''Nandito Ako'' (lit. ''I Am Here'') is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

singer Thalía, released on 28 January 1997, by EMI Latin and OctoArts EMI. The album was released exclusively in the Philippines, where she gained a following after the success of the soap opera ''

Marimar ''Marimar'' is a Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based on a 1994 Mexican television series of the same title. Directed by Joyce E. Bernal and Mac Alejandre, it stars Marian Rivera in the title ...

'' in the country. The title track in the album was originally performed by

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga (; born February 22, 1971), known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipino singer, actress, and columnist. Nicknamed "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplyin ...

. ''Nandito Ako'' was a success in the Philippines and received three times platinum award there, making its one of the best-selling albums in the Philippines. Ten years later, it was re-released in the Philippines with the inclusion of one of her signature songs "Marimar".

Background and composition

The album was sung half in English and half in

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

. Ricky R. Ilacad is its executive producer. Due to Thalía's success in the Philippines, this album was released in 1997 in that country and other Asian countries, under the label OctoArts EMI. This was the first time Thalía sang in English and Tagalog. With this album, Thalía became the first and only Latin artist with an album recorded primarily in Tagalog. It also features five songs from Thalía's fourth studio album, '' En éxtasis'' (1995), four of which were translated from Spanish; "María la del Barrio" & "Juana" was translated into Tagalog, while "Quiero Hacerte El Amor" and "Gracias a Dios" were translated into English. "Amándote" retained its Spanish lyrics, but was remixed. She also made her own covers of the songs "Tell Me" (originally performed by Joey Albert), "Hey, It's Me" (originally by Jamie Rivera), and "El Venao" (originally by Los Cantantes). Some of the tracks that were previously released in Latin America and re-recorded for this album still retain some of the Spanish lyrics and backing vocals (except for "El Venao"/"Chika Lang" which has a new instrumental and backing vocals in Tagalog). The album, composed of ten tracks, includes her first single "Nandito Ako" which was recorded after her major concert in the Philippines.

Commercial reception

The album sold 40,000 in Philippines, after the first week of its release. Eventually, it received three times platinum award there, making its one of the best-selling albums in the Philippines.

Track listing

Certifications

Personnel

*Producers: Oscar Lopez,

Emilio Estefan Jr. Emilio Estefan Gómez (born March 4, 1953) is a Cuban-born American musician and producer. Estefan has won 19 Grammy Awards. He first came to prominence as a member of the Miami Sound Machine. He is the husband of singer Gloria Estefan, father ...

, Kike Santander and Juan Zambrano *Executive Producer: Ricky Ilacad *Musical Arrangers: Amaury Lopez, Robby Martinez, Didi Gutman, Kike Santander and Juan Zambrano *A & R Coordinator for EMI Mexico: Hector Martinez *A & R Coordinator for EMI Philippines: Bob Guzman *Cover Design: Willie Monzon and Allan Roldan

References

{{Authority control 1997 compilation albums Thalía compilation albums Albums produced by Emilio Estefan EMI Latin compilation albums Tagalog-language compilation albums