Imagine being poor,taking care of a sick mother, a year behind on their rented apartment and unable to sufficiently provide for the family and a father calling it quits on his family and moving out. That was the story of Arnel Pineda, For about two years his life was spent out on the streets, sleeping wherever he could: in public parks, or on a narrow bench outside a friend’s crowded house.
His love for music kept him going looking for that elusive break. At age 15, he joint his first band and it all started from then. He went on to win numerous contest and shows in the Phillipines where he is from and in February 2007, his video’s of him doing covers of various artist appeared on Youtube.
On June 28, 2007, Neal Schon of Journey contacted Noel Gomez, a longtime fan and friend of Pineda who uploaded many of these videos, to ask for Pineda’s contact information. Schon sent an e-mail to Pineda inviting the latter to audition for Journey. Pineda initially dismissed the e-mail as a hoax, but after being persuaded by Gomez, he finally replied to Schon’s e-mail. Ten minutes later, Pineda received a phone call from Schon. On August 12, Pineda, along with his manager Bert de Leon, flew to Marin County, just north of San Francisco, for a two-day audition. The star-struck Pineda was welcomed warmly but he described the audition as “nerve-wracking, tense”. On December 5, 2007, Pineda was announced as the lead singer of Journey!!
Imagine that, a Journey which sounds like a script out of a movie that happened!! So dreams do come true, dont give up and keep going!
Check out the original video of Journey’s Faithfully and the version with their new front man, Arnel Pineda (more…)