CROSSING BORDERS

Valentina Ploy on how shared experiences allow her to connect with global audiences

BORN and raised in Italy but now residing in Bangkok, Valentina Ploy had always found herself drawn to music ever since she was a little girl. She was already writing songs at the age of seven and honed her passion from then on, eventually picking up both the violin and the guitar.

For Valentina, music was a way of being honest with herself and her feelings, and soon it became a career path and a way for her to express her more vulnerable side.

Since 2019, she has been slowly but surely building her global fan base and has been particularly big with Filipino audiences as a result of her hit singles, “Love You Better” and “Really Wanna Know Ya.”

“I didn’t expect it at all. it was

like magic for me,” she recalled when “Love You Better” first blew up in the country, “I was so, so happy to hear about it and I’m very happy that people are liking the song,” In addition, she has also earned the admiration of Filipino artists and went on to collaborate with of Alexa Illacad. Along withy Jayda, Jona, Kyla, KZ Tandingan, Lesha, Moira Dela Torre, and many other female recording artists from Southeast Asia, Valentina lent her talents for the groundbreaking charity single “Heal”.

“I didn’t expect it at all. it was like magic for me,” she recalled to Soundstrip when “Love You Better” first blew up in the country, “I was so, so happy to hear about it and I’m very happy that people are liking the song.” Driven by a synthbased mid-tempo arrangement, the bouncy ballad resonated with a lot of fans thanks in large part to its unforgettable line, “I don’t wanna love you more, I just wanna love you better.”

Valentina admits that she writes songs from personal experiences because she considers it the most natural way of expressing herself. It’s no surprise then that her latest single, the intriguingly-titled “Drunk Sleeping in Taxis” is by her admission, an exploration of her fears of not being loved at her worst.

“This one, I wrote the chorus in my bedroom, it was about 2am. Then the following morning I scrolled down my Instagram, you could hear the little clips of me singing the song, and it was just the chorus. I originally wrote a totally different verse, but then I got in touch with my producer and I asked him what he thought about it. He was like ‘The chorus is so great, I love the concept and it’s very nice, but I think you can do better with the verses…’ So I left it there just sitting on my phone memos for, I think two months. ” she said.

After going through another vulnerable night, Valentina revisited the song, and this time brought English producer Richard Craker along. Together, they were able to recreate the somber atmosphere she was “hearing in her head” that is “a pop song but it still keeps the acoustic sound with synth pop elements.”

When asked what her secret was in being able to cross international borders, she believes that it is her honesty and authenticity that allowed her

to connect with her newfound but passionate audience outside of Thailand.

“I just try to be very honest,” she admitted. “If you’re honest, real and open-hearted people will feel the same things you have felt because [the] share[d] experiences.”

“Drunk Sleeping in Taxis” is currently available in all major streaming

platforms courtesy of What the Duck music.