What got you interested in music?
Jodi Valentin: I've actually been playing and singing since I was three and it's the only thing that I've really ever pursued. [Laughs] My preschool teacher caught me singing in the bathroom, like, more than once, and then told my mom, 'hey, I think your daughter really likes singing,' and ever since then I've been taking lessons and performing.
I'm actually at the Clive Davis Institute, it's for recorded music, so I'm studying songwriting and performance.
Are there any artists who have influenced your sound?
Yeah, totally. I would say, as old as, like, Ella Fitzgerald to contemporaries like Lana Del Rey or even, right now I've been listening to The Weeknd a lot.
Which of The Weeknd's tracks are you hooked on?
Oh man, I love the song "Shameless" and I love "Often". It's actually kind of funny because a bunch of my favorite artists released albums this year and I didn't think that The Weeknd counted in that category. I'm huge into Lana and I like Adele a lot and The Neighbourhood - and Justin Bieber too [laughs] - and then I was thinking about it and I thought that The Weeknd's album is actually the best of all of them.
How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard it?
I would say it's romantic piano blues: pop songwriting but soulful melodies and romantic lyrics.
What inspired your latest release, "The Radio"?
I was in a relationship with someone and it was my first, kind of, tumultuous relationship, but I really loved him a lot and he was older and, just, we had a lot of issues communicating, so that's what inspired the song.
Is that single indicative of what we can expect to hear on your forthcoming EP?
Yeah, that one's actually the moodiest of all the songs, the rest are a little bit more, like, true romantic.
Do you have a favorite track from the EP?
My favorite's "The Radio" but I also, there's this tune that is called "With My Baby" and - I'm not releasing that as a single, I'm just gonna release it with the album - and it's kind of like an old feel, old love song from the '40s and '50s.
What do you hope people are able to take away from your music?
It's so weird, our culture today is all about online dating and the hook-up culture and I'm very into the idea that there is true love and two people can take care of each other and I'm just trying to bring back what it's like to truly love someone and have a functional relationship and not just be like college culture.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
I just really hope that people like the album and relate to it and I hope it at least touches someone.
