even though he had a golden voice he didn't want anyone to hear it it wasn't until he received
some positive encouragement from a classmate that he realized that singing was something
that he not only had a talent for but it would change his life in ways he could never imagine
let's find out whatever happened to mexican-american r b singer-songwriter frankie j
francisco javier bautista jr professionally known as frankie j
was born in tijuana mexico on december 7 1978. however he was raised in san diego california
from the age of two after his uncle brought him and his siblings to the united states
he grew up listening to both traditional latin music as well as american music
his first memory of where his passion for music began is when he was five years old singing in
front of the television to michael jackson songs other major influences range from stevie wonder
to brian mcknight as well as latin superstars vicente fernandez and luis miguel while in high
school he began performing in talent shows and functions his talent for writing was developed
around the age of eight or 9 writing poems in school he even started winning writing contests
frankie grew up a very shy child and even though he loved music and to sing
he didn't want to do it in front of other people by the age of 14 he finally got up the nerve to
ask his older brother to introduce him to one of his friends that was also a teenager like him
but he was writing and recording his own music the moment his brother's friend heard his voice
he knew he had to get it on tape the next step was going to be performing in front of a live audience
word must have gotten around at his school since one of the advisors approached frankie
and said that he heard that he liked to sing and offered him the opportunity to do so
during the lunch break he decided to do it and the reaction from his peers was so amazing
he knew right then and there that singing was his future by 15 without his parents permission
he signed his first record deal with canadian independent label ventura international records it
was a two-year learning experience of not making any money but learning a lot about the business
shortly after that he signed another record deal with the now defunct ola recordings which
stood for home of latin artists founded by famed songwriter musician and producer jellybean benitez
he was performing as a freestyle artist under the stage name frankie boy and his music ended
up on some compilation albums since the solo album he was working on got shelved
at the age of 18 frankie took a leap of faith and left his family and his home state of california
for texas he got a regular nine-to-five job at a woman's shoe store in austin
and during his time off put everything he had into his music he started to get to know more people in
the business as he made his way around the state performing in austin dallas and san antonio two
years later he auditioned and won a spot in the mexican-american cumbia group the cumbia kings and
changed his name again to cisco since there was already someone else named frankie in the group
the group was created by a b quintanilla brother of slain tejano superstar
selena quintanilla perez during this time he also married and became a father things were
going well until one day frankie showed up late to a show and was unceremoniously fired from the
group now unemployed he figured it was as perfect as time as any to do what he always wanted to do
which was to go solo little did the world or possibly even frankie himself know
he was sitting on a hit that would change everything
he gave the song to ed oconias then program director for local corpus christi radio station
kzfm who would go on to become frankie's manager for a short time as well as latin r
b singer paula deonda the song caught fire and led to a lot of attention from record labels
columbia records hooked it up like a tow truck with his first solo record deal
and the new improved frankie j was born 2003 would be the start of great things to come for him
and his well-manicured eyebrows beginning with his debut album what's a man to do that dropped in may
the lead single don't want to try made it into the top 20 on the billboard hot 100 charts
that summer without skipping a beat he released his first spanish language album simply titled
frankie j the first single off that album which is the spanish version of don't want to try
s igual did even better securing a top 10 position on the world latin charts
frankie then collaborated on a track he wrote while don't want to try was gaining popularity
on the radio the song featuring and also co-written by rapper baby bash who he'd been
good friends with for years called suga suga was supposed to be the album's second single
but his labels and r had other ideas the powers that be didn't like the way frankie sounded on
the track and wanted to choose another song as the follow-up frankie decided to pass the song
on to bash for his album that was about to be released in the next few months the song
surpassed both of his other singles climbing all the way to number seven on the hot 100
and there was even more success to come frankie's follow-up album titled the one was released two
years after his debut the lead single called obsession no smr featuring baby bash claimed the
number three spot on the hot 100 chart making it his most successful song to date it should
be highlighted that the song success probably had a lot to do with the fact that it's a cover
of the 2002 international hit called obsession by dominican american bachata group aventura
two more singles were released that also made it into the top 40. one of which again probably
got the major boost that it did because it was a cover of the number one smash
more than words by rock band extreme another spanish-language album titled un nuevodia or a new
day dropped the next year and not surprisingly did much better on the latin charts than the hot 100.
at this point frankie was tired but he had a three-album deal with colombia
and they wanted him back in the studio working on new material
his third english language album and his last with the label titled priceless was released
towards the end of the year a couple of singles were released but neither made it into the top 40.
over the next several years he continued putting out non-album singles sporadically
and he also chose to move back home to san diego where he resides today frankie's next
business move was a big one he decided to go the independent route and start his own label called
soul sick music he spoke to you know i got soul dot com in september 2020 about his experience
being an independent artist saying i feel more in charge with my projects and more at ease
it was definitely a different feeling going from major to independent
you have to do everything by yourself so that's one thing that really hit me hard
after a five-year album hiatus he finally released his fourth titled courage he
digitally released several singles with accompanying music videos uploaded to youtube
around this time he also got bitten by the acting bug and joined the cast of the mundos
television series rpm miami in 2011. in the summer of 2012 he got the opportunity to be
the opening act for the jennifer lopez enrique iglesias north american tour
for his next spanish language effort frankie decided to sign with a major again
and partnered with universal music latino by late 2012 he had released two singles in anticipation
of his new album titled faith hope iamor or faith hope and love which dropped in may 2013.
the album garnered him his first grammy nomination for best latin pop album
over the next three years his consistency continued with the release of more english
language and spanish language non-album singles there was word in 2016 that a new
english language album was on the way and would be titled more than the music however the album
which would drop in the summer of 2017 would be titled 11. in october 2017 frankie would
collaborate again with longtime friend baby bash for a collaboration album titled sangria
which is a traditional spanish drink made with red wine fruit juice and spices
2020 was another very productive year for frankie he released a spanish language album
titled canciones que recuerdo or songs that i remember a compilation of nostalgic songs he
grew up listening to one of the tracks also features his teenage daughter at this time
he was also in the process of finishing some songs for his next english language project
in the same you know i got soul interview he said he hoped that album and r b effort titled back
to us would be ready to go by christmas or if not then his next goal would be valentine's day 2021.
nothing was released on either date however fans did get a sweet treat in february
when his single called with you featuring founding member of 2000's boy band b2k raz
b and rapper paul wall dropped hopefully fans will get to experience frankie j's new album very soon
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