Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Frankie J

Members

Frankie J:

Sound description

Pop Latin R&B.

RIYL

Enrico Iglesias, Prince Royce, Ricky Martin

Influences

Enrico Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe, Baby Bash, Juvenile, Big Tymers, Lil Wayne, Teena Marie, Chamillionaire, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin

Discography

Sponsored

“There’s a backlash because I sing in English now,” says Frankie J, who was born in Mexico and raised in San Diego. His 2003 debut, What’s a Man To Do? featured the hit “Don’t Wanna Try.” His second English-language album, the RIAA platinum-certified The One, was released in late March 2005, hitting #3 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart. Its first single, “Obsession (No Es Amor),” featuring Latino rapper Baby Bash, hit #5 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks and #4 on the Pop 100 Airplay charts. The song “How to Deal” was also a hit.

The singer, born Francisco Javier Bautista, spent four years with the Spanish-singing Los Kumbia Kings (where he was known as Cisko), led by A.B. Quintanilla, brother of murdered tejano pop star Selena. “I lost a lot of fans when I left that group [in 2003].... They say I should stick to my roots and call me a sellout [because I sing in English], but if you can do both languages, why not do both? Look at Ricky Martin coming out of [Spanish-singing] Menudo. Then there’s Jennifer Lopez and Fat Joe, who are Puerto Rican.... It’s a good time to get onto the Latino-English train and ride, ride, ride.”

His next single in winter 2005 was a remake of Extreme’s 1991 ballad “More than Words.” “I don’t think anyone’s ever done it in Spanish before,” he said at the time. “I’ll be doing an English version, too, but I really want to get back to my roots.... My next album will be all Spanish. We’re trying to get [a duet] going with Shakira.... I never met her, but I tried to hook up with her at a CD-signing in New York. I couldn’t get near her, but I put out the word to her people.”

On any such recording, J should be sure to enunciate clearly. Two of his songs are singled out at amiright.com for being “Misheard Lyrics,” including a line from “Don’t Wanna Try”: “You kept insisting and resisting that you would not fall again” can be misheard as “You kept insisting and resisting that you would not fornicate.” His Priceless album was released by Columbia Records.

His 2013 album Faith, Hope y Amor was nominated for a Grammy Award. A duet album with Baby Bash called Sangria was released in 2017.

He's featured on Carlos Santana's 2019 album Africa Speaks, on the track “We're Still Here Together.” A new 2020 album, Canciones Que Recuerdo (Songs That I Remember), features covers of tracks by José José, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernandez, and Selena.

Sponsored

Upcoming Local Shows

No shows scheduled

Post a show View show history
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader