Greenwood and McDonald only lasted three years. All told, there have been 22 members of Foreigner. In the current iteration of the band, Pilson, Bluestein and Watson have been with the band since 2004, 2008 and 2011 respectively. Maldonado joined the band in 2021.

From supporting player to starring role

Maldonado grew up in Tucson, Arizona, in a musical family and, inspired by his older brothers, began playing music very young. The brothers started playing classical music but eventually found rock ’n’ roll. 

Maldonado remembers watching footage of Pete Townshend at Woodstock and thinking less about guitar heroics than about the possibilities of sound. 

“That’s what got me into music,” Maldonado said. “He was getting all this feedback out of the guitar. I was fascinated by the idea of how you could create any sound you see fit. I was captivated by how it paints pictures in your head and makes you feel things. I was like, ‘I don’t want to just listen to that. I want to do that.’”

The family moved to Los Angeles and recording sessions replaced paper routes. Instead of after-school sports, there were nightly gigs with whatever band needed a guitarist.

By the early 1990s, Maldonado was in San Francisco, cutting sessions for Shrapnel Records and touring internationally by his mid-20s. In the late ’90s, he hit the road with UFO during the final run of its classic lineup. “That was my first big experience,” he said. “I was having a great time. I was like, wow.”

The 2000s found Maldonado in Los Angeles, working with artists from British musician John Waite to Lisa Marie Presley to Glenn Hughes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and writing with Train’s lead singer Pat Monahan. He eventually joined Train full-time in 2015 and played with the band until 2020. 

Stepping up to the mic 

Coming out of the pandemic in 2021, Maldonado was offered the opportunity to join Foreigner, initially as a guitarist and background vocalist. 

“I was blown away,” Maldonado said of the invitation. “I never thought that I would be in a band like Foreigner, a band whose music I loved as a teenager. All I could ever have hoped for as a young person was to be a part of music.”

When Maldonado joined Foreigner, longtime frontman Kelly Hansen, who joined the band in 2005, was still with the band, with original vocalist Gramm sitting in occasionally. The band announced in May 2025 that Hansen would be leaving Foreigner after their summer tour and that he would be replaced by Maldonado. Maldonado said the transition was organic. 

“I didn’t campaign to be the lead singer in any way. I never positioned myself like that,” Maldonado said. “I never thought, ‘Oh, I could do this.’ What happened is we were playing these informal gatherings called VIBs — Very Important Beers. And it was a stripped-down thing and I sang a lot of the leads. People started saying, ‘He can really sing these songs — not just hit the notes, but sing them with the nuance they were written with.’”

Eventually, musical director Jeff Pilson and management approached Maldonado about the idea of putting down the guitar and picking up the microphone. 

“I didn’t want Foreigner to end,” Maldonado said. “It’s such an awesome family. Out of the 30 years and all the artists that I’ve worked with, I love being in this band the most. I thought, ‘If becoming the lead singer keeps our family together then I’ll do it.’ My intention came from my love for the music. I love the guys and I love these songs. This music is too important to stop.”

Maldonado received the endorsement from original guitarist and vocalists Mick Jones and Lou Graham — and the deal was sealed. 

“Lou told me, ‘You have 100% my blessing and support. You have the range and the tone these songs need. Mick said roughly the same thing. It matters that they felt that I could do these songs with the original intention that they were written. It matters that they think I’m the guy for it. I played my first show as lead singer shortly after those conversations.”

Maldonado said audiences can expect to hear all their favorite Foreigner songs at the Belly Up shows. “I hope that the audience gets lost in the power of music,” he said. “I hope they remember when they first heard the songs, that they remember a great memory in their life where one of our songs was a part of it and that they’re able to live in that moment for even a second and then also make a new memory. 

“I hope people get lost in the music, get lost in the night and have a great, great, beautiful night of music, and that they’re able to look at each other and go, ‘I’m glad we came here.’”