Frankie J

Frankie J
Background information
Birth name	Francisco Javier Bautista, Jr.
Born	December 7, 1975 (1975-12-07) (age 35) Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Origin	San Diego, California, United States
Genres	R&B, Pop, Latin
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, Record producer
Instruments	Vocals, Piano
Years active	1997–present
Labels	EMI (1999-2003) Columbia (2003-2008) Soul Sick/Upstairs (2008-Present)
Associated acts	Baby Bash, Kumbia Kings
Website	http://www.frankiejonline.com

Francisco Javier Bautista, Jr. (born December 7, 1975),^[1] better known by his stage name Frankie J, is a Mexican singer and former member of the musical group Kumbia Kings.

Born in Tijuana, he grew up in San Diego and became a freestyle artist under the stage name Frankie Boy in the late 1990s. After his debut freestyle album was shelved, he joined Kumbia Kings. Frankie J's solo debut album, What's a Man to Do, was released in 2003, followed by some more English and Spanish language albums.

Biography

Early career

Bautista was born in Tijuana, Mexico and raised in San Diego, California from the age of 2, after his uncle brought him and his siblings to the United States.^[2] He grew up listening to both traditional Latin music as well as American urban music.^[3] He attended Southwest Senior High School in San Diego.^[2] He later began to develop more interest in singing, with the encouragement of his family. At high school age, he began participating in talent shows and performing at school functions.^[4]

In 1997, Bautista signed with the now defunct Hola Recordings, the brainchild of dance music legend and producer Jellybean Benitez. At the time he was a freestyle artist known as Frankie Boy and his music was released on 3 Maximum Freestyle compilations but his solo CD was shelved before release.^[3]

Kumbia Kings (1999-2003)

In 1999 he became a member of the Kumbia Kings created by A.B. Quintanilla III, brother of Selena. He performed under the name Cisco. Members included A.B. Quintanilla (bass, background vocals), DJ Kane (born Jason Cano; lead vocals), Frankie J/Cisko (born Francisco Javier Bautista, Jr; vocals), Baby Drew (born Andrew Maes; vocals), Cruz Martínez (keyboards), Alex Ramírez (keyboards), Roy "Slim" Ramírez (percussion, background vocals), Frankie Aranda (percussion), Jorge Peña (percussion), Jesse "O'Jay" Martínez (drums), and Robert Del Moral (drums). They released their debut album Amor, Familia Y Respeto in 1999. The album included hit singles like "Azúcar", "Fuiste Mala", "Reggae Kumbia", "Te Quiero A Ti" and "Se Fue Mi Amor". In 2001 they released their second album Shhh! which included the singles "Shhh!", "Boom Boom" and "Desde Que No Estás Aquí". In 2002 the group released their third album called All Mixed Up: Los Remixes which included the single "La Cucaracha". Cisko then started perform under the name Frankie J. In 2003 they released their fourth album called 4 which included the hit singles "No Tengo Dinero", "Insomnio" and "Mi Gente". They also released the albums Presents Kumbia Kings repackaged English-language highlights from the group's back catalog and La Historia repackaged Spanish-language ones. Later in 2003, Frankie J was one of the original Kumbia Kings members to leave the band along with lead singer DJ Kane and other members of the band. Andrew "Baby Drew" Maes, Alex Ramírez, Roy "Slim" Ramírez, and Frankie Aranda formed their own band called K1 while DJ Kane and Frankie J went on to become solo singers.

Solo Career (2003-Present)

Music

As Frankie J, Bautista signed as a solo artist with Columbia Records and released his first album What's A Man To Do on May 23rd, 2003. His self-titled first Spanish-language album Frankie J was also released later in the same year.^[5] The album's lead single "Don't Wanna Try" peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, while "Ya No Es Igual" went Top 10 on the World Latin charts.^[6] Later that year, he was featured in the Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Suga Suga" by rapper Baby Bash.^[7]

His sophomore album The One was released on March 22nd, 2005.^[8] It was led by the #3 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Obsession (No Es Amor)" featuring rapper Baby Bash, and followed by the Top40 singles "How To Deal" and "More Than Words". To coincide with the release of "More Than Words", the album was re-released on the DualDisc format in October.^[9] By January 2006, The One was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipping over a million copies.^[10] His second Spanish-language album Un Nuevo Dia was released on June 13, 2006 and featured the single "Pensado En Ti."^[6]

Frankie's third English-language CD, Priceless, was released on October 17, 2006. It debuted at #30 on the Billboard 200.^[11] The lead single "That Girl" featured Chamillionaire and Mannie Fresh and peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single "Daddy's Little Girl" charted at #23 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Following his departure from Columbia Records, Frankie J released a few singles ("Pictures" "If You Were My Girlfriend" "Crush" "That's Wussup" w/Baby Bash) between 2008 and 2011, as well as started his own label Soulsick Records.^[12]

In late 2011, he is set to release his fourth English-language studio album Courage on December 7th, 2011. The lead single "How Beautiful You Are" was released to digital retailers on October 24th, 2011.^[13] The music video was directed by Mike Ho and premiered on YouTube on September 11th, 2011.^[14]

Acting

Frankie appeared as a celebrity guest at the 16th birthday party of Marissa Mishelle on MTV's My Super Sweet 16.^[15]

In 2011, he joined the mun2 television series RPM Miami as mechanic Ramon.^[16] The series was quickly renewed for a second season.^[17]

Personal life

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Peak chart positions		RIAA certifications[18]
		U.S.	U.S. Latin
2003	What's a Man to Do Released: May 27, 2003 Label: Columbia Formats: CD, digital download	53	—
	Frankie Ja Released: July 1, 2003 Label: Sony Discos Formats: CD, digital download	57	—
2005	The One Released: March 22, 2005 Label: Columbia Format: CD, digital download	3	—	Platinum
2006	Un Nuevo Diaa Released: April 4, 2006 Label: Norte/Columbia Format: CD, digital download	198	9	—
	Priceless Released: October 17, 2006 Label: Columbia Format: CD, digital download	30	—	—
2011	Courage Released: December 7, 2011 Label: SoulSick Muzik/Upstairs Format: digital download	—	—	—

• ^a Performed in Spanish

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions			RIAA certification[18]	Album
		US[6]	US Rhythmic[6]	US Latin[6]
2003	"Don't Wanna Try"	19	8	—	—	What's a Man to Do?
	"We Still"	—	22	—	—
	"Ya No Es Igual"	—	—	11	—	Frankie J
2005	"Obsession (No Es Amor)" (featuring Baby Bash)	3	2	3	Platinum	The One
	"How to Deal"	39	6	—	Gold
	"More Than Words"	25	17	40	Gold
2006	"Pensando En Ti"	—	—	13	—	Un Nuevo Dia
	"That Girl" (featuring Mannie Fresh and Chamillionaire)	43	—	—	—	Priceless
	"Daddy's Little Girl"	123	18	—	—
2009	"If You Were My Girlfriend"	—	—	—	—	Courage
	"Crush"	—	—	—	—
2011	"How Beautiful You Are"	—	—	—	—

Guest appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Album
2003	"Suga Suga" [featuring Frankie J]	Baby Bash	Tha Smokin' Nephew
	"Menage a Trois" [featuring Frankie J & Powda]
2004	"Menage a Trois" [featuring Shadow, Don Cisco & Frankie J]		Menage a Trois
	"Hot Zone" [featuring Frost, Nino Brown & Frankie J]
2005	"Are You Still Alone" [featuring Frankie J]	Play-N-Skillz	The Process
2006	"Los Infieles (Remix)" [featuring Frankie J]	Aventura
	"Run Away" [featuring Frankie J]	Bubba Sparxxx	The Charm
2007	"Lifted" [featuring Frankie J & Malik]	Latino Velvet	The Camp Is Back
	"Perfect Girl" [featuring Frankie J & Damon Reel]	Los Super Reyes	El Regreso De Los Reyes
	"Tell Me (Remix)" [featuring Frankie J & Ken-Y]	Pitbull	The Boatlift
	"Be Gone" [featuring Frankie J]	First Class Fiction	Overdue
2008	"Slow It Down" [featuring Frankie J]	Lil Rob	Twelve Eighteen, Pt. 2
	"To The Top" [featuring Frankie J]	Omar Cruz	Sign Of The Cruz
2009	"Eres" [featuring Frankie J]	Los Super Reyes
2010	"Night & Day" [featuring Frankie J]	Cuete Yeska	Love Stories 2: The Notebook CD
	"You Deserve Better" [featuring Frankie J]
	"Rebound" [featuring Frankie J]	Jump Smokers	Kings of The Dancefloor
2011	"El Reloj No Perdona" [featuring Frankie J]	Syko 'El Terror	Sykology (The Mixtape)
	"Number 1" [featuring Frankie J]	Royalty	Number 1 - Single
	"La Nave Del Olvido (Remix)" [featuring Frankie J]	Christian Castro
	"Inevitable" [featuring Frankie J]	Gemini
	"I'm Not Coming Home" [featuring Frankie J]	Play-N-Skillz	Red October

References

1. ^ http://twitpic.com/1uvv69
2. ^ ^{a b} Devenish, Colin (2003-05-29). "Frankie J. Back At School". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/frankiej/articles/story/5935487/frankie_j_back_at_school. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Kellman, Andy (2006). "Frankie J - Biography". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p89577/biography. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
4. ^ Winters, Kelly (2006). "Frankie J. Biography". MusicianGuide.com. http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004783/Frankie-J.html. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
5. ^ Kellman, Andy (2003). ""Frankie J" - Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r647895. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Frankie J - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. 2006. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p89577/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
7. ^ Sendra, Tim (2003). ""Now, Vol. 14" - Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r669696. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
8. ^ Kellman, Andy (2005). ""The One" - Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r732331. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
9. ^ Kellman, Andy (2005). ""The One [DualDisc Bonus Track" - Overview"]. Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r807345. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
10. ^ "RIAA searchable database". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
11. ^ "Frankie J - Billboard Albums". 2006. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p89577/charts-awards/billboard-albums. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
12. ^ http://www.emusic.com/label/Soulsick-Records-TuneCore-MP3-Download/746414.html
13. ^ http://www.amazon.com/How-Beautiful-You-Are-Single/dp/B00605YMG2/ref=sr_shvl_album_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1321860910&sr=301-3
14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB2-Ta3hknQ
15. ^ My Super Sweet 16-Marissa
16. ^ http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/04/rpm-miami-the-first-biligual-one-hour-drama-premieres-in-may.html
17. ^ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118037232
18. ^ ^{a b} "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - Frankie J". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Frankie%20J&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 

External links

• Official Website
• Official MySpace
• Official Twitter
• Official Facebook Page
• Official Youtube Channel
• Frankie J at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	J, Frankie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1975-12-07
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death