"I Am What I Am" is a song originally introduced in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 George Hearn (born June 18, 1934) is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre. Early years Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on ...

. His version appears on the original

cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

released in 1983. The song was composed by

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...

Gloria Gaynor version

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. A club hit in America, arranged by Marcus Barone, with a remix by

Shep Pettibone Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. Career Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazz ...

, Gaynor's version of "I Am What I Am" was a

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hit throughout Europe, becoming established as a global

gay anthem A gay anthem is a popular song that has become widely popular among, or has become identified with, the gay community, although some of these songs have also become anthems for the wider LGBT community. Not all songs labelled as "gay anthems" ...

Track listing

*7" single :A. "I Am What I Am" – 3:51 :B. "More Than Enough" – 4:46 *12" single :A. "I Am What I Am" (Extended Version) – 5:56 :B. "I Am What I Am" (Dub Mix) – 5:10

Chart performance

Sandra Mihanovich version

Argentine singer

Sandra Mihanovich Sandra Mihanovich (born April 24, 1957) is an Argentina, Argentine singer, musician, and composer of Rock (music), Rock, Blues, and Tango music, Tango rhythms. Biography She was born in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta neighbourhood of Buen ...

recorded a famous Spanish-language version of the song titled "Soy lo que soy", included in her 1984 studio album of the same name. The singer discovered the song when she attended a

gay nightclub A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once serv ...

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with her producer Claudio Kleiman, where she saw a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

performing to Gloria Gaynor's version. Mihanovich was "blown away" by the song and decided to record it in Spanish, so that its message was understood by her public. Mihanovich also released a live version of the song in her 1985 album ''Sandra en Shams'', recorded at Shams, a tea house turned pub in Belgrano of which she was a house act. 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 Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Now regarded as a

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

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. It became an important

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. 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. 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 Celeste Carballo (born September 21, 1956, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine singer-songwriter in rock, blues, hard rock, punk and tango. She became known in the early 1980s for her distinctive voice range from B2 to F#6 in head voice. H ...

in the late 1980s. Their controversial 1990 lesbian-themed album ''

Mujer contra mujer "Une femme avec une femme" (Spanish: "Mujer contra mujer") is a 1990 song by Spanish pop band Mecano. In the late 1990, it was released as a single from the band's seventh album, released in 1988, ''Descanso dominical'', on which it appears as ...

'' is now regarded as a landmark in lesbian visibility in Argentine society. Although she became a

gay icon A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon of some members of the LGBT community. The most widely recognized gay icons are often actresses and singers who garnered large LGBT fanbases, such as Judy Garland, Madonna, Diana Ros ...

, Mihanovich refused to talk about her sexuality with the media and never adopted an activist stance. Despite the fact that in 1990 Carballo confirmed that they had been a couple, and that it was an

open secret An open secret is a concept or idea that is "officially" (''de jure'') secret or restricted in knowledge, but in practice (''de facto'') is widely known; or it refers to something that is widely known to be true but which none of the people most i ...

, Mihanovich never publicly acknowledged her homosexuality until 2012, when she announced that she had formed a family with another woman. 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." "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. Writing for '' Página/12'' in 2009,

lesbian feminist Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logic ...

Marta Dillon described the song as the "most expensive anthem for the local queer community".

Other use

* The

Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands (also known as The Gay Kingdom of the Coral Sea) was a putative micronation established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia. Declared in 200 ...

, a former micronation that occupied the Coral Sea Islands off Australia, had adopted the song as their national anthem.

References

{{authority control 1983 singles 1983 songs 1984 singles 2002 singles 2003 singles 2010 singles 2021 singles Amanda Lear songs Gloria Gaynor songs LGBT-related songs Shirley Bassey songs Aqua (band) songs Songs from musicals Songs written by Jerry Herman Anthems of non-sovereign states