South London artist Valentina introduces herself with a soulful debut shaped by family, resilience and a deep love of music, ahead of its release on 18 September 2026
There are entertainers who want to be famous, and then there are artists who simply cannot imagine doing anything other than making music.
For South London singer-songwriter Valentina, music has never been about chasing attention. It has been the one constant throughout her life — a way of expressing emotions, finding herself again and connecting with other people. Now, after years of performing, studying music and building her confidence on stages in the UK and Italy, Valentina is ready to begin her next chapter with the release of her debut single on 18 September 2026.
“I want to sing and perform because I genuinely love music and I love what it can do.”
It is a philosophy that sits at the heart of The Valentina Story.
Born and raised in South London, Valentina comes from an Italian and Filipino family and grew up surrounded by music, food, family and performance. Italy has been a second home since childhood, with summers spent there and extended family and close connections across the country. That connection has also become an important part of her musical journey, with Valentina already performing to audiences of thousands of people in Italy.
Her musical influences reach well beyond her own generation. Inspired by the likes of Amy Winehouse, Adele and Raye, as well as soul, R&B, jazz and classical music, Valentina has been described as a young artist with an older, soulful voice.
Rather than attempting to recreate the past, she wants to take the music she loves and find a place for those influences within her own generation.
“I’m a young artist, but I’ve always been told that I have an older, soulful voice,” she explains. “I want to take those influences and find where they belong in my own music today.”
Music That Helped Her Find Herself
Valentina’s relationship with music became particularly important during her teenage years.
At around 16, she went through a difficult period marked by bullying, isolation and a desperate desire to fit in. She found herself changing who she was in an attempt to gain acceptance, eventually reaching a point where she no longer recognised herself.
Music became her escape.
Writing lyrics gave Valentina somewhere to put emotions she didn’t yet know how to express, particularly through songs about heartbreak and the experiences she was going through at the time.
Slowly, music helped her find herself again.
That experience continues to influence the way she approaches songwriting today. For Valentina, a song is not simply something to perform. It can be a place where another person recognises themselves.
“I’ve experienced firsthand how a song can meet you at a point in your life when you feel completely lost and make you feel understood,” she says. “That’s also why honesty matters to me when I write.”
It is this human connection that Valentina hopes to carry into her music at a time when technology and social media can sometimes make creativity feel increasingly manufactured.
A Performer From The Very Beginning
In many ways, Valentina has been preparing for a life on stage since childhood.
Her parents apparently realised she could sing before she did, after hearing her harmonising along to Adele in the car. At home, music was part of everyday family life, including a weekly karaoke tradition with her Filipino relatives.
Her grandfather, an opera singer who could rarely be separated from his guitar, was another major influence. Valentina remembers him performing wherever he went and describes him as one of her biggest supporters.
Sadly, he passed away before hearing her original music — something Valentina says still breaks her heart.
His passion for music, however, remains part of her story.
As a child, Valentina was also involved in almost every school production from Year 7 through Year 12 after receiving a drama scholarship. She loved acting, dancing and singing, although her natural R&B style occasionally appeared where a more traditional musical-theatre approach was expected.
And despite being incredibly shy about singing in front of other people, she was regularly encouraged by her father to perform at family events. What she once found embarrassing ultimately helped build the confidence she would need as a professional performer.
From A Shy Girl Hiding In Wardrobes To Thousands -Strong Italian Crowds
Valentina’s transformation as a performer is perhaps best illustrated by one of her childhood habits: hiding around the house so nobody could hear her practising.
Today, she has performed at venues including COYA Mayfair, Bardo St James’s and Ronnie Scott’s, the latter representing a particularly significant milestone.
Influenced heavily by jazz and soul and inspired by Amy Winehouse, performing at Ronnie Scott’s had long been an ambition. But the significance went beyond the venue itself: it was the first time Valentina performed her own original music in front of an audience.
Then came Italy.
At Minturno Musica Estate, Valentina performed in front of thousands of people — her biggest audience to date. Performing in another country was challenging enough, but doing so while addressing thousands of people in a language that isn’t her first made the achievement even more significant.
She spoke to the crowd in Italian, performed her music and embraced the moment.
The journey from the young girl who once hid to sing privately to a performer confidently facing thousands of people has become one of the defining stories of Valentina’s career so far.
Two Hours, One Italian Classic And A Stage With Al Bano
Her connection with Italy has also produced one of the most unexpected moments of her career.
While on holiday, Valentina was due to open a show for legendary Italian singer Al Bano. Approximately two hours before the performance, he asked her to join him on stage to sing “Felicità”, his biggest hit.
There was just one problem: Italian isn’t Valentina’s first language.
With only two hours to prepare, she had to learn the Italian sections of the song as quickly as possible, with some verses adapted into English.
Despite the pressure of performing an iconic Italian song alongside one of the country’s most famous singers, Valentina took the opportunity — and Al Bano ultimately asked her to close the show with him.
It became another unexpected reminder of just how far her musical journey was taking her.
A New Chapter With Cronx Records
Valentina’s debut marks the beginning of a new chapter with Cronx Records, as she takes the next step in developing her career and bringing her music to a wider audience.
At the centre of that journey is a desire to remain authentic. Valentina has experienced what it feels like to change herself for other people’s acceptance, and she is determined not to repeat that experience through her music or image.
Choosing Music
Valentina’s path into music was not always straightforward.
She had grown up surrounded by people who valued education and hard work, and she initially felt pressure to pursue what she describes as a “proper” career. She even experienced a major setback when she was rejected by the BRIT School at 16, an experience that temporarily made her question whether she was good enough to pursue music.
But she refused to let the rejection define her.
While still under 18, she secretly auditioned for the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM), with help from her older sister. She was accepted and eventually told her parents that she wanted to leave sixth form and study music.
They supported her decision.
Years later, after briefly working in estate agency, Valentina made another major decision: in February 2026, she left her job to pursue music full-time.
It was a risk, but one she felt she needed to take.
“I was deciding to fully back myself and give music the time and commitment I’d always known it deserved,” she says.
That decision has already opened doors, including further opportunities in Italy and the forthcoming release of her debut single.
A New Generation With An Old Soul
Valentina enters this new chapter with ambitions that stretch beyond a single release.
A Christmas EP is currently in development, while 2027 will see her perform at a major festival in Tuscany in front of an expected audience of more than 20,000 people.
With connections spanning South London, Italy, Dubai, New York and Los Angeles, her story is increasingly becoming an international one. Yet her focus remains surprisingly simple.
She wants to make music that means something.
In an era dominated by social media, technology and AI, Valentina believes the most powerful part of music remains something that cannot be manufactured: human connection.
A song can make someone feel understood. It can bring people together. It can remind someone of a person, a place or a moment. It can express something that someone has never been able to explain themselves.
That is what Valentina wants her music to do.
Her debut single, released on 18 September 2026, marks the beginning of that story.
Not a manufactured image. Not an attempt to become somebody else’s idea of an artist.
Just Valentina — a South London girl with Italian and Filipino heritage, an old-soul voice, a lifetime of stories and a genuine love of music.
The Valentina Story has begun.
Follow Valentina
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevalentinastory
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thevalentinastory
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thevalentinastory
Website: https://www.valentinaofficial.co.uk/