Claudia Valentina

Claudia Valentina

Claudia Valentina is a pop and R&B artist and songwriter from New York, United States, born Claudia Cooney. She also has links to Guernsey through her early life, and her music draws on pop, soul and British pop influences.

Early life and training

She begins performing in childhood, growing up around theatre and doing singing, dancing and acting after school and at weekends. At 10, she travels to London after seeing an advert for young performers and auditions for a role in Billy Elliot. Within three months, she is living in London, performing in the West End and attending Sylvia Young Theatre School. After a year there, she moves with her mother to Los Angeles at 12.

Songwriting and early career

In Los Angeles, she auditions for television and other child-star opportunities before deciding to focus on music. By 13, she is writing songs with Johan Carlsson, who works closely with Max Martin. She continues writing with Carlsson and other collaborators, developing what she describes as her own approach to making music rather than pursuing acting or television work.

Notable songs and writing credits

She writes the hook for Wiley’s My One, which becomes an international summer hit and attracts millions of streams. Her own material includes Seven, a piano ballad written in her first session with James Newman in London; Sweat; Down 2 Bizzness; and 4:15, which she writes with David Stewart and Jessica Agombar and which is later sought after by several pop artists before returning to her. These songs show a range between vulnerable writing, direct breakup lyrics and more forceful, self-assured pop.

Releases

Her debut EP, Claudia Valentina, is released in 2020. She later releases singles from an unreleased project called Foreign Affair, including C'est La Vie, Extra Agenda and Sweat. After leaving EMI Records and TaP Management, she releases D&G and Diamonds on My Teeth through Electric Feel Records, and then continues as an independent artist with When I'm High.

Style and persona

Her writing is described through themes of confidence, emotional honesty and control, with a strong interest in relationship dynamics and power. She is presented as a singer with a direct, assertive style and a clear focus on pop songwriting.