Arnel Pineda is the new lead singer for Journey, after being discovered by the band on YouTube.
"I was frustrated about not having a singer," guitarist Neal Schon said in a statement, "so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. àI was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. àBut then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. àAfter watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. àI thought, 'he can't be that good.' àBut he is that good, he's the real deal and so tremendously talented. àArnel doesn't sound synthetic and he's not emulating anyone. àI tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter."Arnel, from Quezon City in the Philippines, scored the gig after years of experience singing Journey covers in his band The Zoo.
"It's so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world" he said. "It'll be a lot of hard work on my part and I'm actually looking forward to the scrutiny I'll get from the hardcore Journey fans. àI know they'll expect me to sound exactly like 'the voice' (Steve Perry), but that will never happen. àI know there's only one Steve Perry in this world."
Fans who have already seen Pineda say that he sounds exactly like original singer Steve Perry, but "Steve in his good days".
Pineda replaces Jeff Scott Soto, who was sacked from the band earlier this year. Soto replaced Steve Augeri who left in 2006 for personal reasons.
Journey is working on a new album for release in 2008, with producer Kevin Shirley.
