Ava Valianti is only sixteen and already redefining what it means to write authentically, human-centric pop music. From Newbury, Massachusetts, Ava has the rare ability to capture the emotions in our everyday lives and turn them into something timeless. Ava's latest single "Running on Empty," is one of her most revealing and emotional songs to date. It's the thumping heart of her EP Petunias, a seven-song project exploring love, loss, resilience, and the quiet, transformative spaces in between. Petunias is a collection both tender and brave, reflecting how often beauty resides in the ordinary corners of life we overlook. For Ava, the title is also a metaphor: "Petunias are everywhere, but when you stop to notice them, they’re actually unique and beautiful," she shares. That metaphor speaks very clearly to how she approaches songwriting: without pretension, observant, human.
The emotion at the core of the record, "Running on Empty," came to life in a hotel after two back-to-back shows in New York City. The fatigue that inspired the song was not the typical human kind; it came from an emotional source. "People don’t always leave in one big moment," Ava shares, "they fade out in little ways until one day you realize they’re gone." It is the slow death of connection that grounds the song. Her voice wavers with soft pain while still embodying the fortitude sound of someone who has learned how to move through emptiness with agency, without losing their glow.
"Running on Empty" occupies a space between indie pop and bedroom soul that respects its minimalist sound by granting space to Ava's words. The production feels warm, intimate, cinematic, even driving through a city at night after somebody said goodbye. Every lyric sounds as if it were lived in; each line crisp with youthful restlessness and the wisdom of contemplating.
Ava's path from small-town dreamer to rising indie voice has been nothing less than amazing. Following her debut single "bubble wrap" released in 2023, Ava has developed an international following, receiving over 300 radio spins, several New England Music Award nominations, and a nod for Best Singer-Songwriter at the 2025 Boston Music Awards. She has shared the stage with artists such as Jessica Baio, Lucy Kaplansky, Grammy-nominated Andrew Duhon, and The Strumbellas, and also sold out her own headlining shows, which is incredible for any artist, let alone a teenager.
What sticks out to me about Ava is not only her résumé but also her emotional fluency. In songs like "Laugh Track", "Buttercups", and "Distant," you can feel a writer who is in tune deeply with herself, with her world, and also with the fragility of flowing through those in-between moments through life that most people are trying to hustle past. She writes with a kind of self-awareness not often found in the world, and especially not in a sixteen-year-old. Each of her lyrics feels like she is sharing a secret diary entry, whispered into the mic. However, her music never falls into self-pity; rather, it reaches out and connects with everyone's vulnerability to one another.
Ava Valianti isn't pursuing perfection with petunias; she is nurturing truth. Her stories grow quietly and will remind us that something beautiful is growing inside us regardless of heartbreak and uncertainty. "Running on Empty" captures that sentiment beautifully: the longing and the letting go, and the strength it takes to keep moving when everything else feels stagnant. As Ava continues to rise, it is clear that this is an artist who is not simply finding her voice but who is also creating a new emotional language for her generation.
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