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Singer-Songwriter Francisco Martin Returns With The Vibrant “Passenger Princess,” A Lullaby For The Long-Distance Driver

By Kath Galasso on February 17, 2023

Stream the track on all digital platforms HERE

On the heels of his breakthrough EP ‘Manic,’ which found dreamy falsetto and robust belting serving as conduits 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, vibrant, and electric new single, “Passenger Princess.” This lullaby for the long-distance driver shows us a different side of Francisco—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,” Martin comments. “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 obvious 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 PCH. 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 the Bay Area (specifically, the city that shares his name) into a musically fertile household. Self-taught as a child, Francisco 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 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. His heart-on-sleeve soulful pop has garnered favorable comparisons to songwriter artists such as James Bay, John Mayer, Maggie Rogers, and Ed Sheeran. 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). Francisco’s previous single, “If U Need Me,” premiered on PopMatters. He put out his debut EP, ‘Beautiful Ramblings of a Restless Mind,’ in 2021.

Relocating to Los Angeles in pursuit of full-time artistry, Francisco realized he had an all-consuming yearning to be his authentic self in his music. He emerged with his first true artistic statement, a 6-song EP called ‘Manic’—a bold collection of emotionally raw pop-rock—in the fall of 2022.

Now, following a coast-to-coast tour, Francisco is ready to release a series of new singles throughout 2023; a collection of future anthems just waiting to make their debut. Stay tuned for continued updates, and keep an eye on Francisco’s social media channels to hear what else he has in store.

https://franciscomartin.org/
https://www.instagram.com/franciscomartinmusic/
https://twitter.com/fronciscomartin
https://www.tiktok.com/@franciscomartinmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgqO8FNQrahfFqip25KB2A
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/francisco-martin/553238917
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1L0Ma0IvvAlshDIUBxoOGE