Francisco Martin Drops Breezy, Dreamy “Passenger Princess”

Francisco Martin
photo credit: Nick Sarpa

On the heels of his EP Manic, which served as a channel for conversations about mental health, relationships, angst, and human disconnection, singer-songwriter Francisco Martin is back with his first new release of 2023, the soulful new single, “Passenger Princess.” This lullaby for the long-distance driver shows us a different side of the American Idol season 18 alum—softer, more sensitive–where pleasure and happiness as the highest good is your crush’s feet on your dashboard.

“‘Passenger Princess’ brings timely joy to the table when you didn’t ask for it,” Francisco shares in a press release. “Its free, radical-like soundscape and subtle pull for attention bridges the gap between my influences of indie rock and soul.”

In this song that pays homage to the viral internet trend of girls who don’t drive but get driven spoiledly, life is viewed through a wide-angle lens—cinematic landscapes of sunsets and the Pacific Coast Highway. Whereas Francisco’s sophomore EP contains starkly unapologetic and unafraid chronicling, “Passenger Princess” is a tapestry of TikTok that includes aesthetic hedonism and mesmerizing melodies that make you want to go for a drive just because. The lyricism takes pages out of the Urban Dictionary, making a meme into music.

Francisco was born and raised in San Francisco, into a musically inclined household. Self-taught as a child, he mastered drums, guitar, piano, and several other instruments, taking his talent to local stages while playing with musicians several years his senior. He later earned the title ‘writer-producer’ as he began to dabble in poetry and experiment with SoundCloud, where he amassed a following for his original renditions of favorite covers.

Francisco finished American Idol 2020 in the Top 5

Francisco first shot to fame with American Idol season 18 in 2020, where he placed Top 5. From there, he quickly released a few singles before embarking on a fall coast-to-coast tour. To date, Francisco has released several hit singles, including “Swollen,” which has amassed close to 8 million streams across all DSPs (with 6 million on Spotify). He put out his debut EP, Beautiful Ramblings of a Restless Mind, in 2021.

Recently, Francisco co-wrote and produced material for American Idol 2022 alum, Fritz Hager, including his new single, “Caroline” and his Idol single “Hearts Align.”

Relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a music career, Francisco realized he had a desire to be his authentic self in his music. He emerged with his first true artistic statement, a 6-song EP called Manic in the fall of 2022.

Now, following a coast-to-coast tour, Francisco is ready to release a series of new singles throughout 2023.

About mj santilli 34837 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!