“acupuncture” is about falling for someone when you’re pretty sure you shouldn’t, but choosing to read into every little look, touch, and mixed signal anyway. It’s unrequited love, but not really the sad kind. There’s something flirty and almost fun about knowing you might be way more invested than the other person and still letting yourself live in the possibility of it. I wanted the lyrics to capture that push and pull between “maybe they feel it too” and “maybe I’m completely making this up in my head.” It’s the type of pain that still feels so good to experience, and almost necessary. It’s the second song from my new EP, kismet, and it continues the jazz-pop direction of the project, with a sound that feels a little more playful and romantic than some of my earlier music.
Ava Valianti
singer-songwriter
At just 17, Ava Valianti is quickly emerging as one of independent music’s most compelling young singer-songwriters, pairing emotionally incisive lyrics with an evolving sound that refuses to stay in one lane. From the introspective indie pop of her debut EP, petunias, to the louder, guitar-driven pop-rock of Sophomore Slump, Ava has built her music around the messy, funny, painful and exhilarating realities of growing up.
Now, she’s entering a new chapter with kismet, her third EP, which draws inspiration from jazz and R&B while keeping the imaginative storytelling and emotional honesty at the center of her songwriting. The project’s first single, “celebrity,” explored the intoxicating feeling of putting someone you love on a pedestal, flipping the idea of fame by casting the person outside the spotlight as the star. Her newest single, “acupuncture,” out October 9, takes on unrequited love from a more playful angle, capturing the mixed signals, misplaced optimism and blurry space between friendship and something more. Flirty, fun and self-aware, the song finds Ava knowing someone might not be right for her, and falling for them anyway.
That artistic growth has been matched by impressive independent momentum. Ava has earned more than 650,000 streams and airplay on 300+ radio stations worldwide, while receiving recognition from the Boston Music Awards, New England Music Awards, International Acoustic Music Awards and Unsigned Only Music Awards. She was also named First Runner-Up in American Songwriter’s Road Ready Talent Contest, where she performed live in the finals at Nashville’s legendary Basement East.
Onstage, Ava has built a reputation as a dynamic and emotionally engaging performer, appearing throughout New England, New York City, Nashville and Los Angeles, including a performance at the GRAMMY Museum. She has headlined her own shows and shared stages with nationally touring artists, bringing the same vulnerability and personality that define her songwriting into her live performances.
With three EPs charting a creative evolution before she’s even finished high school, Ava is less interested in settling into a genre than in following wherever the songs take her. kismet marks her most adventurous chapter yet: warmer, jazzier and more playful, but still unmistakably Ava - honest, observant and unafraid to find humor in the complicated parts of growing up.
new single
download files
Press / Reviews
“Ava has a gift for taking feelings that can be difficult to explain and giving them a musical language...Ava doesn’t simply tell us what that feeling is, she invites us inside it. That is the quality that makes her songwriting resonate beyond her age...From “petunias” to “Sophomore Slump” and now toward “kismet,” Ava continues to demonstrate curiosity, courage, and an unmistakable love for storytelling. ”
“There are shades of Billie Eilish in the intimacy and psychological darkness. We can also hear a connection to Lana Del Rey in the cinematic melancholia and dreamlike presentation of femininity, yet Ava continues to establish her own voice. Ava explains that she wanted listeners to feel “a little less alone,” and that intention comes through clearly.”
— KIMU
“Musically, Valianti takes an intriguing step forward, bringing jazz and R&B influences into her introspective pop sensibilities. The result feels smooth and soulful without losing the youthful honesty that makes her songwriting so appealing. At just 17, she demonstrates a thoughtful musical perspective and a willingness to explore new territory. “celebrity” feels like both a romantic daydream and a gentle reality check, marking an exciting new direction while leaving plenty of room for her artistic identity to grow.”
“Stepping into a fresh musical era while exploring the delicate, intoxicating dynamics of romantic idolization requires a songwriter capable of matching sharp emotional observation with sophisticated melodic flair. When a rising independent creator pivots her sound toward warm, jazz-infused R&B textures, the resulting track becomes far more than an engaging pop release, turning into a spellbinding sanctuary of sound. ”