Exclusive: Franklin Mastrangelo signs with Mercury Records

Orient native Franklin Mastrangelo has signed a multi-album deal with Mercury Records and will move to Nashville on Jan. 15 to pursue his music career full time, The Suffolk Times has learned.

In his first interview since landing the deal, the Greenport High School graduate — who will be releasing music under the name Frank Mastra — said Tuesday, Jan. 6, that he signed with the label on Nov. 15, 2025, just three days before his 21st birthday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Universal Music Group, the parent company of Mercury Records, did not respond to a request for comment.

The power of social media

Mr. Mastrangelo, who has been playing the piano since he started plinking out Winnie-the-Pooh at age 3, credits his mother with pushing him to share his music on social media.

While attending SUNY Oneonta, Mastrangelo would post videos of himself playing piano and singing on Instagram and TikTok. But he wasn’t so passionate about social media and didn’t really want to stay on top of the posting.

Then last spring, he was at the grocery store in Oneonta and realized he didn’t have enough money to pay. He called his mother, Holly, for $100. She said she’d put cash on his card if he posted his performances on TikTok. So, he did, and continued with it, getting an “allowance” each time. 

That summer, Mr. Mastrangelo said he would frequently stop at Poquatuck Hall in Orient after working on his father Philip’s oyster boat to record himself singing while playing the piano.

“Sure enough, one time I posted, it caught a good amount of traction, and I started getting reached out to by ‘American Idol,’” he said. “It was a video of me singing with my sunglasses on. I was singing ‘Believe to My Soul’ by Ray Charles.”

The video garnered nearly 50,000 likes and caught the attention of “American Idol” producers. The long-running show, which has launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, fast-tracked him past early audition rounds, Mr. Mastrangelo said. He only had to sing for the final audition, which took place over Zoom last July. He was invited to go to Nashville in October for the show.

Around the same time as the audition, he posted another video on TikTok under his handle @frank.mastra, this time performing “A Song for You” by Leon Russell. That post has brought in more than 240,000 likes, nearly 2 million views and attention from several celebrities. Josh Peck and Chance the Rapper left comments, and David Kushner gave him a follow. 

Industry interest

As the videos gained traction, Mr. Mastrangelo said he began hearing from people in the music industry. One label flew him to London last summer for meetings, but nothing came of it. He returned home and then went back to Oneonta for the fall semester, continuing to post videos.

He soon got a message from Jay Saunders — his now-manager — asking to represent him and send his content out in the industry. 

“He sent my stuff that night, and the next morning, I get a call from Mercury saying, ‘We want to sign you,’” Mr. Mastrangelo. “I said to them, ‘I’d love to sign on, but I don’t know if I can do this social media aspect,’ and they said, ‘You don’t have to worry about that.’”

For Mr. Saunders, the decision was easy. He said when he first heard Mr. Mastrangelo sing, he melted.

“In Frank, I see a voice of a generation. I see a voice that doesn’t come around often,” Mr. Saunders told The Suffolk Times on Thursday, Jan. 8. “He sings from the soul, and that’s what will make his music so timeless. He’s a very special artist, and I’m thrilled about this chapter of his career.”

Around the time Mr. Saunders reached out, Mr. Mastrangelo still had tickets to go to Nashville with his entire family in October for “American Idol,” even though he would no longer be featured on the show.

They took the trip, and Mercury filled each day with writers and musicians for Mr. Mastrangelo to work with. He likened that week to speed dating. He then flew back to Orient, and got another call from the record label. They wanted to fly him out to Los Angeles to sign the deal.

The start of it all

Mr. Mastrangelo’s interest in music was fostered by his grandfather at an early age.

“My grandpa used to play guitar, and he would play shanties,” he said. “He would come over when I was just learning to walk, and he would hold the chord in his left hand and then have me strum it on the guitar.”

He and his three brothers — Max, Sam and Thomas — all took piano and guitar lessons growing up. He picked up the saxophone in fourth grade through the elementary school band. He started taking lessons and competing in both state and county competitions. 

“I feel like the saxophone slingshotted my interest into jazz,” he said. “I started listening to piano players like Bill Evans and Fats Waller, and I started listening to all these saxophone guys, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane — a bunch of really renowned players. I started just to take my own interest in it.”

Before he could drive, his parents took him around Long Island to perform. Though he attended Greenport High School, he joined the Southold High School jazz band, waking at 6 a.m. to rehearse before classes. He also participated in band, chorus and an a cappella group.

“His level of talent was far ahead of his age during the time I knew him.  But it wasn’t his talent alone that I believe has led him to his current success,” said Karl Himmelmann, who instructs the jazz band. “It also was his commitment to success and the quality of his character. I’m so thrilled for him and can’t wait to hear the music he creates in the future in Nashville.”

Mr. Mastrangelo began studying music industry at Oneonta — a unique major where students learn both about playing music and the legal side of the industry. While there, he said, he would often play piano in small practice rooms with the door cracked open so professors could hear.

One of them was Jeremy Wall, a founding member of the jazz-fusion band Spyro Gyra, who later invited Mr. Mastrangelo to perform at his retirement party. Mr. Mastrangelo, who would be entering his senior year, took academic leave last semester to pursue his career.

“My dad always says that when I was taking piano lessons here at home before I went to college, my piano teacher said my ability is up here, my knowledge of what I’m doing is down here,” he said with one hand by his head and one by his waist. “What Oneonta did for me is bring that gap to a close, for the most part.”

What’s next

Since signing his record deal, Mr. Mastrangelo said he has been writing and recording constantly, much of it with producer Ian Fitchuk, who has worked with country star Kacey Musgraves. He is working toward completing his debut EP.

“I try not to choose a genre, because I don’t like to corner myself,” he said. “There’s so much influence on me from other people, like Al Green and Joe Cocker. But if I had to put a pin in it, it’s like a modern Van Morrison.”

Mr. Mastrangelo finds inspiration everywhere. He’s always recording bits and pieces when they come to him for later. He also has a page of notes on his phone, titled “Prompts,” with one-liners he may want to use in the future.

Some days the work is routine, he said, but other days bring something more.

“One day, you’re in the studio, and you’re almost in tears writing a song,” he said. “It’s so amazing when that happens. That’s something that I’m extremely grateful for, because when that kind of thing happens, I suddenly am aware that I am in a position that a lot of people strive for their whole life, and I get very grateful.”