I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)

For other uses, see I Am What I Am.


"I Am What I Am" is a song originally introduced in the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles. The song is the finale number of the musical's first act, and performed by the character of Albin Mougeotte, first played by George Hearn.[1] His version appears on the original cast album released in 1983.[2] The song was composed by Jerry Herman.

Gloria Gaynor version

[edit]
"I Am What I Am"
Single by Gloria Gaynor
from the album I Am Gloria Gaynor
B-sideMore Than Enough (7")
Released1983
GenreDance-pop, soul
Length5:56 (album version & 12"), 3:51 (7")
LabelChrysalis
Songwriter(s)Jerry Herman
Producer(s)Joel Diamond
Gloria Gaynor singles chronology
"America"
(1983) 		"I Am What I Am"
(1983) 		"Strive"
(1984)

The song was released as a single by Gloria Gaynor in 1983 and went on to become one of the singer's best known songs. Producer Joel Diamond recognized the song's disco potential when he saw La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway and arranged for Gaynor – whose 1978 ...Park Avenue Sound album he'd produced – to record it.[3] A club hit in America, arranged by Marcus Barone,[4] with a remix by Shep Pettibone, Gaynor's version of "I Am What I Am" was a Top 40 hit throughout Europe, becoming established as a global gay anthem.

Track listing

[edit]
A. "I Am What I Am" – 3:51
B. "More Than Enough" – 4:46
A. "I Am What I Am" (Extended Version) – 5:56
B. "I Am What I Am" (Dub Mix) – 5:10

Chart performance

[edit]
Chart (1983–84) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 69
Belgium[7] 36
Germany[8] 35
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 18
Netherlands (MegaCharts)[10] 37
South Africa (Springbok)[11] 12
Switzerland[12] 20
UK Singles Chart (OCC)[13] 13
U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles (Billboard)[14] 3
U.S. R&B Singles (Billboard)[15] 82
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[16] 2

Sandra Mihanovich version

[edit]
"Soy lo que soy"
Song by Sandra Mihanovich
from the album Soy lo que soy
LanguageSpanish
Released1984
GenrePop
Length4:07
LabelMicrofon
Producer(s)Claudio Kleiman
Audio sample
Sample of the song

Argentine singer Sandra Mihanovich recorded a famous Spanish-language version of the song titled "Soy lo que soy", included in her 1984 studio album of the same name.[17][18] The singer discovered the song when she attended a gay nightclub in Rio de Janeiro with her producer Claudio Kleiman, where she saw a drag queen performing to Gloria Gaynor's version.[19] Mihanovich was "blown away" by the song and decided to record it in Spanish, so that its message was understood by her public.[19] Mihanovich also released a live version of the song in her 1985 album Sandra en Shams, recorded at Shams,[18] a tea house turned pub in Belgrano of which she was a house act.[20][21] Shams was one of the main venues of new wave of musical acts that performed in a circuit of small bars and pubs centered in Buenos Aires.[18][22]

Now regarded as a classic of Argentine popular music, "Soy lo que soy" was a big commercial success and consolidated Mihanovich's rising career, becoming one of her signature songs.[19][23] It became an important gay anthem for the LGBT community in Argentina, which was experiencing a moment of cultural and activist boom after the end of the military dictatorship in 1983.[24][25] Mihanovich already had another gay anthem in her repertoire, her 1981 breakthrough single "Puerto Pollensa", a love song between women that continues to be celebrated by the local lesbian community to this day.[26][27] Mihanovich was a lesbian, although not openly, a topic that caused much speculation in the media and increased when she formed a musical duo with her partner Celeste Carballo in the late 1980s.[22] Their controversial 1990 lesbian-themed album Mujer contra mujer is now regarded as a landmark in lesbian visibility in Argentine society.[22][28][29]

Although she became a gay icon, Mihanovich refused to talk about her sexuality with the media and never adopted an activist stance.[18][22] Despite the fact that in 1990 Carballo confirmed that they had been a couple,[20] and that it was an open secret,[28][30] Mihanovich never publicly acknowledged her homosexuality until 2012, when she announced that she had formed a family with another woman.[31] In a 2020 television interview, she said: "I'm not as brave as you think I am. I was finding what I wanted to say in my songs. The discovery of "Soy lo que soy" was a huge thing. Today it is a privilege to think and say what I want and that my way of being is respected."[23] "Soy lo que soy" continues to be celebrated as a national gay anthem, and is played each year at the end of the Buenos Aires pride march.[28] Writing for Página/12 in 2009, lesbian feminist Marta Dillon described the song as the "most beloved anthem for the local queer community".[28]

2012 Paralympics

[edit]
The 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony where thousands sang "I am What I am" watched by millions

During the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Beverley Knight, deaf performer Caroline Parker[32] and Lizzie Emeh[33] appeared to close the ceremony with a performance of "I Am What I Am". A pyrotechnic display took place as the entire cast flooded the stadium to form the three agitos of the Paralympic logo and the performers and the audience joined in the song using sign-language.[32]

Other use

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Summers, Claude J. (2004). The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, & Musical Theater. Cleis Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-57344-198-8.
  2. ^ "La Cage Aux Folles (Original Cast Recording) by La Cage Aux Folles (Original Broadway Cast) on iTunes". itunes.apple.com. January 1983. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  3. ^ Arena, James (2013). First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers. Jefferson NC: McFarland & Company. pp. 108. ISBN 978-0-7864-7581-0.
  4. ^ "Marcus Barone Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  5. ^ "Gloria Gaynor – I Am What I Am (Vinyl) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. 1983. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
  6. ^ "Gloria Gaynor – I Am What I Am (Vinyl) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. 1983. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  7. ^ "Gloria Gaynor – I Am What I Am". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  8. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts". offiziellecharts.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Am What I Am". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "Discografie Gloria Gaynor". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  11. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Gloria Gaynor – I Am What I Am". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  13. ^ "GLORIA GAYNOR | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  14. ^ "Gloria Gaynor Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  15. ^ "Gloria Gaynor Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  16. ^ Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959–2004
  17. ^ "Soy lo que Soy | 1984 archivos – Sandra Mihanovich | Sitio Oficial" (in Spanish). www.sandramihanovich.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  18. ^ a b c d Blázquez, Gustavo Alejandro (March 2018). ""Con los hombres nunca pude": las mujeres como artistas durante las primeras décadas del "rock nacional" en Argentina" (PDF). Descentrada (in Spanish). 2 (1). Universidad Nacional de La Plata. ISSN 2545-7284. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  19. ^ a b c "Sandra Mihanovich y el origen de "Soy lo que soy": "Haberla encontrado fue una oportunidad extraordinaria"" (in Spanish). Infobae. January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Mariel Rosciano (2017). Sandra Mihanovich - Documental (Documentary) (in Spanish). Sony Music. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  21. ^ "Lo más fuerte que me aparece es un sentimiento de agradecimiento". La Capital (in Spanish). February 26, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  22. ^ a b c d Zanellato, Romina (2020). Brilla la luz para ellas: Una historia de las mujeres en el rock argentino 1960-2020 (eBook) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Marea. ISBN 978-987-830-338-3. Retrieved February 24, 2022 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ a b "Sandra Mihanovich reveló la curiosa historia de una de sus canciones más famosas". La Nación (in Spanish). November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  24. ^ Brown, Stephen (2002). ""Con discriminación y represión no hay democracia": The Lesbian Gay Movement in Argentina". Latin American Perspectives. 29 (2): 119–138. doi:10.1177/0094582X0202900207. ISSN 0094-582X. JSTOR 3185130. S2CID 9046161.
  25. ^ Bazán, Osvaldo (2004). Historia de la homosexualidad en la Argentina (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Marea. p. 479. ISBN 978-987-130-703-6. Retrieved February 21, 2022 – via Google Books.
  26. ^ Dillon, Marta (November 26, 2010). "Historia de una voz". Soy. Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  27. ^ Firpo, Hernán (July 15, 2016). "Sandra Mihanovich "No sé si me hubiera casado con Celeste"". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  28. ^ a b c d Dillon, Marta (January 30, 2009). "Soy Sandra". Soy. Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  29. ^ Jiménez, Paula (August 29, 2008). "Alucinando al gordito de gafas". Soy. Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  30. ^ Melo, Adrián (November 15, 2013). "El closet de cristal". Soy. Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  31. ^ "Sandra Mihanovich habló por primera vez de su sexualidad". La Capital (in Spanish). August 10, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  32. ^ a b "With great ceremony: The London 2012 Paralympics". The Independent. 30 August 2012.
  33. ^ Reynolds, Sandra (21 November 2021). "Lizzie Emeh obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  34. ^ "The Story Of The Gay & Lesbian Kingdom Of The Coral Sea Islands". henriettahudson.com. 2015-04-04. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  35. ^ "New music this week (part 2): Songs from MELOVIN, Senhit, KALUSH and more". wiwibloggs.com. 2023-11-19. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  36. ^ "Senhit & Friends: I Am What I Am 2024 Tour". wiwibloggs.com. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
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