by HQ
From co-writing BLACKPINK’s “Jump” to launching her boldest music yet, the rising artist opens up about creative control, personal evolution, and her new single “I luv that babe.” Claudia Valentina is no stranger to the spotlight. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter from the island of Guernsey signed her first record deal at just 13, but it wasn’t until years later—after time spent living in London, Los Angeles, and Berlin—that she began shaping a sound and identity that felt truly her own.
Known for her fearless voice, sleek visuals, and genre-blending style, Claudia fuses elements of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic music into a sound that defies convention. Over the years, she’s worked with a powerhouse list of collaborators, including Billy Walsh, Ian Kirkpatrick, Cirkut, Rami, and Ojivolta—building a reputation as both a magnetic performer and a sharp creative force behind the scenes.
Now signed to tastemaker label Electric Feel (home to Post Malone, The Kid Laroi, and Quavo), Claudia is entering what feels like a career-defining chapter. With her new single “I luv that babe” and its striking music video on the horizon, she’s ready to take full creative control. We caught up with Claudia to talk about growth, freedom, and what’s coming next.
<h3>"It's a different song style from London or LA but it’s super fun. The BLACKPINK song is very exciting and very cool. I've worked with Jennie before too. We worked on “Jump” for like 2 days and it was just a vibe. It looks like it’s doing well which is exciting. "</h3>
Your journey started incredibly young - signing your first deal at 13. How do you think starting so early shaped your artistic identity?
I think it's really the only thing that I've ever known, I mean literally since I was a kid I've been very like one focus and one thought my whole life and I can't remember anything or know anything different. My artist identity…it's been exactly the same since I can remember - I've just always been obsessive and a perfectionist and I still feel like the 10-year-old version of myself but just gotten better at executing it.
You’ve lived in LA, London, and Berlin - three cities with very different creative energies. How have those environments influenced your sound?
Again, I think since I was a kid l've not lived in the same place for longer than like two weeks and I have bounced around and lived in so many different cities that I just don't know anything different and l've grown to love it so much. I also get super bored super quick because I'm a dopamine whore, so l like to keep moving and especially for inspiration for music, I feel like travelling and being in different places and and having no rules to my life makes me feel very inspired and I just wanna feel inspired all the time - sometimes in an unhealthy way,where I'm like I don't need to have the craziest inspiration every single day! I should really just stay put but for the meantime, I'm vibing. I would say because of that, my music, my creativity, my personality and pretty much everything about me is a melting pot of lots of different things because I have just been around and about. For a long time I was like you know “where I should be” but now I'm just vibing with being everywhere.
You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in music - from Cirkut to Ian Kirkpatrick. What’s one lesson you’ve learned from being in those rooms?
l've done sessions with literally every single person and l've done a gazillion and five sessions in my life and I think you have to go through it to realise it for yourself but the biggest sessions you'll probably get nothing from it and it's just fun off to tick off your bucket list and make yourself feel proud of the achievement of being in the room. But my best stuff has come from being in the bathtub on bandLab with my earphones in because its less pressure, I mean don't know about other people, but the less pressure and when it’s only me and what my instincts want and not having to care about impressing anyone, that's when I get my stuff done. So now I literally work with the same like three people and that's it, I tend to not even write with anyone unless it's these two people I finish stuff with. The less I have to work with people who make me feel scared or like trying to impress or not being able to be completely myself… It’s only for your ego to be in the room, so yeah I prefer not to have that pressure.
“Jump” by BLACKPINK has taken off globally. What was your experience co-writing that track, and did you know it was going to be that big?
I've been to Korea twice and I'm obsessed with Korea. It's like a whole different planet; they have everything - it feels like everything is 10 years ahead of the rest of the world. We worked through the night, which I feel like is different to when I'm working elsewhere, but I was so excited to see Korea in the daytime so I think that was the longest stretch I've ever done with zero sleep but it was amazing vibes and I am obsessed with everyone that I work with in Korea, they're such amazing people. It's a different song style from London or LA but it’s super fun. The BLACKPINK song is very exciting and very cool and I've done some work with Jennie before too. We worked on “Jump” for like 2 days and it was just a vibe. It looks like it’s doing well which is exciting.
<h3>I've made so much music, and I love how it feels like another side that will slowly reveal the sonic world that I feel super proud of. </h3>
Your new single “I luv that babe” just dropped. What’s the story behind the song - and how did the visual concept come together?
‘I luv that babe’ dropped and it feels like the last l've been saying this a lot to everyone, but it's like the last couple years I've just been in a cocoon of just focusing on the music and the creative world that I've always wanted to do. I've made so much music, that I’m so excited about and I love how it feels like another side that will slowly reveal the sonic world that I feel super proud of. Everything I've always had in my brain that I was never able to make real until the last couple years and so it’s a whole different feeling of just being calm because It feels so good that I can finally just be completely be myself. The song and the creative was just like It was just literally me and my little team of producers in Sweden and we have so many songs coming out and this one was one of the faves. The credayge behind it, to me feels like the perfect place and way of opening up the world and the textures and feels and essence of the project.
What emotions or personal experiences were you channeling while writing “I luv that babe”?
One of the things I’ve been working on over the last couple years is ‘how do I describe the many sides of a bad bitch’? I think that it would be too long and boring to explain right now but this song is just a little bit of a slutty vibe for my girlies.
Your music blends pop, hip-hop, R&B, and electronic sounds. Do you feel pressure to fit into one genre - or is that genre-blurring intentional?
l'd say that’s probably one of the most prominent parts of who I am in music, is that there is a genreless vibe going on and I think it's because I feel like I don't want to be put into a genre. I know everyone says that but I think you can hear in artists that they are not thinking and writing and making their project thinking “this is my genre” you know , it's just who they are. And So who I am I think really is reflected in this project and I personally struggle to put my finger on what genre is and that's my favourite thing, like I love that that I don't fit a certain genre but I love SO many genres and my goal is to have my specific influences that tickle my ears. I know exactly what musical landscape and feeling I wanted to create and now it's come to life it feels like its own thing and I think the only way, really to describe it is just to hear the songs and see it come to life and it makes sense when you hear all the songs together. So for now it's just one by one slowly nibbling on the vibe.
How has your songwriting evolved over the past few years? Is there something you're doing now that you wouldn’t have dared to do back then?
I don't know what the shift was… it might’ve been the ADHD pills, but I think it was probably that mixed with how I used to think, “I don't give a fuck, I dont care what people think”, but did. Then one day I just woke up and actually didn’t care anymore. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone or do anything for anyone else — all I wanted was to create something that made me feel super excited.
When I started doing that; writing lyrics that made me cry every time, I listened to them. That made me feel like this is my favourite song — that’s when I started making my best stuff. I literally thought “I’m not sending this to anyone. It’s only for me” . And the creative process became purely about that — not about getting approval, but just brainstorming and writing all day long.
I did like a big fat Adderall bender and sat down and wrote out and dissected everything I’d felt but hadn’t been able to describe, just so I could really figure out why I was so blocked. Why I felt so many emotions but couldn’t even start a conversation or get those feelings into a song. I think so many artists struggle with that , having so much inside but not knowing where to begin. Suddenly everything fell into place and I realised that every shit thing that has happened to me I wouldn't have changed anything along the journey. I realise that all l've ever wanted is to just be proud of the stuff that I'm doing and that's what I am chasing is just to be really proud.
What excites you most about working with Electric Feel, and how has it shifted your perspective on where your music is going?
I love Electric Feel, I think they’ve been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I’ve been doing music forever, I was signed to a major label, and I feel like I’ve already lived ten different lives in my career. But Electric Feel see me as the artist I see myself as. I don’t feel like I have to explain my music to them. They’re all incredibly high-level creative people, not just business people (though they’re amazing at business too). They really understand music and genuinely respect the artists. Working with them feels like a collaboration — rather than how it's been in the past and I think that’s exactly how the industry should be.
Are there any dream collaborations on your radar right now? Who would you love to create with next?
Yes, there are many. That is one of the things that I'm most excited for, because everyone likes to think about doing a song with one of your idols, and there are many that I’m putting into my manifestation bubble and there may be a few coming, but we shall see.
As someone who's gone through reinvention more than once, what keeps you creatively grounded?
I would actually say that l've never reinvented myself. Someone has just put something out that I didn't want out so then I have to look like I've been reinvented. I also hate the term reinventing because to me it stands for when someone is like "fuck let's try something else because that didn't work" and that isn't what an artist is to me. I'm not trying to reinvent myself to do better in numbers or views, l've just finally been able to articulate and be allowed to be the artist I've always wanted to be. And now that I'm older I have the confidence in myself to not care so much about what anyone thinks about it.
What can fans expect from you in the second half of 2025 - any surprises on the way?
I'm in my full spectrum mode right now so l rarely go to bed before 6am because I'm so excited about getting shit done. And now I'm not focused on anything but creating this world, and it feels like it's going in exactly the right way- everything seems to be falling into place... I mean touch wood. But i feel it's going to be a really fun year, I'm dropping lots of new music and we've got some live shows at the end of the year so who the fuck knows.