"Soy Así" ("I Am Like This") is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

written and produced by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

composer Rafael Pérez-Botija and performed by

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

José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer and actor. Born into a family of musicians, José began his musical career in his early teens playing guitar and sin ...

. It was released as the first single from his twenty fourth

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 ...

of the same title (1987). This song became the second number-one single by the artist in the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart, after the single " ¿Y Quién Puede Ser?" two years before. In 2005, Mexican late "singer"

Valentín Elizalde Valentín Elizalde Valencia (; 1 February 1979 – 25 November 2006) was a Regional Mexican singer. Nicknamed "El Gallo de Oro" (The Golden Rooster), he was known for his off-key style and his biggest hits included: "Vete Ya," "Ebrio de Amor", " ...

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the single and included it on his album of the same name.

Background

"Soy Así" was written and produced by Rafael Pérez-Botija, who worked previously with José José on the albums '' Volcán'' (1978), ''

Si Me Dejas Ahora ''Si Me Dejas Ahora'' (If you leave me now) is the title of the studio album released by Mexican singer José José in 1979. José José produces an album for the first time in collaboration with Spanish singer, composer and producer Camilo Sest ...

'' (1979), '' Amor, Amor'' (1980), ''

Gracias Gracias () is a small Honduran town/municipality that was founded in 1536, and is the capital of Lempira Department. The municipality has a population of 57,182 and the town a population of 16,680 (2020 calculation). It is located in the moun ...

'' (1981), ''Mi Vida'' (1982), '' Reflexiones'' (1984), and ''

Promesas ''Promesas'' (''Promises'') is 21st studio album recorded by Mexican performer José José, It was released by RCA Ariola in 1985 (see 1985 in music). It was written, produced and arranged by Spanish producer Rafael Pérez-Botija. This album bec ...

'' (1985). José José told magazine '' Selecciones'' that during 1985 to 1987, he had a personal crisis because "my life was going on airplanes, trucks, locked in a hotel room." His daughter was born in 1982 and that more or less balanced his marriage, but after a while he divorced his then wife. In the same year, he also finished his work relation with his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, who also was his brother in law. During this events, and his on-going battle with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, José José recorded his album ''Soy Así''.

Chart performance and cover versions

The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart at number 22 on November 28, 1987 and climbed to the top ten two weeks later. It reached the top position of the chart on January 16, 1988, replacing "

Y Tú También Llorarás "Y Tú También Llorarás" ( en, italic=yes, And You Will Cry Too) is a ballad written and produced by British singer-songwriter Albert Hammond, co-written by Anahí van Zandweghe, and performed by Venezuelan singer-songwriter and actor José ...

" by

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

singer José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma" and being replaced one week later by

Ana Gabriel María Guadalupe Araujo Yong (born December 10, 1955), better known as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter from Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico. She first sang on the stage at age six, singing "Regalo A Dios" by José Alfredo Jiménez. S ...

's " Ay Amor". "Soy Así" ranked at number seven in the

Hot Latin Tracks Year-End Chart of 1988 The year-end charts for the Hot Latin Songs chart are published in the last issue of ''Billboard'' magazine every year. Initially, the chart was based on information provided by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, which collected airplay information ...

. "Soy Así" has been recorded by several performers, including

who released it as a single from his album of the same title in 2005, peaking at number 28 in the ''Billboard'' Latin Regional Mexican Airplay. Elefante, Juan Garza, Banda Horoscopos and Alamenos de la Sierra also recorded their own version of the track.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soy Asi (song) 1987 singles 1987 songs José José songs Songs written by Rafael Pérez-Botija Songs in Spanish RCA Records singles 1980s ballads Pop ballads