"Almost Like Praying" is a song written by

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals '' In the Heights'' and ''Hamilton'', and the soundtracks for the animated films '' Moana' ...

and recorded by him and numerous other artists under the collective name Artists for Puerto Rico. The song was released on October 6, 2017, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

to support relief efforts in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in response to

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

, which struck the island in September 2017. Proceeds from the song are to be donated to the victims and survivors of the hurricane. The song debuted at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the ''Billboard'' Digital Songs Sales chart, selling 111,000 downloads and achieving 5.2 million streams in its first week of availability in the US. On February 8, 2018, a salsa remix of the song was released.

Background

"Almost Like Praying" is a song conceived by ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'' creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda, who is from New York but of Puerto Rican descent, has publicly described the song as "a love letter to Puerto Rico." Growing up, Miranda spent a month every summer in Puerto Rico visiting family. He had family there during Hurricane Maria. The song is composed of a compilation of names of all 78

municipalities of Puerto Rico The municipalities of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''municipios de Puerto Rico'') are the second-level List of administrative divisions by country, administrative divisions defined with geographic Border, boundaries and governmental a ...

, including prominent areas such as

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

, sung by numerous artists such as

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

, and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

. It samples the song " Maria" from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', from which the song line "say it

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

soft, and it's almost like praying" is used and titled after. Other artists on the song include Rubén Blades, Pedro Capó, Dessa,

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for his soulful and dance oriented songs, most notably 2017's "Despacito". Fonsi received his first Latin ...

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 28 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, ...

, Alex Lacamoire,

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age and has released twenty-three studio albums, seven live ...

, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos,

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Globe Award f ...

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three mi ...

, PJ Sin Suela, Ana Villafañe and

Tommy Torres Tomás Torres Carrasquillo (; born November 25, 1971), known professionally as Tommy Torres (), is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and record producer.(4 April 2008)Latin songwriter/producer releases solo disc, ''Reuters'' Named "#1 Hot Lat ...

. The sound of the Puerto Rican coquí frog can be heard at the beginning and the end of the song. Proceeds from the song are donated in full to the Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program, destined for the victims and survivors of the hurricane on the Isle of Puerto Rico. According to Lin-Manuel Miranda, he included all 78 towns of Puerto Rico "so that no one feels left out and no one's town feels forgotten."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links