New York-based singer-songwriter, actress, and pianist Alexa Valentino is raising awareness about Borderline Personality Disorder through her song “borderline,” which was released on March 30th. The song features raw, emotive lyrics and a soothing melody that drives home its message beautifully. We had the pleasure of interviewing Alexa Valentino, and here’s what she had to say:
Q: What inspired “borderline”?
VALENTINO: My experience with borderline personality disorder was what inspired me to make borderline. I wanted to write a song that really went into depth and explained how it feels, even the ugly parts.
Q: Could you walk us through the production process for “borderline”?
VALENTINO: I brought the song into the studio to my producer after I finished writing it and he agreed it was probably my deepest song. We started to brainstorm ideas for how we wanted to sound and build the music, and soon after recording all the vocals we needed.
Q: What effect do you hope this song will have on listeners?
VALENTINO: I just want people to know that the way they feel isn’t something to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. Whether they struggle with BPD or not, there are parts of this song I think almost anyone can relate to, and I don’t want them to think they’re the only person that feels that way, or that they should be guilty for those feelings.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve received regarding being a musician?
VALENTINO: I think the best advice I’ve ever received as a musician was not to compare yourself to people who are ahead of you. I would constantly beat myself down because the strides I was making weren’t the same as others who had been in this business years longer than I had and were much older than me. reminding myself that they were once in my position too and even scrolling back super far on social media or watching old videos to really see what that looked like helped me tremendously.
Q: What’s your favorite genre for creating songs? Which do you think allows you to express yourself in a way that most matches your personality?
VALENTINO: My favorite genre for creating music is easily any type of dark pop. it’s not the majority of my stuff, but once in a while I do explore that place and I love it every time I do. it’s just so fun once it gets to the production stage.
Q: What do you think is one of the biggest misconceptions about borderline personality disorder (BPD)?
VALENTINO: One of the biggest misconceptions of BPD is that the external factors are the worst part, but it’s really the internal. Yes there’s a lot of what we experience that other people can see and it’s awful, but the actual thoughts that go through our brain that never come out are usually ten times worse. that’s why I always say if someone you know or love has BPD, remind them you care for them. chances are they’ve questioned if you do or if anyone does a million times and the reassurance will go such a long way.
Interviewed by Zoey King
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