The marquee outside of Southwest High School in San Diego read "Welcome Home Frankie J., Once a Raider Always a Raider."

It was a dream end to a dream month for the most famous member of the class of 1995. His debut solo album What's a Man to Do is out this week, the single "Don't Wanna Try" in heavy rotation on TRL, and yesterday the singer returned to Southwest to sing for the students.

Clad in a black leather jacket and jeans, Frankie crooned his way -- and the girls shrieked their way -- through a five-song set that included "Be Home Soon," "What's a Man to Do" and "Don't Wanna Try."

Rosa Lozano, a member of the class of 2003, was among those who welcomed Frankie's return. "I think it's awesome that he fulfilled his dreams and came back to play his school," she said.

"I enjoyed every minute of it," Frankie said after his performance. "It's such an amazing feeling to come back and see all the kids enjoying themselves. I used to do the same thing when people would come to the high school and perform."

Frankie's hero's welcome at the school was a little different from the way he was treated as a student. "I was a nerd in high school," he says. "A nerd! I loved studying."

Born Francisco Javier Bautista in Tijuana, Mexico, Frankie came to the U.S. as a trick-or-treater at age two and never left. "It was me, my older brother, older sister and my uncle just decided to pick us up on a Halloween night and take us across the border," he says. "We were little kids dressed up in costumes. We didn't know what was going on. The border people asked, 'What are you guys bringing from Mexico?' My uncle said, 'I'm just bringing my nephews to take them trick or treating.' They said, 'OK, go ahead,' and we never went back."

As for the life-changing event that inspired "Don't Want to Try," Frankie says, "I went through a relationship that went bad and I learned from it. It was something I wrote down on a piece of paper because I needed to get it off my chest . . . and look where it got me."

COLIN DEVENISH
(May 29, 2003)