Croon. Wail. Chirp. Trill. There must be a ton of words to describe this next singers pipes, the soft bawl of his falsetto, and unmatched soul. His name is Francesco Yates, and the 18-year-old’s voice is its own introduction.
It was the classic Jack Black flick School Of Rock that bolstered Francesco’s drive to become the next
superstar, as he spent his summers since age 11 supplementing his amazing voice
with the learning of piano and guitar.
The Canadian native has recently dropped the single “Call”
after two stunning covers of Kendrick Lamar's “Swimming Pools” and Miguel's “Adorn.” The debut album is untitled as of late, but check out these
five facts about pop’s next trailblazer to be schooled for when the time
comes.—GB
1) His first written song spiraled into a music career. The first song Francesco wrote was named “Jaguars,” and from that point he knew he wanted to do music professionally. “Music was a passion for me that happened all at once. I just wanted to do it all the time,” he says.
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4) He strummed the guitar on Pharrell Williams’ album, G I R L. Francesco played guitar on “Gust of Wind,” (featuring Daft Punk), on the album. At that point Pharrell realized that Francesco was next for success, and has commented, “He’s absolutely gonna be a huge, huge, huge pop star.”
5) He’s spilling over with soul, and it shows on the
debut album. He’s worked with Robin Hannibal and Pharrell on his debut. Look
out for the falsetto-driven tune “Change the Channel,” and “Honey I’m Home.” “I
want it to be the biggest thing of my generation,” he says of his first major
release. “It may sound far-fetched and crazy, but that is the end goal.
Whatever steps I can take to get there, I’ll take them. We live in a world of
complication, and I just want to bring people out of that and get them to have
a good time.”
Francesco's perfected vocals will take you to another
plane. Watch his Kendrick Lamar cover above of “Swimming Pools” and his
first single “Call,” below.
