More Samples

[Majestic]

Anyone else feel Arnel's broken English in these samples is distracting? It doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he 'owns' the lyrics so to speak, and it becomes more a case of singing from a teleprompter... Mood killer.

Which is also why One More on the last tour came off painfully lacking. No soul whatsoever. And he has the same delivery in *all* songs pretty much which really becomes a problem in a band like JRNY where feeling was key. Also, his singing is too harsh quite a lot of the time (the standard scream he does - can you try ending at least one song on a different note?), shouting where it should be smooth etc.

One More, Graspop 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Or25Sulfc

Ouch...

What I find distracting is the periodic "Anyone else feel Arnel's broken English" yada yada yada. Are you for real? I might find his "broken English" (which it isn't) distracting at a lecture, but as a rock singer, if his English is no more broken than Perry's what's the problem? You wouldn't happen to be the famed linguist Professor Higgins, would you?

[jrny10]

When champagne becomes chumpagne, yes, I have a problem

[Majestic]

When champagne becomes chumpagne, yes, I have a problem

Well, once you learn a thing or two about English, you'll realize that even champagne is pronounced differently by a lot of different native speakers. There is not only one way of speaking English. In London itself, there are dozens of accents, all native speakers. Are you going to tell me which one is correct? Once you begin to understand English better yourself, maybe you'll be able to cut Arnel some slack. His English is just fine.

[diezynueve69]

No brainer...having grown up passively exposed to English, Arnel might not be fluent in it, but he sure has in-depth understanding of the language. Casual speech and delivering pre set lyrics aren't the same thing in his case.

[Majestic]

By the way, English is an official language in the Philippines, and Arnel is fluent in English. He may at times be lost for an exact word (who isn't?), but he can communicate, both understanding and being understood, in English without pause or difficulty. As none of his band mates speaks Tagalog, and all Journey songs are in English, English is the language Arnel uses all day long at the office. The idea that he speaks in pidgin or broken English is laughable. What seems to happen is that someone sees an Asian guy and then anything he says or pronounces differently than the listener, is labeled ‘wrong’, which is not only unfair, but ridiculous.

[jrny10]

When champagne becomes chumpagne, yes, I have a problem

Well, once you learn a thing or two about English, you'll realize that even champagne is pronounced differently by a lot of different native speakers.

It's OK if you're an Arnel fan but let's not start pretending this sounds good in Journey songs.

1:14:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZdtcPGCnX8

[Majestic]

When champagne becomes chumpagne, yes, I have a problem

Well, once you learn a thing or two about English, you'll realize that even champagne is pronounced differently by a lot of different native speakers.

It's OK if you're an Arnel fan but let's not start pretending this sounds good in Journey songs.

1:14:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZdtcPGCnX8

I am a fan of Arnel, but I'm also a teacher of English as a foreign language, so I just want to keep it real. Diction is something that is a challenge for singers generally, and not only for foreigners specifically.

[Jana]

Anyone else feel Arnel's broken English in these samples is distracting? It doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he 'owns' the lyrics so to speak, and it becomes more a case of singing from a teleprompter... Mood killer.

Ouch...

Broken English in those samples? LOL I must be deaf.

[jrny10]

Broken english = non-American accent

I just think the accent is distracting. It's good if you can see past it.

[youkeepmewaiting]

Anyone else feel Arnel's broken English in these samples is distracting? It doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he 'owns' the lyrics so to speak, and it becomes more a case of singing from a teleprompter... Mood killer.

Ouch...

Broken English in those samples? LOL I must be deaf.

Definitely. APs voice on this album just sounds amazing ( I liked it alot of Rev but it is a hell of a lot more clearer this time). There are a few people that think that because they cant understand a word or two that Arnel sings in a song it's because he is from the Phil and can't speak English properly.. but how many times when listening to English or American singers (including Perry) do you sometimes have trouble understanding a lyric and then have to look it up to find out what it is? I'd imaginge fairly often.

[Ritchie]

Anyone else feel Arnel's broken English in these samples is distracting? It doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he 'owns' the lyrics so to speak, and it becomes more a case of singing from a teleprompter... Mood killer.

Which is also why One More on the last tour came off painfully lacking. No soul whatsoever. And he has the same delivery in *all* songs pretty much which really becomes a problem in a band like JRNY where feeling was key. Also, his singing is too harsh quite a lot of the time (the standard scream he does - can you try ending at least one song on a different note?), shouting where it should be smooth etc.

One More, Graspop 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Or25Sulfc

Ouch...

The diction issue again!
I guess there is no stone left untouched to degrade the little guy.
"No soul whatsoever..painfully lacking..too harsh quite a lot of the time...Ouch"!
I just heard the clip of Tantra and your criticism is swept away by Arnel`s fantastic voice..Ouch!

[jrny10]

Two different things. It's the non-American accent which is the issue, not the occasional word being difficult to understand.

[jrny10]

He sounds less harsh in the studio, agreed. Not smooth enough for my liking but still

He's got a very high standard to live up to, so there will be criticism and that's only natural. It's a tough gig.

[youkeepmewaiting]

Two different things. It's the non-American accent which is the issue, not the occasional word being difficult to understand.

This topic is so 2008

[youkeepmewaiting]

Another thing people need to realise... sometimes things don't always sound great live. Singers get tired and are not able to prounouce properly because they are knackered

[G.I.Jim]

Anyone else feel Arnel's broken English in these samples is distracting? It doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he 'owns' the lyrics so to speak, and it becomes more a case of singing from a teleprompter... Mood killer.

Which is also why One More on the last tour came off painfully lacking. No soul whatsoever. And he has the same delivery in *all* songs pretty much which really becomes a problem in a band like JRNY where feeling was key. Also, his singing is too harsh quite a lot of the time (the standard scream he does - can you try ending at least one song on a different note?), shouting where it should be smooth etc.

One More, Graspop 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Or25Sulfc

Ouch...

The diction issue again!
I guess there is no stone left untouched to degrade the little guy.
"No soul whatsoever..painfully lacking..too harsh quite a lot of the time...Ouch"!
I just heard the clip of Tantra and your criticism is swept away by Arnel`s fantastic voice..Ouch!

Damn Ritchie, why are you picking on his size? He can't help it you know!

[jrny10]

Another thing people need to realise... sometimes things don't always sound great live. Singers get tired and are not able to prounouce properly because they are knackered

But that's not the case here. The case is that he's not a native English speaker. But I guess one just has to find a way to move on from Perry. Any comparisons will only reveal how much better it was with him, so best not to go back to old JRNY after having listened to current JRNY as I just did before (listened to Faithfully 81 after a 09 version - major bummer

[Ritchie]

I could have used "Humble" instead of "Little" .. the latter sounded more dramatic.

Damn Ritchie, why are you picking on his size? He can't help it you know!

[Majestic]

Broken english = non-American accent

I just think the accent is distracting. It's good if you can see past it.

So Robert Plant, Bruce Dickinson, David Coverdale, Ian Gillan, Joe Elliot, John Waite, etc., etc., would all be too distracting for you too, because "broken english = non-American accent", right? Gotcha.

[jrny10]

So Robert Plant, Bruce Dickinson, David Coverdale, Ian Gillan, Joe Elliot, John Waite, etc., etc., would all be too distracting for you too, because "broken english = non-American accent", right? Gotcha.

Again, the case is that he's not a native English speaker. Having said that, I do think JRNY should have a singer with an American accent.

[Ritchie]

Broken english = non-American accent

I just think the accent is distracting. It's good if you can see past it.

So Robert Plant, Bruce Dickinson, David Coverdale, Ian Gillan, Joe Elliot, John Waite, etc., etc., would all be too distracting for you too, because "broken english = non-American accent", right? Gotcha.

yeah!
And what about Klaus Meine from the Scorpions that band is quite successful in the States..I hear an accent but it doesn`t prevent me from liking that band and their music.

[jrny10]

Nothing wrong with Klaus, in fact his German twang adds character. Don't think it does in Arnel's case though. JRNY is a very American band singing about highway runs and what not. It just sounds wrong with the "chumpagne" delivery, that's all.

[Ritchie]

Nothing wrong with Klaus, in fact his German twang adds character. Don't think it does in Arnel's case though. JRNY is a very American band singing about highway runs and what not. It just sounds wrong with the "chumpagne" delivery, that's all.

Compared to the first Journey tour Pineda has improved dramatically,he is a work in progress so to speak..but don`t expect him to be what he is not.
From where he is coming I understand and accept him the way he is!

[Majestic]

Nothing wrong with Klaus, in fact his German twang adds character. Don't think it does in Arnel's case though. JRNY is a very American band singing about highway runs and what not. It just sounds wrong with the "chumpagne" delivery, that's all.

Let's get this straight:Klaus's very apparent accent is cool, but Arnel's indiscernable accent is distracting. Could it be that you don't like how he looks, or the fact that he is Asian? I realize you may not like to own up to that, since being a bigot is so last millenium, but you're running out places to go. If you don't like him for his race that's a shame, because he is a great singer, and a great guy. Your loss.

[jrny10]

Klaus has owned those songs, Arnel comes in filling someone else's shoes. There's obviously a big difference. But Klaus would sound out of place in Journey too.

[Majestic]

Klaus has owned those songs, Arnel comes in filling someone else's shoes. There's obviously a big difference. But Klaus would sound of out of place in Journey too.

Dude, it's 2011. Do you know how long ago Perry left the band? Do you know that Arnel is the 3rd singer since Perry left? Since Augeri was the longest reigning singer for Journey, isn't it Augeri's shoes that Arnel is filling? I realize Arnel can't fill Augeri's shoes in your book since he's from Brooklyn and Arnel's from Manila, but who's shoes is he filling on Eclipse! Do you even make sense to yourself? I imagine Klaus would fit better in Journey for you, he's European.

[jrny10]

Just accept that not everyone can share your opinion, Majestic.

[Jana]

Nothing wrong with Klaus, in fact his German twang adds character. Don't think it does in Arnel's case though. JRNY is a very American band singing about highway runs and what not. It just sounds wrong with the "chumpagne" delivery, that's all.

Compared to the first Journey tour Pineda has improved dramatically,he is a work in progress so to speak..but don`t expect him to be what he is not.
From where he is comming I understand and accept him the way he is!

For Jrny10 to say he's distracted by Arnel's broken English in the SAMPLES tells me he just has no objectivity re Arnel imho. Even people who have been put off by Arnel's diction issues in other songs in the past or in concert in the past would hever sit down and pick apart those samples saying they're hearing Arnel singing in "broken English." He's hearing what he wants to hear, "broken English."

[Majestic]

Just accept that not everyone can share your opinion, Majestic.

I do accept that. I can even accept that you don't like Asians, or that you don't like Arnel's voice. It's all the nonsense about diction and the other illogical rubbish you've said that I can't accept. Do you really like Journey? It's cool if you don't but why frequent a board for a band that isn't your thing? There are far more bands and singers in this world that I don't care for than I do, but so far I've never felt the need to hang on their fan sites or post in their message boards. How lame would that be?

[jrny10]

As I am here, Jana, I can answer for myself, thank you.

As I explained before, broken English was meant to refer to the accent issues. And I still hear some of that in these clips and find it distracting. Simple as that. I'm not even going to respond to your other silly suggestions, Majestic.

At the end of the day we're all here because we're JRNY fans, or else we wouldn't go to such lengths discussing these matters.

The bottomline is also that not everyone can be 100% supportive of what JRNY's doing right now, and that viewpoint should be allowed too.