Journey band, the very popular rock band back in the 70’s got the boost they have been waiting for:a new lead singer. Ever heard of Arnel Pineda? He’s a Pinoy talent and a veteran performing some gigs in the Philippines and overseas. Originally performed with the Zoo band in Quezon City and got flown to the America for an audition. And the usual saying goes, his story is like the modern Cinderella story.
Arnel Pineda hardly had enough to get used to his instant challenges and getting used to international status quo being with the Journey band. This added the extra pressure in getting ready to perform and please 15,000 Chilean Journey fans. This extra ordinary experience for Arnel Pineda just added the fire in his first international concert performance that was just nothing but exceptional.
In the beginning of the performance it was like kind of getting the groove and feel for Arnel Pineda and Journey band. Who wouldn’t after being quiet for quite sometime? Some even wondered that they seemed like singing while reading a script from a teleprompter.
As the show went on, Arnel and the band started to show the flow in their performance. And it’s just about right when things just got into the right groove and mood when Arnel Pineda belted out the popular song, “Open Arms”. Arnel Pineda just know how to answer Latinos passion for music and he did such an awesome job. After that number, just about everyone got comfortable and the Monster got silent.
Arnel’s version of the song “Faithfully” just melts everyone’s heart. All the doubts looming about this Pinoy talent just disappeared. The “Monster” was brought to Arnel and the rest of Journey band, finally the band regained their position to be among one of the best rock bands of all time.
It was unbelievable that Journey could do their finale since they were asked for encore number one after the other. There comes a time that their finale even took longer to get going since most of the equipment is turned off or disconnected. Even with those issues it was still such a memorable atmosphere. Finally, Arnel Pineda has shown beyond any doubts that his talent is nothing short of the best to be a part of Journey band.
Neal Schon was like the over-proud father of a son he introduced to the world, Jonathan Cain (rumored to be not so sold-out with Arnel Pineda) now mouths AP “is the real deal,” Ross Valory constantly flashes that otherwise so rare grin, and Deen Castronovo vows to Arnel Pineda at the end of the show.
This is something like a substance of a mushy Cinderella story, really?
It’s a Cinderella story for Arnel Pineda and it’s complete opposite for Journey band where they take the place of Lazarus who came back from the dead.
Pundits point out that the Journey band has become a “Greatest Hits” band. Schon, Cain, Valory, and Castronovo are living off Journey band’s past glory. They have waxed new materials but unfortunately they were tepid at sales. They may still have the loyalty of the band’s original followers, but this fan base either moves on to new bands or music, or simply die of old age.
Steve Augeri, and Jason Scot Soto are both outstanding performers, but they just want to have Journey’s popularity to go for another mile. Adding Arnel Pineda, Journey band just got retrofitted without changing its old persona. Arnel Pineda’s clear high voice, and soulful version of the the songs keeps the old fashion “Journey” atmosphere.
Arnel Pineda’s contribution to the band as a lead singer doesn’t end there. His Asian energetic personality of his own “rock” version could pave the way for the admiration of the younger music fan base both from the USA and internationally.