Ava Valianti Finds Beauty in Memory on “Running on Empty”

It begins softly, with a voice that feels like it’s remembering rather than performing. “I once knew a girl, her name’s Mariama / We’d have sleepovers in purple pajamas.” From the very first lines of Ava Valianti’s “Running on Empty,”the listener is pulled into a world of bittersweet nostalgia, where childhood friends, first loves, and half-forgotten memories drift in and out of focus like fragments of a dream.

At just sixteen, Valianti writes with a depth that feels startlingly honest. The song, featured on her debut EP petunias, was written during a quiet night alone after her first shows in New York. You can hear that solitude in every note. It feels like a confession whispered into the dark, where the distance between past and present collapses into melody.

When she sings, “How do the people we love / become people we know / become people we forget / and we let go,” it doesn’t land like a polished hook. It feels like a realization spoken aloud for the first time, something universally felt but rarely articulated. Her voice moves gently through the lines, filled with both ache and clarity, as if she is learning what it means to outgrow people while still carrying them with her.

The production mirrors that sentiment perfectly. It is minimal and weightless, built on soft guitar tones, distant percussion, and atmospheric touches that let her words linger in the space they deserve. There is a cinematic warmth to the sound, but it never loses its intimacy. The result is a track that feels both personal and timeless, an emotional snapshot of a young artist realizing how memories can both haunt and heal.

By the final verse, when she admits, “I hope you don’t regret me / I’m running on empty,” the song feels quieter yet somehow heavier. It is no longer just about loss. It becomes about understanding that love, friendship, and memory often live on in silence.

With “Running on Empty,” Ava Valianti turns ordinary recollections into something haunting and deeply human. She does not reach for grandeur; she simply tells the truth, and that is what makes it resonate so deeply. It is a beautifully understated piece that reveals a songwriter with an extraordinary sense of empathy and emotional intelligence, one who knows how to make stillness sing.

Listen to “Running on Empty” and follow Ava Valianti on Bandcamp, Spotify, SoundCloud, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and visit her official website for more updates and upcoming releases.