Who would have thought that Arnel Pineda would still achieve his far-fetched dream at the age of 40? Yes he did! This Filipino singing sensation is the new lead vocalist of the legendary Journey. Through the help of the Internet technology, Arnel was discovered by Neil Schon from the band Journey during his search on Youtube for a new vocalist for the band.

Before the news broke out, I had the privilege of watching Arnel to sing ‘live’ in Bagaberede here in Manila. When you see him personally perform in the stage, you will be struck on how good he is. I’m not a fan of the classic and old songs but Arnel made me a fan of those songs. In fact, I did not even know who the Journey are until Arnel began singing their songs. More so, the Journey songs are not the only music that can be perfectly covered by Arnel. He can even do Led Zep, Survivor, Aerosmith, Goo Goo Dolls and many more. My favorite among these is Aerosmith’s ‘Amazing’ (Just watch it in Youtube to see why it’s my fave).

At first, many were reluctant with Arnel being the singer of this international band. Especially the fans of Journey, they are really “unwilling” to accept him not because of any issues on his singing abilities but due to the fact that he is a Filipino. Since Journey is an all-American band, they cannot accept that the new singer is not American. Nonetheless, these issues were easily dispelled once they heard Arnel Pineda belting out the tunes of their favorite Journey songs perfectly.

Undoubtedly, I can say that AP deserves whatever he has right now. The world is a witness to his great talent which was long undiscovered. Thanks to Neil Schon and the rest of the band, Arnel can now showcase his talent to all the people around the globe.

(Youtube Videos of Arnel Pineda)

Arnel Pineda singing Aerosmith's "Amazing"

Arnel Pineda singing "Faithfully" on his first concert with the Journey

AP's "After All These Years" on Journey's New Album "Revelation"