Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Francisco Martin

Francisco Martin is well on his way to becoming a true American idol. Since deciding to pursue his passion full-time, the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer has quickly amassed over three million streams on Spotify. His sounds and lyrics have struck a chord with listeners and established Francisco as one of the most exciting songwriters of his generation.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Francisco about how he discovered his love for music, his time on American Idol, and his debut single, “Swollen“.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Francisco: I grew up in a very musical-oriented family. My dad always played records when I was growing up—it’s very cliché. It’s a cliché thing to say that I grew up around music, surrounded by music, but I did. I’m really grateful that I did because my mom was always into music. She was into singer-songwriters, so Norah Jones was always playing in the car every time we ran errands. My dad would always play his favorite rock bands. My brother was also very into R&B and rap. He would always play that around the house. It was a mixture of different types of music growing up.

I’ve stated this before, but I never got to do sports when I was younger—my parents never let me. I used to resent them for it. I was like, “Why can’t I do sports? All my friends are doing sports. I just want to play basketball.” They were like, “No. It’s too dangerous for you.” They wouldn’t let me do anything. They were like, “Maybe track.” I was like, “Track? I can’t do track. I have asthma.” [laughs] I never got to do anything remotely close to sports growing up; it was always music for me. My dad would always push me and encourage me to play instruments. Drums was my first ever instrument.

He enrolled me in lessons, and then I spent countless hours practicing drums. He would send me songs, give me songs to practice, and he’d always tell me the same thing, “If you learn this song, you’ll be a great drummer.” He would give me different types of songs each time. Then, I’d learn and play them. Eventually, we had a family band going on: I was the drummer, my dad was the guitarist, and my brother was the bassist. After that, I joined a rock band because I went to school for drumming. I eventually left that band and created my own.

I was a high school student not playing sports. Basically, I didn’t do anything in high school; I just went and mingled. It was a sports-centered high school. Everybody was like, “Football is life. Basketball is life.” I was just over here gigging every weekend, doing gigs in and around the Bay Area. That was me—that was my life and high school experience growing up.

After that, Idol hit. I basically dropped everything. I dropped the band, school, and then I pursued that. That’s when I realized I wanted to do music as a career. I fell in love with songwriting around that time. That sparked up my songwriting and wanting to learn more as an artist, and not just a contestant on a vocal reality television show. I was always thinking ahead. I was always thinking, “What will happen after this? What am I going to do after this? How am I going to expand further as an artist after this? How am I supposed to keep the leverage?” That’s basically how it all came about.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Francisco: Personally and professionally, most definitely—I always name drop her—is Maggie Rogers. She really influenced me. I remember I was going through such a dark time in 2019. It was before Idol started, and I was going through it. I was in college. I was studying law. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was lost. I was literally so lost—I didn’t know where I wanted my life to go. Then, I remember one summer, it was Coachella season, and I checked the setlist. I wasn’t going to go, but I checked the setlist and came across Maggie Rogers. I found her artist page. I listened to her EP, and the songwriting and production blew me away.

It was never really something that I thought was going to be serious until I heard her music, and I was like, “Oh my gosh. I can actually take my own feelings into account and write them down and sing them out.” I didn’t realize that it was so powerful, but it was. It was very therapeutic and very cathartic for me. So definitely Maggie Rogers, for sure.

Funny enough, she hit me up and that was a full-circle moment. I always brag about it because it was such an endearing moment. I was like, “Oh my God. You watched my audition?” She knows who I am, and I love her. I love Maggie. I’m like, “Damn, that’s crazy as f-ck.” I’m super, super grateful that she even watched it.

PC: You recently finished in the top five on American Idol. When you look back at the experience, what do you remember the most?
Francisco: Most definitely the people. Not just the contestants, but also the production crew, the executive producers—everybody on there—the judges, Ryan Seacrest…everyone made the whole experience way better. Everybody is so nice and kind. You meet so many great new people from different walks of life. Before that, I was a local kid in San Francisco who hadn’t been outside of California. I’d never been east or met anyone from the east coast. I’d never been that far. I’d never been to Hawaii before I went out for Idol. All the different things I experienced wouldn’t have been as memorable if it weren’t for the people. That definitely shaped my artistry and who I am as a person coming out of Idol. I’m still such good friends with so many of the contestants. I also still hang out with some of the production crew, so it’s dope.

PC: When you look at the experience, what was the biggest lesson you learned that you’ve now been able to apply to your career?
Francisco: Most definitely to work hard and never take things for granted. The career I’m in is where I want to be. I wake up every day feeling blessed and super grateful that I’m doing what I’m doing. I get to make music for a living, and wake up and do it again, and meet new people during these writing sessions. I’ve been doing a lot of writing sessions. Idol taught me to work hard, have a great work ethic, be on your game, and never take what you’re doing for granted. At the end of the day, I could never picture myself doing anything else.

PC: You also just released your debut single. Tell us about “Swollen” and what inspired that song.
Francisco: I always think of my songs as little diary entries. “Swollen” is definitely one of the first songs that I wrote like that. I would call it my first diary entry because I literally started that song as my first serious song. I was like, “All right. I’m going to sit down and make this happen.” The story behind “Swollen” is when I was literally in a holding room during the show. I’m revealing this now because so much time has passed.

I wrote it about this cool girl that I met on the show—shout out to you wherever you are. You’re probably going to watch this or hear about this and not realize it, but I’m sharing it now. I met this girl and went up to her. She was really cool. I was like, “What’s your name?” She was a really pretty girl. I wanted to get to know her. I went up to her and we hung out for the whole day and got to know each other. We talked about music, talked about life in general, and some basic stuff, but in my head, I was like, “Man, I’m really falling in love with the idea of this person. She’s great. She’s awesome.” She was kind of sick that day, too, and had to sing. I was taking care of her and trying to help her out and encourage her. We started to sing each other songs. It was a whole vibe.

I got really inspired during that time. I was like this is something that I’m probably going to be thinking about for the next couple of days. She ended up not making it through, and I was like, “Oh man. That sucks.” I was super bummed out. When she left, I was thinking about it for a couple of days. I knew that I was going to be doing that, and I couldn’t shake off that feeling. I was like, “Man, I hate what I’m feeling right now. I know nothing’s going to happen from this experience.”

She lives far away, but I have her number, I have her socials, I follow her on Instagram. Nothing is going to happen. I was sulking. I was like, “I need to write down these feelings.” I wrote it down and mapped out everything that happened that day. I’m very observant—I can’t help it. So, I was writing down all the things that happened that day. Most of the things that happened in the song are true. I wrote down every little nuance and everything little thing she did.

To this day, she doesn’t know that it’s about her. It’s really funny because it’s been a year. I released it as my first release since the show. There are three different versions now: the original, the acoustic, and the duet. It’s really cool how a lot of people are covering it, loving it, and supporting it. It’s funny because I follow her on Instagram. I post all that stuff and she has no clue—I mean I’m assuming she has no clue—but it’s really funny to think about, because I haven’t said anything. I haven’t spoken to her in a while. If I told her, she’d probably be like, “What. really? I never would have caught or realized that.” If she’s watching or realizes it now, the song is about you.

PC: Like you were just saying, you just released a new rendition with your good friend, Julia Gargano. How did that come to fruition?
Francisco: It’s funny. We’re really good friends now, but on the show, we didn’t even talk to each other. We always hung out in the same group, but we never really talked. When we both got signed under the same label, we actually started getting really close. We did writing sessions together, so we got to know each other even more and more. Then one day, my manager and team were talking about different things we could do with this campaign. They were like, “What if we do a duet?” I was like, “That’s sick. I want to do a duet. That’s dope.”

They were giving me options, and I had my own. One of them was Julia. I was like, “That would be dope.” I know that Julia has a dope voice. I know we have similar tones and sounds, and we have the same taste in music, so I was like, “That’s perfect. I think that could work.” So, we asked her, and she sang on the demo. She sounded great. I’m not joking when I tell you that she’s the most talented human ever. She was hitting me with all these different types of harmonies that I didn’t even know about. I was like, “Oh my God. This is great.”

I had finished the original record already, then I listened to the demo that she sent. I fell in love with it instantly. It happened really fast. I actually started falling in love with that version more than the original. I felt so bad—I was like, “Oh my God. I hate to say it, but I love this more than the original.”

My team really agreed with me, and I was like, “This is so good.” She actually ended up being in the music video. The duet happened first, then we filmed the music video. My team was like, “What if she’s the girl in the music video?” I was like, “Oh, that’s a really cool idea that ties it together.” That’s how it went down. Now it’s out for everyone to hear.

PC: What has the response to the song meant to you?
Francisco: It means a lot because I’m such an overthinker; I overthink everything. It’s hard for me to take a compliment or praise without taking it with a grain of salt because I literally overthink everything. I’m like, “Do you really like it?” I literally send my mom records that I make, and she tells me she loves it. I’m like, “Well, do you really like it?” I’m that type of person. I can’t take a compliment to save my life. It’s not something that I was ingrained with growing up. I always appreciate the compliments, and I love the praise that I get from my supporters and people who listen. I love that. It’s a great thing.

I was actually thinking the other day, and told my sister and team, that it’s so weird seeing people make covers of it and singing to a song that I wrote. I remember when I was writing it, I wasn’t even thinking about releasing it. It’s a weird experience where I’m a musician and I’m producing it and releasing it for other people to hear—I never had that in my mind while I was writing it. Now, people are singing it. I’m like, “Oh my God. This is crazy.”

It’s such a huge milestone to hear people covering my song, singing it, and loving it. I appreciate it so much. That’s something I don’t take for granted. I always take that, and it warms my heart every time I hear it. Every day, I’ll come across a new cover and my heart swells up.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Francisco: The National.

PC: First album you bought?
Francisco: Chris Brown.

PC: First concert you attended?
Francisco: You’re going to think I’m lame, but I’ve never been to an actual concert before. I’ve been to local concerts, but not one headlined by a big artist or known artist. [laughs]

PC: That’s a fun fact!

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Francisco: Definitely Heard It in a Past Life, for sure—Maggie Rogers, you know why. I am sorry I name drop her all the time, but it’s so true. [laughs] I wouldn’t be here as a songwriter or an artist without her. And also Battle Studies by John Mayer…and Room for Squares. John Mayer is also a very huge influence and I loved both of those albums. I literally listen to them all the time. I love to find little nuances in the record. People don’t usually hear this, but in the intro, there’s a person talking in Alaskan. It just loops. I like to find little Easter eggs and little nuances in the record. It makes the process and listening way more fun for me.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Francisco: The Last Bookstore in LA. It has a really cool vibe. I would love to perform somewhere like that. I know it’s such a weird answer, but that’s definitely my vibe. I like having an old rusty bookstore that has a stage. I’m more into venues like that.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Francisco: Trail mix, for sure. I love trail mix—the actual, the OG trail mix with M&M’s, peanuts, raisins, and all that good jazz. Sesame seeds, too! I can’t really go on a road trip or anything without it.

To keep up with Francisco, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify. Listen to his new single “Wild Girl” today.

Listen to “Wild Girl” below!