When Live Nation and BAMP Project brought Journey to the Blaisdell Arena in February, it was a welcome return to Hawaii for a group that has been an island favorite since the 1980s. The current lineup — founding members Neal Schon on guitar and Ross Valory on bass, with keyboardist Jonathan Cain, drummer Steve Smith and Arnel Pineda, the lead singer — lived up to expectations in all respects.

Pineda returns to the Blaisdell this weekend in concert as a solo artist after what many observers would describe as an eventful year. First, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame did not include him when it inducted Journey in April, despite his 10 years as the group’s lead singer (former Journey members Steve Perry, Greg Rollie and Aynsley Dunbar were inducted along with Schon, Valory, Cain and Smith).

Then, in July, Schon went public with his displeasure after he learned in the press that Pineda, Valory and Cain had paid a very public visit to the White House and had a photo op with President Donald Trump; Schon was concerned that the others had gone without letting him know in advance, and that the visit could be misinterpreted as a group endorsement of Trump.

This weekend, Hawaii is seeing Pineda getting back to his roots as a concert act in his own right. Although most Americans know him as a member of Journey since 2007, Pineda, 50, has been a successful professional entertainer since he was 15. In the years before Schon saw him in a YouTube video in 2007, Pineda worked with a series of bands based in the Philippines and Hong Kong. He recorded as a band member and a solo artist. Pineda’s second solo album, “AP,” was released last year.

Pineda did not respond to questions about his current relationship with the other members of Journey, but he shared his thoughts on other subjects in an exchange of emails last weekend, while the singer was in the Philippines.

Star-Advertiser: I’ve never heard anyone refer to Mick Jagger as an “English singer” or Paul Anka as a “Canadian singer.” Do you get tired to being identified as a “Filipino singer” or is it OK?

Pineda: Being called a Filipino singer instead of just a singer is quite an honor actually. It’s not demeaning to me.

Q: Are there some feelings or song lyrics that are difficult to translate from Tagalog to English?

A: Not really. You just have to be creative with words, which has made me such a big fan of John Lennon’s work.

Q: You’ve been a member of Journey for 10 years, and Journey had hits with you as lead singer, so a lot of us felt you should have been included when Journey was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — 17 years after the group became eligible. How did you feel about that?

A: I never ever aspired to be a Hall of Famer like the rest of Journey. It would have been a different story if I was one of the architects of their hit songs, but I’m not. It’s about rules and I truly and completely understand it.

Q: Did you expect Neal Schon would be so upset about you and the other member of Journey visiting President Trump?

A: I was expecting everybody to be very happy for me, because after all I’m just as curious as the other billions of people around the world who haven’t been to the White House. For me it was such a treat and never motivated politically. (I was) just being a Filipino tourist who was given a grand chance to explore this House where some of the most enigmatic, powerful and compelling presidents have lived and served the great America.

Q: Have you met Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte?

A: Not yet.

Q: What were your hopes or expectations in 2007 when you posted videos on YouTube of you singing hits of Journey, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles and other “ classic rock” groups?

A: No expectations. It was a favor I needed to return to my friend Noel Gomez, so I just innocently obliged to his request that I record my performances for him to upload eventually in YouTube.

Q: Is there anything you would like me to share with the people of Honolulu that I haven’t asked?

A: This phenomenon that’s happened to me, its everybody’s dreamer’s legacy. No matter who you are, what color of skin you wear and what kind of standing in the society you own, dreams do come true, and I’m one of the living proof of it, so keep doing what pleases your heart the most.