Arnel Pineda begs people "Don't Stop Believin"

So as I'm officially too poor to go out on a Thursday night, I've spent the vast majority of my time tonight between episodes of Entourage and random Youtubings. Anyway, I stumbled on this guy named Arnel Pineda, and his story is one anyone can appreciate.

Arnel Pineda was born on September 5th, 1967 (20 years older than me, to the day... strange) in the Philippeans. At a young age his musical talent (most notably a mind-blowing vocal range) became apparent. If he'd been raised somewhere a little more entertainment oriented (the United States, for example), he'd be on posters in just about every rock fan's wall.

Anyway, Arnel jumped from band to band throughout the 90s and early 2000s, finally settling on Filipino band "The Zoo" in 2005. The Zoo was actually a cover-band in disguise, playing classics by Led Zeppelin, the Goo Goo Dolls, Queen, and many more. Luckily for Arnel, "The Zoo" was born in the internet age, and it would prove to be most beneficial to his career.

Neil Schon, lead guitarist (and founder) of 80s super-act Journey was actually spending a night in similar fashion to my own (I don't know if he watches Entourage, but I suspect he was either watching that or Flight of Conchords videos), and happened along a video of the Zoo performing "Faithfully" in concert. It was music to his ears... and he quickly began researching Pineda in an attempt to get him to come and audition with Journey. After all, they needed a new lead singer, and were itching to go back out on tour.

Anyway, Pineda originally thought the whole thing was some sort of elaborate hoax, until Schon chartered a jet to take him from the Philippeans to San Francisco.

The rest, as they say, is history:
Arnel Pineda performing with Journey (his first concert with the band..Live from Chile):


Arnel Pineda, once again, with Journey (same night... his first live show was broadcast nationwide to over 25 million people):



...If you want to see some more amazing vocal performances, youtube "Arnel Pineda".
...And even more so, if you want to see his actual range (it's ridiculous), youtube "The Zoo". You won't be disappointed.