Valentina (singer)

Valentina was born in Rennes,[13] the capital of Brittany, northwestern France,[14] and lives in Thorigné-Fouillard.[16] She has an older brother.[17] Her mother is an Italian-language teacher[18] and her father is a real estate agent.[19]

From her early childhood, Valentina was surrounded by music:[20] she said; "I grew up in a family where everyone sang: my mother [sang] in bars, my father [did] Michael Jackson impressions. ... Music has always been part of my life."[20]. She said she was probably two and a half when she sang her first song. Her mother sang her to sleep with Italian songs and the first songs Valentina sang were Italian.[19]

In 2016, Valentina took part in the fourth season of The Voice Kids France (2017) but she was rejected at the blind auditions stage.[3] Valentina was the show's youngest contestant that season,[21][22] she was seven when she applied for the show and when her blind audition was recorded,[3] and eight on 2 September of the following year when the show was broadcast.[3]

In 2018, Valentina joined the child musical group Kids United Nouvelle Génération, which is a "new generation" of the group Kids United.[23] According to Le Figaro, her offer of a place there was due to her appearance on The Voice Kids[24] but according to Valentina, she and her mother sent a video of Valentina singing Kids United songs in response to an Internet advertisement for a music project; they later discovered the advertisement was for Kids United Nouvelle Génération and that Valentina had been selected for the second round.[20])

As its youngest member,[25] Valentina has become a mascot for the group.[7] As of 2020, she has recorded two albums with the group; Au bout de nos rêves was released in August 2018 and L'Hymne de la vie in November 2019.[11]

Valentina's idol is Ariana Grande, whom she said is "very pretty" and "has a wonderful voice". Her favorite of Grande's songs is "Love Me Harder".[19] Valentina also likes the music of Celine Dion, that of French artists Maître Gims, Louane, Patrick Fiori, Dadju., and that of Breton artist Nolwenn Leroy, "whose voice I just love"[19] Apart from singing, Valentina also raps in French.[7] She also sings in Italian, in particular songs by her mother's favorite singer Laura Pausini.[7] At her blind audition for The Voice Kids France in 2016, Valentina also performed a Pausini song called "Tra te e il mare".[34]

• Valentina profile on the Junior Eurovision official website