Pop Culture Interlude: Arnel Pineda, Our Favorite OFW

Let the term OFW not be disparaging. Let Filipinos “mimicking” Americans not equate colonial mentality.

It’s the beginning of Journey’s American Tour. Here’s The Denver Post:

By the end of “Separate Ways,” all comparisons between Perry and [Arnel] Pineda were lost. Holding the highest notes for much longer than Perry ever could, Pineda had eclipsed the former Journey frontman in both talent and enthusiasm. He stalked the stage, belting out notes that beat back the wind, his black tresses flying, his every move cast on giant screens dwarfing the stage. It was near impossible to miss this thought: God freaking bless America. Where else can one go from Philippine nightclub singer to full-fledged U.S. rock idol virtually overnight? Eat your heart out Marky Mark, Arnel Pineda is the real Rock Star.

God freaking bless America.

Goes without saying, this is totally exciting stuff, though I’d been wondering if it’s only us Fil Am’s who are ecstatic about Arnel Pineda. Earlier in the article, the writer notes Pineda’s halting English, but forgivingly. I’d heard that some negative response to Journey taking on Pineda had to do with Journey being an American band. This is not meant negatively, but what is more American than a Filipino? I feel like we are hella “pure products of America.”

Let me also call your attention to Sunny Vergara’s American Pop blog post over at AsianWeek. An excerpt:

[...] “Overseas Filipino Worker”, a bureaucratic term used by the Philippine government — and it’s an apt term, because it makes us think about the nature of Pineda’s labor, that he, in fact, is traveling overseas to work. (It should be pointed out that the very fact that there are 11 million Filipinos working overseas underscores the Philippine government’s parasitic dependence on the export of cheap labor to countries where workers’ rights are fraught with uncertainty.) Or maybe it’s just me, the cynic in myself that makes me think about these matters, as Pineda, like many other Filipinos, also hopped on the midnight train going anywhere.

And it makes me wonder: Do the guys hang out with him after work? What do they talk about — are they all friendly, or are the conversations sometimes awkward? Does he tell them stories about how he was a big Journey fan back in the day? Do the other band members reminisce about Steve, then remember he’s not there anymore? When they rehearse the old songs, does Pineda try to sing them like Steve? Does the band want him to sing it like Steve? Does he, like the other Filipino musicians I’ve interviewed, hole up in his hotel room with the old Journey CDs and sing the songs over and over until he gets them right?

Does he feel lonely? Does he get homesick? [...]

As an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), his job takes him far from home and family. Cue the music: Journey, “Faithfully.” And while I’d been thinking that our dear kababayan has found himself surrounded by the unfamiliar and how does he negotiate that, I will take that back and say that actually the opposite is occurring: the kinds of “mimicked” Western world (Ever been to Manila? Sometimes I feel like it’s more American than, well, America is.) and rock and roll culture which Filipinos have invented for themselves in an effort, I think, to create access to it — well, Pineda’s accessed it; he’s found himself right in the middle of the real thing. Or The Real Thing.

One of the commenters over at Sunny’s American Pop contrasts Journey’s search for a lead singer via YouTube to INXS’s search for a lead singer reality show. The latter I’d always thought of as in poor taste, given the circumstances of their original lead singer Michael Hutchence’s absence (i.e. his untimely death). Back to Pineda and Journey, YouTube “Cinderella Story” aside, I am so interested in Pineda’s training, the constant doing it by ear and doing it again and again until you get it right, until you eradicate the Filipino accent from your singing voice, so that when the audience closes their eyes, they think they are hearing the real thing (The Real Thing) has paid off.

We all wonder how long it will last. I dig him, can’t wait to see him in concert in September (though you won’t see me waving a Filipino flag; Sunny on the other hand…), and hope it lasts a long time.

God freaking bless America.