Valeria Interview

Conducted by Bethany M

About Yourself

I'm a daydreamer. I visualize chiefly and intensely; it's all I've ever known. I grew up in a small town in Arizona, which led to me exploring my mind's eye from a very young age. Music and filmmaking was something that reigned within. My muses were my mentors, guiding me through my adolescence with care and devotion. I make projects that help me and free me, to hopefully do the same for others.

Why do you make music?

Without artists who expressed themselves as loudly as they did, I would've never thought that I could be destined for something greater than myself. Vulnerability is healing; it's a source of magic that lives within us all. I make music to understand myself and this experience we call life better. I hope that through this act, people resonate with me and my work.

What artists inspire you?

Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Donna Summer, and Luis Miguel.

What is your creative process?

I journal a lot! I find that when I visualize and close my eyes, ideas spark! I pray too. Usually, I write about personal experiences, never made-up situations. It's where the magic happens for me. Singing and songwriting is a form of therapy for me. I sit down, try and feel the memory, and try my best to put it into words.

Who or what inspired you to start writing music and pursuing it?

Okay, so I've always been into music. I think I was always just very... It was weird. Like, I always loved it. But I was very shy about ever singing in front of people. I never wanted to sing in front of people. I think Michael Jackson was always around the house. Like, I always listened to Michael Jackson. And I think later in my life, that was a huge inspiration. But honestly, like, I had an experience where I was just kind of like, I need to let this out. I've always been like a writer, in a sense. And I never really pursued music. I remember I had like a music teacher, I only had him for like a day. He was like a piano and music teacher. And then he asked me to sing in front of him. He laughed in my face. And I was like, I'm never doing this again. Like, I'm just not doing this. So I never sang or anything. And my sister always sang. So my sister has been singing for a couple of years now, like publicly and stuff like that. But I never really did that. But it wasn't until I was, like, super down and, like, very depressed that I was like, I need to get this out. Because I'm huge on creativity, but I just couldn't even like to write it. Because I like... I like to screenwrite. So I only write movies. So I was like, I don't want to write, like, a movie. Like, that's too much. I went to a Broadway show, and it was MJ: The Musical. So it's based on Michael Jackson's life. And after that, I was like, I need to write a song. Like, that's going to be the only thing. And then that kind of led to me writing and, like, putting this song out and just like, really stuff like that. But that was last year. So I haven't really ever sung in front of people or anything until last year.

What's the song that you've written that feels like it most represents who you are as a person?

So I've written a couple of things. The only thing I've ever put out, which is like the song that's out right now... I like a lot of other songs for a bigger project that I want to put out that I've written. And I don't want to say the title because I feel like it's going to give so much away. The first song that I'll release after this song, which is "Stuck in Motion," like the first song after this, is the one that I feel most connected to. It's just the most vulnerable. And I don't know, it just came about very quickly. "Stuck in Motion" is the song that I have out right now. It is very simple. But that also speaks a lot to me because it was very... although it's like super simple lyrics, it was a very vulnerable thing to be like, I'm going to sit down and write something, even if nobody likes it. Even if I don't know, maybe people might know who I'm talking about. Just all those feelings. So every song, maybe, but the one that I'm about to put out and the one that's already out.

What's one surprising thing that you've learned about yourself, either through songwriting or like the whole musical journey and releasing music?

For a period of my life in high school, I was involved in a lot of different clubs and sports and stuff, but I never really allowed myself to do the arts. And that was something that I always loved growing up, but I almost wasn't allowed to pursue the arts because I was involved in so many other things that a lot of people around me wanted me to be involved in. So it wasn't until I went to college last year, and I was very just like... like, I guess I'm an adult now. Like, I can go and pursue these things that I allowed myself to do. I think it's like vulnerability the most. Like, the thing that I learned was that I've always been very vulnerable. I've always never really had my walls up. But those last years of high school, I really didn't. Just closed the doors on everybody, and I didn't allow anybody in. But with music, I think I'm kind of allowing people back and allowing myself to just feel like this weight is off my shoulders. And I'm kind of refinding myself because I feel like I was lost for a period of my life. And with music, I think I'm kind of just discovering things about me that I've always been. I've just kind of suppressed or just hid.

Do you have anything that you want your listeners to take away from "Stuck in Motion"?

For me, I wrote it about somebody that I was like... I met this guy, and I just really fell for this guy, but he didn't like me. Like, he did not like me at all. And I was just very like, no, like, this is like my guy. And I kept letting him into my life. And even when I knew I shouldn't, like even when I knew I shouldn't, I was still like reaching back out to him. And then when I was like, I'm not going to anymore, he'd reach out. And it was always like that. It was those moments where I was like, finally, I have the strength to just not bring this guy into my life. He would reach out of the blue. So it was almost like, to me, it was repeating cycles out of comfortability and not having the strength to just put a pause to it. Even though, like, you know that it's just going to be uncomfortable for a little bit. Sometimes you're not willing to leave that. I guess you're not willing to give up comfort sometimes for a little bit, like a little period of uncomfortability. And for me, I would say that when people listen to "Stuck in Motion," hopefully people know that it's... I think it's that beginning phase when you kind of start realizing that you are finally honest with yourself. That the situation you're in right now, you shouldn't be... you shouldn't be allowing yourself to be in it. And although "Stuck in Motion," I think it's through the perspective of somebody that's barely figuring that out, it's still the first step. So I think when people listen to it, I hope that they kind of find a little strength if they relate to the lyrics to just, I don't know, to set their standards a little higher, to reach for bigger things, and to never give up. There are people that are going to love you for who you are. And you just have to wait a little bit, you know, a little period of just being comfortable to like better things. Yeah, that's super important.

Do you face any challenges both externally and internally as a smaller singer- songwriter?

I guess so. I barely put stuff out. So like this month, right. I think there's something beautiful about having to kind of tell everybody that like, hey, like, I'm not the type of person that loves to be like, this is my song and like shove it down people's throats. I guess the only thing that's a little difficult is I want to give justice, and I want to like the worlds of the songs. And maybe that means not doing a music video right away so I can actually make a good music video. Or I think when it comes to like... I really like quality instead of quantity sometimes. So I think that's why I'm waiting to release these other songs, because I don't want it to just be like, here you go. And like, I worked really hard on all this, or people just feel like there could have been much more. But I don't know. I think sometimes you might feel like when you see other people succeed, it might just trigger you sometimes. But I think I've learned to be very optimistic about seeing other people succeed and seeing other people reach certain things because I think that means that like, that's possible. You know, like maybe you thought that was impossible at some point, but somebody just opened that door up. So I don't think there's anything bad about it. Maybe you just have to work ten times harder. Or sometimes I'll wake up in the morning and I'm like, okay, what am I going to post? Because I don't want to just be inauthentic, you know. But other than that, I don't think... I think it's just like working harder, but I think that works. It'll make me stronger in the long run, if that makes sense.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

I have so many. Weirdly, most of the people I listen to have already passed away, which is kind of like a bummer. I love Olivia Rodrigo, but I'm also kind of like, I'd rather just be like, you write the song, and I'll just like sit down and hear you sing it. I really like Harry Styles a lot. I think that would be something insane because he's never really collaborated with people on a song. So I think that would even be just exciting. I really like PinkPantheress right now, and I think her sound is very cool. I would say maybe her. If she ever wanted to do something, even if it was like... if a collaboration meant me being in the background of her music video, just like dancing around, like anything. I love collaborating with people. I would love if this is considered a collaboration, even though I'm so scared and actually maybe not, being Sally for Role Model. But like, I'm so scared that I would fall. I just have that... like, or like they put me in a compilation of like the worst Sallys. I think I would like to pass away.

If you have any advice for your younger self, what would it be and why?

I think when I was like 16, 17, that's who I would really talk to. I never really had social media or anything. So I think my insecurities or my ideas of the world or things like that weren't ever bad. But I think when I was like 16 or 17, a lot of reality hit. So I know like this new journey, like musically, the stuff that I wrote about is through my like 16, 17-year-old perspective. In the movie Perks of Being a Wallflower, I think he says we like to choose the love we think we deserve. I think at that time I was very like sometimes you settle for things, because you think that that's kind of like what you're worthy of. I think when it comes to love or crushes, like I never really had a lot of crushes. I never had a boyfriend. I never had my first kiss, like nothing. I think the first person that was really nice to me at a really hard period of my life was something that I was like, I guess it's like my husband, kind of. But it's like, no, it's not. Actually, it was just like a random guy. I think it would be to love yourself enough and always really love yourself. I think sometimes when you hang around the wrong types of people, you also start to think like their ideas. If they think they're not worthy, you kind of will also think that. Or if certain people... like, it's just... it's weird, because I'm still finding that out too. I think maybe I'm still finding that out. But maybe it would just be like to give myself more love and to kind of just say the word no. I never allowed myself to say the word no. It was always yes. So I think it would be saying the word no, and not everybody's my friend. I was always very nice, and everyone was my best friend. And it's like, not really. But just little things like that. But definitely just more self-love, more love, and sticking up for myself and being unapologetic about it.