A few weeks ago, I went to the Journey Concert in Singapore and had an amazing time! For those of you who grew up in the 1970s-1980s, you would know that Journey is a legendary Rock Band that has sold over 80 million Multi-Platinum albums with hits like ‘Faithfully’, ‘Open Arms’ and ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. The original lead Singer Steve Perry with his amazing voice was the one who brought Journey to International fame.

Then in 1998, after a falling out, Steve Perry left the band and Journey struggled to find a new lead Singer for the next 10 years unsuccessfully.

When they were just about to give up the search for a lead vocalist who could replace Steve Perry, lead guitarist Neil Schon stumbled across a video on Youtube featuring Filipino Singer Arnel Pineda in Manila. At the time, Arnel who was homeless and bankrupt not too long ago, was singing in bars and living from paycheck to paycheck. He was a huge fan of Journey himself.

When Neil listened to Arnel’s voice, he was amazed that he sounded almost like (even better) than Steve Perry and this powerful voice came from a small Asian man. When Neil sent Arnel an email asking him to come to the US to audition for the lead singer of Journey, Arnel thought that is was a hoax.

After being convinced by a friend, Arnel flew to the US, auditioned and immediately got the job. At first many people were skeptical that a short Asian man could lead a legendary American Rock Band. Some American racists even suggested that he had no right to even be in the band. However, Arnels’ soulful voice and energy proved his detractors wrong. Journey’s next album went on to become a multi-platinum album and Journey went on to perform an International sell-out tour. From obscurity and poverty, Arnel is now an International rock star!

No matter what challenges you are facing in your life right now, don’t stop believing in yourself! Arnel is truly living the lyrics of this song everyday