I can't think of a worse place to come for a debate on whether a piece of music is "hard rock" or not! hahaha... that being said, Defying Gravity is actually right. Journey is not hard rock. They are straight up rock... or arena rock if we are being specific... but they are not hard.
I can only imagine the debate over on the heavy metal message boards about Alice Ripley's chances for a Tony this year.
Noticed this conversation was still ongoing so I decided to watch them again. Well, as much as I could stand. Now I officially never want to hear that cheezy song again by anyone! I never liked it and now I cannot stand it.
That said, if I had to pick one, I like the RoA version better because at least it's a comedic approach and as has been said so many times by the critics "doesn't take itself too seriously". Glee's version is very serious, and it's just such a corny song. jmo.