One of the most emotional auditions on American Idol Season 16 is presented by David Francisco. Francisco is a spinal cord injury survivor who was told he would never walk again. (He can walk with crutches now; see photo above.) The young man from Nashville, Tennessee left his career as an electrical engineer to pursue his real passion, music, after graduating from the University of Tennessee. He opened his own recording studio in Knoxville and went back to school to hone his music producing and engineering skills at Blackbird Academy in Nashville. In Nashville, while riding his bicycle, he was hit by a car that ran a red light. His back was snapped and his spinal cord was severely damaged as was his left forearm. That was in 2015, almost two years ago.
Today, David Francisco is living in Los Angeles and working with musicians including Martina McBride, Steven Curtis, and Alicia Keys’ The Voice winner Chris Blue. Francisco opened for three of Blue’s sold out shows. American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8pm on ABC.
