After dropping her debut single “A Prueba de Todo” in 2018, Valentina has spent the last two years experimenting and exploring with music to find her sound and voice. She’s also focused on “becoming the pop diva that I want to become,” she tells Billboard.
The Rent: Live and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum released her new single “All Eyes On Me,” which was born for a number of reasons, according to the Mexican-American drag queen–but it became a reality after attending her first-ever songwriting session with producer Agir and songwriter Ilka Cortez.
“It was my first experience getting to know how to create the melodies and the music,” Valentina says about the upbeat, dance-tinged bilingual song where she sings about having the courage to rise above it all no matter the obstacles. “I want to continue that experience of sitting down with other talented professionals. I was not yet fully a musician or the type that went to school to study music or write songs. This experience was a blessing and I’m excited to take on the next step and keep writing, hopefully one day being at the Latin Grammys.”
Given that so much is on pause due to the current coronavirus global pandemic, Valentina says that instead of thinking about whether to release an album or not this year, she’s in full developmental mode.
“I am in the process of figuring out how I can make a full album. It’s something that I’m really curious about. Obviously with what’s happening right now with COVID-19, I can’t really answer that,” she adds. “I would hope that what I’m doing right now would give me all the experience and allow me to just evolve and explore as an artist and keep me more polished.”
Aside from releasing new music, the multifaceted artist is also making her telenovela fantasy come true by joining the cast of Netflix’s hit show La Casa de las Flores for the third and final season of the comedy-drama series. While Valentina couldn’t reveal many details about her character, she says we’ll be seeing a lot of her on the small screen.
“I was asked to be in it by Manolo Caro creator of the series] and I will be on many episodes fully in drag the entire time. I am really excited and it’s an important moment for me because it’s an opportunity given to a queer, drag artist in a mainstream series on Netflix. I’m not just making a quick appearance on something; I’m making history by being able to part of La Casa de las Flores. I get to live my telenovela fantasy that I’ve always wanted to live.”
La Casa de Las Flores‘ third and final season will be available on Netflix April 23. Meanwhile, Valentina’s “All Eyes On Me” drops tonight (April 15) at midnight EST.
“It’s such an honor and a blessing to still have work, to be an artist,” Valentina says about being in the spotlight and having all eyes on her. “I get paid to wear makeup and wear wigs and do what I love. I will rise out of this situation and I understand my responsibility to my fans who pay to watch me perform, who watch RuPaul’s and keep supporting me. I’m grateful for that. The song will give me a voice that’s not just lip-syncing. I now get to share my own voice and my message.”
