Feature | Distant
On her website avavalianti.com Ava lists a whole host of musical influences – too many to name – as her major inspirations. Some of these you would fully expect from a 15-year-old girl, such as Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, and Adele, but there are also some classic juggernauts such as the Beatles and Elvis Costello that have also been credited as influential in the development of her voice.
It is this rich eclectic mix of generational influences that Valianti looks to blend together to create her own voice and separate herself from obvious comparisons to other female teen sensations such as Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and many others. After listening to Distant, I feel that she has achieved this to a certain degree, or at the very least, is in the embryonic stages of doing so.
It was Valianti’s voice that caught my attention above all else. Despite the upbeat music and summertime feel to the track, there is a soulful maturity to the undercurrent of her tone and it will be incredibly interesting to see how this develops over the years and where it takes the artist musically.
My personal hope is that with this sultry voice and strong musical foundation already under her belt, Ava will commit fully to finding her own expression and unique sound as an artist instead of falling into the all-too-easy trap of just trying to sound like what has already been proven successful with the likes of Taylor Swift and others.
As for the song itself, Distant is a funky little summer tune you’d no doubt find yourself tapping your fingers and toes to if it came on the radio. The drums are catchy and the acoustic slaps nicely along. The track also has a youthful innocence and heartfelt freshness to it that I think anyone could appreciate, while at the same time, an underpinning of emotional maturity. I think young girls might find Valianti quickly becoming their new favorite artist of 2025.
The song stands on par with pretty much any of its contemporaries and it will be exciting to see where Valianti can take it from here. You can find all of Ava Valianti’s music, including Distant on Spotify, Apple Music, or from the links found on her website and social platforms, with a full LP slated for release this fall.