At age 11, Toronto's Francesco Yates learned that music could be a viable career. After watching School of Rock, he enrolled in "rock camp" and learned piano and guitar. In high school, he joined the band. Work with his vocal coach led to his manager, Chris Smith (Nelly Furtado, JoJo), and by age 16 he was signed with Atlantic Records. Wielding a formidable falsetto and a love for funk, he hooked up with Pharrell Williams -- playing guitar on Williams' song "Gust of Wind" with Daft Punk -- who went on to produce Yates' first album along with Robin Hannibal (Kendrick Lamar, Jes...