Arnel Pineda: From Homeless to Fronting One of the Most Successful Bands

How does a homeless guy end up on the pinnacle of success? We’re about to find out how Arnel Pineda went from homeless to fronting one of the most successful bands in the world. If you’re a fan, this is something you’ll want to know. If you’re not, but you’d like to know how it’s possible to turn your life around, with a little talent, a degree of belief in yourself and a genuine desire to succeed.

Promising talent at a young age

Arnel Pineda is a Filipino teenager who faced some of the most daunting challenges that a young person possibly could. He was born in the city of Manila, in the Philippines. From as far back as he can remember, his mother coaxed him to sing along with the songs he loved to listen to. He showed promise even as a young child, so his parents made certain that he was able to compete in singing contests.

His future turned into a bleak situation

When Pineda was just 13 years old, his mother passed away from cardiac related health issues. The situation put the family deeply into debt. Arnel felt that it was his responsibility to help his father to pay the bills and support the family, so he dropped out of school. He did what he could to help bring in money, including gathering scrap and recyclables that could be sold. It was at this time that the young man slept in public parks on the provided benches because he didn’t have enough money to pay rent. With the cards in the deck of life stacked against him, Pineda never gave up, he just kept pushing forward.

He didn’t stop singing

With all the difficulty in Arnel’s life, it would have been understandable if he stopped singing, but this isn’t what he did. When he was just 15 years old, he joined a few Filipino groups including Arno and Ijos. He also continued competing in singing contests. He was awarded the Yamaha World Band Competition’s Best Vocalist Award. He began earning enough money as a singer to get his own place, and even earned a modest amount.

Recognition from the right people

Pineda was soon performing throughout Filipino clubs and getting recognition for his amazing voice. He just kept getting better and better, but singing six nights out of the week took its toll on his voice as well as his health. He returned to the Philippines to recover. He joined a group called The Zoo. In 2007, the group released an album. They performed a lot of covers of the popular songs of other bands.

Youtube helped him achieve astronomical success

Pineda can credit Youtube for his current success. This is where several of the videos that he and his group covered were uploaded. It was his lucky day when Steve Augeri, left the band Journey in 2006. The famous lead singer of the group was experiencing health issues and needed to step away. This meant that there was an open spot, but the very notion that the band would consider Pineda as replacement, didn’t seem likely. The band was looking for a replacement for the absent lead vocalist, and when they first heard Pineda sing on the Youtube videos, they felt hopeful that they had finally found a talented front man who could do the job that would allow the to stay on track with their touring schedule. the group watched and listened to the videos over and over again. They got a hold of Pineda so he could audition for the position of lead man for the musical group Journey. Upon listening to him singing, they knew that they had found a suitable replacement for the front man that they had just lost.

The biggest surprises of all

Imagine the look on Pineda’s face when a rep from Journey contacted him. He and his manager had flown to Marin County in the state of California. The interviews took too days and they were grueling. It’s all a matter of history now, though. He earned the position by auditioning very well. Members of the group embrace him with open arms, because they had found the voice that they were looking for. It was in June of 2008 that the new album called “Revelation,” released by Journey with Pineda on board and the album went platinum by October, selling more than 300,000 units. The once homeless young man from Manila, the Philippines has now amassed a fortune with a net worth estimated in the neighborhood of $15 million. This just goes to show you that good things can happen no matter how low you get, you just can’t give up on your dreams.