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Hello, Valentina Hart! Why Hart and not Valentina Abderhalden aka your real name?
Um, hello, you really wanna ask me that? It's a terrible name for a singer! Especially when you're incorporating pop into your music, which is a genre where everything has to be super accessible and straight-forward. People aren't gonna waste their time on Google tryna find what the hell I'm called and how you spell it when they're trying to type my name into iTunes! Hart was short, sweet and romantic in a kinda ironic way, cuz my music is far from being all cutesy and loving and nice like my stage name lets you believe.
You once said you were a clueless hipster when it came to music, what did you mean by that?
It was more like, referring to me being purposely out of the loop and an outsider. When I was in school, I wanted to be the cool girl who only listened to stuff you've never heard of, ya know? Even if the music was shitty, which is a really bad way of looking at music and now I'm just like... girl, you missed out on so much good music cuz you were a lil snob! I think "Pantomime" was the biggest eye-opener and getting signed. It made me realise that mainstream isn't bad, pop music isn't bad, making music that isn't over six minutes long isn't bad you tryhard troll!
How did you change your way of thinking when it came to making your first album?
I worked with a lot of cool producers who orginate from Europe, mainly Swedish geniuses because Sweden is excellent at everything, am I right? It's been super cool to collaborate with different people and have different ideas all come into this one album. It's like a huge mixing bowl of different spices from different people with all these cool alt pop electronic sounds, but the base, the true core of it all is me and my own words. So I kinda left those old thoughts behind and thought, okay! Let's make a record that's not boring or drawn out, but fresh and different and a lil quirky.
You dropped out of the California College of the Arts to do this. Do you think if you had waited to finish your course you'd still be here?
That's a tough one, like, I'm a big vibey astrology supernatural believer kinda girl. So in regards to that, I often think it's all about timing and when the stars align and blah, whatever. But at the same time, if you're truly passionate and have this freakish obsession with music like I do, I think one way or another, you'll find a way to get into it. It's a good question though, cause I often overthink situations and wonder what would have happened if I took another route.
You're only 22 and you've achieved a huge number one single so early on in your career, what else is there for you to achieve?
I've said I reaaally wanna tour, because I feel like a hyperactive free fairy on stage. I saw some gifs of me after I did my first ever show and I never knew I danced like that! (laughs) Someone told me I'm an endearingly awkward live performer, which I'm okay with. Practice makes perfect! Oh, and lots of great albums. Let's see how everyone likes the first until then.
How has it been to hear yourself on the radio?
Sooo weird, I can't even. It's also funny cuz I always used to hear Jennifer Armstrong and SYNCO on the radio and stuff and it's like, wow! I actually know these wonderful girls now! We're like... semi-friends. I think. I mean, we haven't met yet, but we can be friends, can't we? I ship me and Layla from SYNCO, I feel like we're distant lovers. I weep into my pillow nightly cuz she ain't with me. Yeah, it's so cool. But what's cooler is talking to the people who I've been hearing on the radio and knowing that they know me and I know them, does that make sense?
What's both the best and worst thing to happen to you since this all started?
Being mistaken for Vanity all the time. (laughs) Which is great cuz personally I think she's a very attractive woman, but I also just wanna be me, and that can be frustrating when you're not even trying to be someone else, but people still think you're them. It's happened quite a few times recently. Like, not to be all preachy, but it's hard enough for female artists because they're always compared to one another as if we can't all coexist. Even when said artists are often nothing alike musically, the media and pop music fans just love to make this one big competition. Like a survivor of the fittest sorta thing, it's like... no. Plus you think Vanity walks around in jeans and sneakers like me? Get outta here, sir!
How are you adjusting to life as a pop star and what's changed since the success?
Umm, well, more people wanna hear me sing, before it was like "ugh, shut up already!" I got an invite to the Chaos Awards which was insane and took a trip to Europe for the first time ever. I love London! Everyone sounded so cute and I felt like such a nerdy tourist, but I totally was and I was embracing it with my binoculars and city map. I'm starting to get free clothes sent to me now too which is changing my life right now because my wardrobe is so damn old. So at least I'm dressing better? That's a start.
Talk to us about your next single "Bruised", what inspired you to write it?
My whole album is pretty much about my relationship with one guy, which he could probably take as a compliment because he gave me so much to write about, buuut it's not really good stuff. (laughs) So yeah, the album Too True to Be Good is about him and when I found out some harsh truths, it made me realise that the truth sucks and breaks hearts, so the saying "too good to be true" is terrible and awful and a big fat lie. I feel like the best records often have just one person in mind, because it's all raw emotion and real experiences you can put into the music. But "Bruised" in particular is a more vulnerable side to me unlike the first single which I wanted to show, because a lot of the record is very strong female stickin' up for herself and this one is where I really let my walls down and kinda give into what I'm feeling instead of faking a smile. He told me I was a fool for tryna do... this. That's why I talk about my wings getting clipped and the strings on my parachute getting cut, cuz it was like he was always trying to bring me down from where I wanted to be.
In your opinion, what's the best song on your album?
There's this one called... I don't think I'm allowed to say! Eeek. Um, okay, it's called "Harlequin" and it's a bop. I like weirdo pop songs and that's kinda one of the many on my record, but that one especially incoporates a lot of my personality like the theatrical side to me into song. It felt like a real Valentina Hart song, ya know? I like to think only I could pull it off, cept that's probably not true but... let a girl believe in her music, damn it.
You're a proud feminist, tell us why it's something you're so passionate about?
Well I'm a female and a human, and I think if you're two of those things, you should also be able to relate and support yourself and other women. I hate the stigma that comes with the word, they're like "Oh, you're such a man-hating, sexist person" and that's really not the case. We're all birds, fly free! Do you! Men are great. I just feel strongly about this because I believe in equality, not just in gender, but everything across the board. It's not about being better than men or thinking women are more special, it's just fighting for stuff that men have that we as women still don't... basic things, like equal pay when we do the same exact job, we still don't get it and it's messed up! Look at male sports players and how much they get paid in comparison to women, there's a lot of shady stuff.
You seem like a fun girl to hang out with, are you much of a party person?
Oh, toootally. If there's a party, I'm there, I was kinda famous in college for being the drunk party girl. (laughs) I'm super strict now, when I know I've got rehearsal the next day or something, I make sure I don't drink and look after my voice, so I like to have fun, but I'm not stupid. I know when's the right time to let my hair down and when I need to go into serious musician mode.
How important is it that you come across authentic in your music and just as a person?
It's important to me cause I wanna do myself justice, I don't wanna give everyone some made up, fantasy version of myself. I know what I'm doing is authentic though, so I don't really have to worry about that. Like, I take my music super serious, it's my craft and my everything, but as a person, I'm totally not pretentious and I'm super goofy and all over the place, so I get to have that balance in my life and I like showing that to people. I don't wanna sit in interviews with a straight face on all the time and bore you guys to death about things that don't really matter, I'm just having a lot of fun showing everyone what I'm all about, take it or leave it. That's cool if you don't wanna take it, I'll keep me!
Would you call yourself an overall passionate person?
Totally, I think anyone who knows me would describe me as that. It's not a bad thing either, it's not something that I think is a bad quality of mine. I mean, I'd rather be passionate than just feel a load of nothing.
You come across extremely quirky on Twitter, would you agree?
I dunno about quirky, I don't want anyone to judge me off my Twitter page though, it's not accurate, it's just an online representation of myself where you don't see the real me! I mostly use it when I'm drunk or bored or both and that's dangerous cuz I tweet a lot of crap. Better to get it out there than in my songs, right?!
Who's your dream collab partner?
Katie Coyle, duh. If you know me, you'll know I've had a poster of the woman in my bedroom for the past... I don't even know how long. She tweeted me and I flipped the hell out, it was like being touched by Christ. Not that I know how that feels, I'm an atheist.
What's one thing you couldn't live without?
Coffee, just keep my cup full and I'm a happy girl.
Where will Valentina Hart be this time next year?
On a poster on your bedroom wall aaaand on album number two, maybe? I dunno, I like that answer!
"Bruised" is available to download now.
Too True to Be Good is in stores June 22. |
