The Luckiest Person on Earth

Let me start out by saying that I am clearly not the luckiest person alive. Sure, I have had some great victories – beating a nasty case of testicular cancer being among the highlights, and survived some ridiculous trauma – including a divorce that won’t end, but none of these qualify me for the title of the “Luckiest Person on Earth.”

I also have two kids who love me (or at least don’t hate me). And they’re great kids, too. But a lot of us have great kids that like us (or at least don’t hate us). While I can definitively say that I’m not the unluckiest person on Earth, this doesn’t qualify me for Luckiest Person on Earth, either.

I’ve also been reasonably lucky in the workplace, always finding a net when the bottom crashed out. And romance? Well, that’s been up-and-down, but it seems to work out OK.

My mother certainly could be the Luckiest Person on Earth. Born in Germany in 1923, she survived the Nazis through cunning, skill, luck and determination. She went on to have a long, happy marriage and run a business. And she’s still alive and kicking at 93. Not only that, but her luckiest day may have been the day that I, the not-quite luckiest man was born and become her son (but I doubt it). A lucky woman, she is still not the Luckiest Person on Earth.

Maybe Mario Scarnici or Paul White qualify. After all, they (along with one other) shared $448,000,000 in Powerball winnings. That is about $150,000,000 each (or $86,000,000 in lump sum). But neither Mario nor Paul seem to have done anything big with their win – nothing great for themselves nor anything great for others. After all, the Lucikest Person on Earth does have an obligation to “give back” to the world – to pay some of their good fortune forward. There is no evidence that either Mario or Paul lifted a finger to help the poor or needy.

Some may think that Wilt Chamberlain is the Luckiest Person on Earth. But note an important distinction – I said Luckiest Person on Earth, not the person who Gets Lucky the Most. So Wilt, rest in peace, while the 20,000 notches on your bed post is an impressive accomplishment, it still falls short of making you the Luckiest Person on Earth. Any anyhow, you’re dead, so you may not be on Earth at this point.

So if it isn’t me, isn’t my mom, isn’t Mario or Paul and isn’t Wilt, who is the “Luckiest Person on Earth?”

Let’s start by saying that this person’s story is one that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the Internet or YouTube.

You’re thinking “Psy” – after all, Gangnam Style went platinum and is one of the most popular videos of all times. And Hyuna (the redhead he performs with) has to be one of the most beautiful women anywhere. So is the “Luckiest Person on Earth” this pudgy, Korean mega-star? The one who captured YouTube by storm? No, the answer could not be that simple.

The story of the Luckiest Person on Earth started in Manila, where he was born in 1967. His life was part tragedy and part success, with a mom who nurtured him until her untimely death when he was 13. Because of this, the family went broke, and our hero struck out on his own at the ripe old age of 13.

He found some success using his skill, but also struggled and spent about two years living on the streets (and for those who have never been to Manila, those streets make Skid Row here look pretty luxurious). His skill, singing, carried him through and he met with some success playing music in restaurants and small clubs in the Philippines and Hong Kong. Nothing more than a few people looking at him and his band as they played some original songs and some covers.

He actually got a couple of Asian recording contracts, too… meeting with some regional success, but nothing that would qualify him as the Luckiest Person on Earth. He just bounced around near the lower- to mid-levels of the music business, like many around here do, making a living and slowly aging out of the pop scene.

Like a child, it takes a villiage to create the Luckiest Person on Earth. Friends who believe in you help humanize you and pick you up when you’re down. Our hero is no different. Friends gave him sofas to surf on, jobs here and there and also put the voice and image of our there on YouTube.

And that is where it gets interesting. Neal Schon was looking for a new singer for his band. After the lead singer left, the band stayed together, but was faced with diminishing success. Smaller crowds, smaller venues, smaller paychecks. It couldn’t go on for too much longer.

A friend of Neal’s sent him a link to a YouTube video of our hero singing. He and his cover band, Zoo, were singing a cover of one of Neal’s band’s greatist hits. It was magic… and that day in June, 2007, Neal reached out to our hero and scheduled an audition in the U.S.

Our hero didn’t believe it – after all, a call out of the blue inviting one to leave their country and audition for a famous has-been band in the U.S. sounds like total BS. His
friend, the guy who
put him on YouTube, finally persuaded our hero to answer the email. Neal called 10 minutes later, and our hero was on a plane before the end of the next month.
In December, after working with the band, our hero was named the lead singer of the band. On February 21, 2008, he had is debut in Chile, in front of thousands of fans. His energy revived not only the music of Journey, but the band themselves. Our hero, Arnel Pineda, starting on the streets of Manila is now the lead singer of the supergroup Journey. Arnel Pineda, picked out of millions of YouTube videos, is now the face, voice and soul of the supergroup Journey. Don’t Stop Believeing.