Is Arnel Pineda still enjoying his "honeymoon" with American rock band, Journey?
In a recent interview with the U.S. magazine, Rolling Stone, the 41-year-old Pinoy frontman was said to have admitted feeling homesick and stressed out due to the backbreaking demands of touring and performing almost every night before thousands of people.
"There are days I just break down and cry," Pineda reportedly told Rolling Stone's Andy Greene. "This is a job I'm doing for my family. That's all the consolation I'm getting."
The article presented Arnel in a vulnerable light. Like everyone before him, the singer—discovered on YouTube by guitarist Neal Schon—quickly found out that living the rock n' roll lifestyle as part of a huge act was far from the usual clichés he fantasized when he was a kid.
Touring, for one, started to take its toll on him.
"It's all buses, stage, microphone," he related, "I never really get to go around and walk. They wake me up for soundcheck, then I wait until the show at nine."
Singing for Journey, according to the same interview, is a "fantastic job" and "a curse" at the same time.
"SING FOR US." Before filling in for the spot vacated by former Journey vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, Arnel was fronting the Manila-based ‘80s cover band Zoo. Guitarist Schon stumbled upon a YouTube clip showing Pineda dishing out Journey's classic hits "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."
Arnel's timing was perfect as Journey at the time was looking for a new vocalist. Schon invited the singer from Sampaloc, Manila to fly to San Francisco for an audition. The audition was intended for the band members to verify what they heard on the Internet, as well as to acquaint themselves with the YouTube sensation.
The new Journey record has already sold 441,000 copies, according to Rolling Stone. Journey also embarked on a grueling world tour to showcase its new frontman, who has drawn comparisons with the band's well-known vocalist Steve Perry.
Pineda recalled how he almost backed out on his first-ever massive concert as Journey's new lead singer last February. The sight of thousands of people, with their deafening cheers and screams, was both gratifying and discomforting for Arnel.
He had never felt so nervous, and all he could say to his bandmates was that he's "backing out." As a way of mollifying him, Schon reportedly said, "It's too late now," gently pushing the jittery frontman while saying, "Go. Go sing for us." And the journey has seemed to be unending for Arnel, who was used to a less frenzied life back here in Manila.
Loyal fans and supporters of Journey lambasted the Rolling Stone article, however, accusing Greene of twisting the facts and butchering Arnel's quotes with the intention of presenting a disillusioned man unhappy with the state of his international career.
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) is trying to get Arnel's side on the issue.