Arnel Pinada isn't the first cover band singer who's been hired to replace the guy he sounds like -- in fact, as former Judas Priest frontman Ripper Owens would be quick to point out, his story isn't even the first to inspire a movie. However, as the first trailer for the upcoming Journey documentary takes pains to argue, Pineda's tale might be the most inspiring.

After setting the stage for original vocalist Steve Perry's departure (without ever mentioning him by name), the trailer details the band's search for a replacement -- conveniently skipping over the tenures of Pineda's predecessors, Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto, who kept the band touring and recording between 1998-2007. Those quibbles aside, the trailer for 'Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey' does make an undeniably compelling case for the journey of a Filipino vocalist who, in his own words, "was singing just to survive" until guitarist Neal Schon happened to see a YouTube video of his cover band in action.

"I looked and looked and looked, and I was ready to give up," Schon recalls in the trailer. "I just looked at one last link, and I pushed it, Arnel popped up, singing with his band ... This is too good to be true."

Of course, Pineda's background presented obstacles -- and not just because, as he quips at one point in the trailer, "I'm short...I'm so Asian," but because he was completely unfamiliar with an operation of Journey's size and scope.

"His voice is huge. But can he speak English?" keyboard player Jonathan Cain remembers asking. "How do you take someone from a third world country and throw them into this circus?"

Drummer Deen Castronovo had his own concerns -- as he put it, "What's he gonna look like on stage? He's never played big places." But if you've ever seen an episode of 'Behind the Music,' you know there's an inspirational final act in store, and the trailer hints at it with another quote from an enthusiastic Castronovo, who insists, "Arnel is like David Lee Roth and Bruce Lee put together" before letting out a mock scream.

"I'm speaking to those people who believe in me," Pineda explains at one point, and with a U.S. theatrical run reportedly around the corner, it looks like a safe bet he'll be speaking to more of them soon.

Watch the Trailer for 'Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey'

More From US 103.1 FM