Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Valerie Ponzio, a Season 12 standout on The Voice, has released her post-show debut single.

Now she’s back with her post-show debut single, a country song called “Love Me When You’re Lonely.”

Valerie told Voice Views she selected it for release because “I wanted people to see the raw honest side of me.”

“When you’re on The Voice, you can’t help but to bare your soul. I did that with the Johnny Cash song and I wanted to do that now with ‘Love Me When You’re Lonely.’

“I am also passionate about female empowerment and I feel that as women we have pressure to look like everything is okay and to appear that we have control in our relationships.

“But when we’re not valued in our relationships, we need to draw upon moments of strength and empowerment by calling out the person that’s not valuing you.”

Valerie, 32 when she auditioned for Season 12, wound up being a surprise cut in the battle round, but then relocated from El Paso to Nashville where she’s accentuating the fact that she’s one of the few Latinos in country music.

She says she’s been “writing, writing, writing” since the move and adds that “her “Latina bordertown roots” will be more on display in the next single she plans to release.

“Love Me When You’re Lonely” was co-written by Justin Ebach, who also co-wrote the Brett Young country smash “Sleep Without You.”

Valerie says a video for the song will be released soon. In the meantime, she’s preparing for an Oct. 14 date at the Wild West Fest back home in El Paso, where she’ll be opening for country star Jake Owen.

“Nashville has been very receptive to hearing my story and my Mexican roots,” Valerie says. “I’ve been performing tons of shows all over (since The Voice) and I’ve really connected with my hometown. It’s been so supportive and I’ve been busier than ever.”

You can keep up with Valerie through her Facebook page and website. On Twitter, she’s simply @valerieponzio. ‏

Here’s “Love Me When You’re Lonely.”