The genius of rising artist Ava Valianti keeps on giving. Few artists release with such consistency and high quality, and if this is anything to go by, we are sure that Ava is a star in the making. We last featured her as she confronted body image, perfectionism and the impossible pursuit of beauty on her vulnerable new single, alterations, so when we heard that Ava was back with celebrity, we couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
celebrity opens with a fierce breakbeat energy with cinematic piano melody, tapping into a vibe that we have never experienced before from Ava Valianti, showcasing her diversity as an artist. This expands into atmospheric vocals as Ava sings, “You swim in my bloodstream, we make modern melodies, without you it′s a bad dream, do you see me, celebrity?”
As for the message, celebrity is about being deeply in love with someone who feels almost like a celebrity or an idol. Ava’s muse is always on her mind and makes her feel excited, safe, and happy – like they are part of her body and bloodstream. The metaphorical depth is captivating, and we love how Ava shares that she admires her muse dispite the imperfections.
Overall, it is about intense love, admiration, and the almost dizzy feeling of seeing someone as your entire universe. It’s pretty relatable and we could definitely imagine it in a film like Obsession, or a TV show like Adults, or The Shards.
Ava confesses, “celebrity is about the complicated nature of idolization. I spend a lot of my own life performing and pursuing a career with opportunities for fame, but through this song I was able to see someone else as the celebrity simply because I was so enamoured with them. It’s about seeing a person through a rose-colored lens, where the smallest gestures feel massive and they somehow become the centre of your whole world.”
We love how she has flipped the script, and on a psychological level, this is really what a lot of artists express. It’s cathartic and peaceful to feel so at one and captivated by someone you love, in turn making them the star, whilst you can almost feel normal (if there is such a thing!).
Musically, celebrity also marks a new direction for Ava Valianti. It’s a move from the indie pop of petunias and guitar-driven pop-rock of Sophomore Slump into an innovative and experimental sound influenced by jazz and R&B. The single also introduces Ava’s forthcoming third EP, kismet.
At just 17, she has already accumulated more than 625,000 streams, received airplay on over 300 radio stations worldwide, and performed across the Northeast, as well as in New York, Nashville and at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. celebrity offers a clear introduction to this next stage of her sound and artistic development. We love witnessing the evolution, and have added celebrity to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream Ava’s exquisite discography.