Since being catapulted into the spotlight by her show stopping turn on The Voice, Valerie Ponzio has made it her mission to shatter every precedent set for Latin artists in the world of country music. Hailing from El Paso, Texas, Valerie has become a pioneer for a new wave of inclusivity in Nashville. As part of the inaugural class of CMT and mtheory’s Equal Access program, she set her sights high and has both the voice and songwriting chops to stay her course. Her song “Desert Rain” has yielded 12M TikTok views and over 1.5M streams, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine called her “the most well-rounded singer…that I think I've ever heard”, and Rolling Stone has enthusiastically praised her as “Channeling Dolly Parton and Janis Joplin.” Dedicated to blending Latin sounds with country music’s traditions, backed up by indomitable vocals, Ponzio is that rarest of things: something brand new in Music City.