The Cinderella Story 2.0-- hot topic

Ever since lead singer Steve Perry injured his hip in 1996, legendary '80s rock band Journey just hasn't been the same. Singers Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto tried filling Perry's big shoes (and tight jeans), but the band's success never reached its previous heights and Journey was reduced to a feel-good nostalgia act.

In December, however, their luck changed. 
Enter the magic of social media....

The Fairy Tale

Journey signed on new lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, an unknown Filipino singer, who they found leading a Manila cover band on YouTube. He was flown to the United states for the very first time and instantly signed. Six months later, the band has kicked off a tour of Europe and the U.S. and released Revelation, a new album featuring original songs and re-recorded classics that has already shot up to the fifth highest-selling album in the U.S. since its debut two weeks ago. 

Hold on a minute...how did this happen? 

After the band fired their replacement lead singer, guitarist Neal Schon turned to the Web in search of talent. After two days of surfing on YouTube, he came upon clips of Pineda singing with his band, The Zoo, and nailing all the right notes in the toughest Survivor, Queen and Journey power ballads. "I heard his voice and my eyes got big," says Schon, who has been with Journey since its inception in 1975. "I thought, he can't be that good." Schon left his house, took a spin on his motorcycle to clear his head, and then contacted Pineda. At first, the singer thought the email was a hoax. "I didn't think the real Neal Schon would call a guy like me," says Pineda. "I'm just a guy from the Philippines." Four months later, Pineda signed on as Journey's new lead singer. "I've been waiting for this moment to come for 25 years," he says. "It's like shooting to the moon."

Well that's an incredible story, but how does it pertain to social media?

In using different means of social media including YouTube, blogging, twitter, and facebook, Journey was able to completely re-establish themselves. Journey garnered an incredible amount of publicity regarding the unconventional way in which they found their new lead singer but more than that, attracted the attention of a much younger demographic. YouTube gave them access to international talent that they never would have discovered otherwise and gave Arnel the opportunity of a lifetime. Journey capitalized on this new-found attention and subsequently developed different means of social media. They have thousands of members in their facebook group and consistently update their twitter account.

The trend of "YouTube" celebrities will absolutely continue to grow as its effectiveness is apparent. The topic will continue to be hot and hopefully, talent around the world can be given the platform it deserves.

Just goes to show...don't ever stop believing.