Arnel Pineda, the new lead singer of popular American rock band "Journey," was praised for his awesome singing talent by well-known talk show host Ellen DeGeneres."I’m thankful because finally they’d recognized Filipino talents… I'm just one of the few who really gets lucky. So I thank God for that. I was surprised. I did not expect that she will feature me on her show. Then there are also gossips that she wanted me and the whole band to guest on her show," Pineda told during an interview.
Pineda’s statement stemmed from reports and video clips from www.youtube.com showing DeGeneres featuring Pineda on her program, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show". On the show, she shared some details on how Pineda turned out to be the newest vocalist of the band.
In the video, DeGeneres said: "This guy, this is not lipsinging he's actually singing. His name is Arnel Pineda, (shows clip of Pineda while singing) anyways he is incredible! So the guitarist from journey Neal Schon saw this video and he sent email to Arnel and Arnel emailed back and now Arnel is in the studio recording the Journey album. He is gonna be the lead singer of "Journey" how cool is that. Let that be a lesson to you don't stop believing. And I think I want him on the show I think we were talking to him about he maybe on the show -- I think the whole band."
Ellen also acknowledged that there are lots of talented singers from the Philippines and even mentioned young Filipina singer Charice Pempengco, who guested on her show which drew a lot of viewer attention.
At the moment, there are already reports that talks are in the process to have Pineda and the whole band of Journey -- Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums), to be on the said show.
But according to Pineda the decision whether it is possible for him to guest on "Ellen" will be decided by the management of "Journey."
"We have to find out first if it’s valid, if it’s okay or not to guest on her show, only the "Journey" can decide on it," Pineda explained.
Pineda also said that up to now he has not yet received any call from "Journey" regarding the said invitation but if given the choice, he will definitely accept the opportunity.
Right now, Pineda is in the country to take a short break away from his work. He arrived March 12 and stayed with his family during the Holy Week. He is set to go back to the US on March 29 to do one show.
Pineda restated his gratefulness to all his fans and supporters who are always there for him.
"Thank you. I'm also thankful that they are supporting the Filipino talents. I will try my best to make you guys proud of me."
The singer joined his first band at age 15 and has been singing professionally for the past 25 years. His voice also won him the Best Vocalist award at the World Band Explosion in 1987 -- a feat that he repeated the following year.
He has been a veteran of several bands and was a regular in clubs in Makati, Olongapo and Quezon City. His last band, The Zoo, released its first album "Zoology" under MCA Universal Records last September 2007.
It was Pineda's stint in The Zoo that got him noticed by Journey axeman Neal Schon. Schon said he was looking for a replacement singer on popular video-sharing site YouTube.com when he discovered videos of Pineda and The Zoo singing Journey songs, such as "Open Arms" and "Faithfully".
After this, the band asked Pineda to join them as their vocalist and the rest is history.
See Ellen's Invitation below:
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