At just 17, Ava Valianti is quickly emerging as one of independent music’s most compelling young singer-songwriters, pairing emotionally incisive lyrics with an evolving sound that refuses to stay in one lane. From the introspective indie pop of her debut EP, petunias, to the louder, guitar-driven pop-rock of Sophomore Slump, Ava has built her music around the messy, funny, painful and exhilarating realities of growing up.

Now, she’s entering a new chapter with kismet, her third EP, which draws inspiration from jazz and R&B while keeping the imaginative storytelling and emotional honesty at the center of her songwriting. The project’s first single, “celebrity,” explored the intoxicating feeling of putting someone you love on a pedestal, flipping the idea of fame by casting the person outside the spotlight as the star. Her newest single, “acupuncture,” out October 9, takes on unrequited love from a more playful angle, capturing the mixed signals, misplaced optimism and blurry space between friendship and something more. Flirty, fun and self-aware, the song finds Ava knowing someone might not be right for her, and falling for them anyway.

That artistic growth has been matched by impressive independent momentum. Ava has earned more than 650,000 streams and airplay on 300+ radio stations worldwide, while receiving recognition from the Boston Music Awards, New England Music Awards, International Acoustic Music Awards and Unsigned Only Music Awards. She was also named First Runner-Up in American Songwriter’s Road Ready Talent Contest, where she performed live in the finals at Nashville’s legendary Basement East.

Onstage, Ava has built a reputation as a dynamic and emotionally engaging performer, appearing throughout New England, New York City, Nashville and Los Angeles, including a performance at the GRAMMY Museum. She has headlined her own shows and shared stages with nationally touring artists, bringing the same vulnerability and personality that define her songwriting into her live performances.

With three EPs charting a creative evolution before she’s even finished high school, Ava is less interested in settling into a genre than in following wherever the songs take her. kismet marks her most adventurous chapter yet: warmer, jazzier and more playful, but still unmistakably Ava – honest, observant and unafraid to find humor in the complicated parts of growing up.