Arnel Pineda: Journey's New Vocalist?

Pineda's career with Journey started when the band's guitarist, Neal Schon, saw footage of Pineda and his band the Zoo covering the Journey song “Faithfully” on YouTube[1]. A friend of Pineda's had taped the band during a gig, and uploaded the footage to the video sharing site.

Neal Schon was looking for a new vocalist to replace their latest vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto[7]. He decided to search YouTube for new talent. Upon seeing Pineda's performance video, Schon emailed the video uploader to ask for an introduction to the Filipino singer. Schon wanted Pineda to go to San Francisco for an audition[8].

Pineda initially thought Schon's email was a hoax, but was convinced by his friend that it was real. After some negotiation, Pineda agreed to apply for a visa to be able to travel to the United States [8].

Pineda, along with his manager Bert de Leon, flew to Marin County, north of San Francisco, for a two-day audition.[9][10] The star-struck Pineda was welcomed warmly but he described the audition as "nerve-wracking, tense".[11]

Pineda was officially announced as Journey's lead vocalist on 5 December 2007[12] and made his concert debut on 21 February 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile. [13][14] He then went back to the US with Journey for a number of Las Vegas performances.