Season 18 of American Idol is here, and that means fans are being introduced to a whole heap of contestants who might be the next superstar. Francisco Martin, one of the contestants whose audition was featured on the premiere episode, is already capturing the attention of fans and viewers.
Martin took to his new Instagram page to tell viewers to watch the premiere and see if he gets through to Hollywood.
“Did I get the golden ticket to Hollywood? Or did my nerves get the best of me? Watch my full audition to find out,” he captioned the photo.
Read on to find out more about Francisco Martin on American Idol:
1. Martin is a College Student
According to meaww.com, Martin is currently a college student. He studies pre-law when he’s not pursuing a future career in music.
Martin is a singer-songwriter based out of San Francisco, which the judges latch on to when he starts his audition. At first, Martin was extremely nervous, hardly able to get words out. He calms down after judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan come up to him, giving him a hug and telling him to calm down.
“Francisco from Francisco!” Bryan announces after he’s told where the contestant is from.
2. People are Already Rooting for Him
After the official American Idol Twitter account tweeted out part of Martin’s auditions, viewers flocked to the replies to root for the young singer.
“Wow!! With a voice like that, he shouldn’t be nervous at all!” one user wrote.
Others asked for his Twitter information, writing things like “Okay what’s his @ tho. For scientific purposes.” and “What’s his @” followed by the eyeballs emoji.
Other responses said they love his voice and said they were already a fan of Francisco before even seeing the full audition and not yet knowing if he gets a golden ticket to Hollywood.
3. He Plays the Guitar & Drums
Martin is a multi-talented artist; he plays the guitar in his audition for American Idol, and he can be seen in the above YouTube video playing the drums while performing lead vocals with the band All for Patricia.
The video, which was uploaded on Feb 27, 2019, features the band performing a cover of Buwan. The description says the performance took place on Feb 23, 2019.
Martin is a member of The Aura, a band based out of San Francisco, in which he plays drums and is a vocalist. The band consists of Tiffany Carandang, the lead vocalist, Lyndon Delago, who plays the guitar and offers up vocals, Ulysses, who plays the bass and is a vocalist, and Ricky, who plays the keyboard.
Aura is a group that, according to their website, plays top 40 songs, pop-rock, alternative, R&B and classic hits of the 80s.
4. Katy Perry Said He Was Top-Ten Material
During his audition, Perry was taken by surprise at Martin’s voice after hearing him perform his rendition of “Alaska” by Maggie Rogers. As shared by Martin on his Instagram, Perry says “Would you faint if I told you you were top 10?”
Perry isn’t the only one who Martin got the attention of; singer Maggie Rogers retweeted the video of him singing her song. She tweeted “I CANT HANDLE THIS” along with the clip.
The American Idol account responded by saying “Same.” The responses are littered with people praising Martin’s performance of the song.
5. He Was Featured in the American Idol Oscars Promotion
Martin was one of the main members of the American Idol Academy Awards promotional performance. The commercial begins with the show’s host Ryan Seacrest saying “American Idol is back, and we’re kicking things off with an epic performance featuring some of the incredible talent you’ll see on the new season, and me!”
Martin can be seen looking back at the people waving goodbye as he gets on the American Idol bus, which is being driven by Seacrest. As the bus drives through the countryside, contestants are seen singing Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.”
Martin sits on the bus quietly, watching everyone else sing before finally joining in during the chorus of the song. The promotion ends with the bus driving toward the Hollywood sign.
Tune into American Idol on ABC on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. starting on Feb 16.
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