Bella Valdes is one of those mutli-hyphenates who truly does it all, and summer 2026 is proving to be her most notable season yet.
The rising singer-songwriter, dancer and actress recently graduated from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has been hard at work on multiple fronts. She appears in Ryan Murphy’s buzzy new FX series, The Shards, as Corazón “Cha Cha” Rodriguez, stepping in ’80s teen intrigue, and also recently dropped a new short film Shuga Mango, which premiered at Greenpoint Film Festival.
It’s also an exciting time for the star musically. Over the weekend, she released the music video for her fan-favorite 2024 single “Playing Pretend” featuring Aleksei Laziç ahead of an upcoming EP release.
There couldn’t be a better time to get to know the star, and we got the chance to learn all about the different aspects of her talents in the interview below.
Sweety High: When did you discover your passion for acting? Was there any specific a-ha moment that made you realize it was the path for you?
Bella Valdes: As far back as I can remember, I recall watching movies/shows and reciting lines back to the TV. I admired the actors I’d see. I wanted to be them.
I don’t know if I ever had an “a-ha moment”; this has always just been inside of me, a part of me. I can’t describe it. I’m a performer through and through; audience or not, the world is a stage.
(Photo credit: Annabella Iurman)
Also read about: Jade LeMac on Bringing 4 Songs to Season 3 of My Life With the Walter Boys and the Longevity of ‘Constellations’
SH: What can you tell us about The Shards? What’s it about, and where does your character fit into things?
BV: It is a tantalizing drama based on the acclaimed bestselling novel by Bret Easton Ellis. It is a murder mystery filled with lust, scandal and danger.
It is a show that keeps you on the edge of your seat week to week. I can’t say much, so you will have to tune in to see.
SH: What is your character like? How would you say you’re similar to her, and how would you say you’re most different?
BV: All I can say is this was a dream role. When I read the character description, I knew this was the role I was meant to play, and I got to do one of my favorite things in it. We are both vivacious go-getters, though we have different ways of pursuing what we want.
SH: What was your most memorable moment on the set? Did you have any favorite interactions with the cast?
BV: To be honest, every day was memorable. I couldn’t believe that a year before, I was in class, daydreaming about this moment.
It was really cool working with actors I have always looked up to and admired. I learned so much about giving variety and nuance in every take. I do not take any of it for granted.
SH: Tell us about Shuga Mango. What’s the story there, and why did it resonate with you?
BV: Shuga Mango follows two best friends as they spend their last day of youth together.
This story really resonated with me, reminding me of my last days at home before moving away to college. It was especially nostalgic because my costar is my best friend in real life.
SH: You’re also launching your music career with “Playing Pretend.” What does the song mean to you, and what do you hope it will mean to your listeners?
BV: I’ve put out a few songs in 2024, all with fellow friends as my collaborators. My good friend and producer, Aleksei Laziç, heard my voice through a few of those songs, “Rather Be Lonely” and “Burnouts”, accentuating the “Beltress” aspects of my instrument. He wrote “Playing Pretend” and asked me to sing it, a first for me since I usually write my own lyrics.
It was really fun being able to sing someone else’s song because I got to find my own emotionality in another artist’s lyrics. To me, playing pretend is about finding yourself through the fantasies your mind creates, whether that be in your love, your dreams, your aspirations or yourself.
(Photo credit: Anna Iurman)
SH: What inspired the visual direction of the music video? Can you share more on the process?
BV: Nearly two years after our release of “Playing Pretend,” my choreographer and creative partner in crime, Marion Skye Brooke Valdes, reminded me how much we love music videos. After talking to a few of my friends, I found that many of them feel music videos are a lost art form among Generation Z and aren’t given the love they deserve. That inspired us to create something in which dance could truly be the heart of the story.
We leaned into innocence, pink, glitter, dance and womanhood.
The video follows a young girl as she transitions from dreaming of becoming like the stars she admires to becoming a star in her own right. It’s about moving from innocence into confidence and sensuality, under the disguise of pink and glitter.
The choreography was inspired by Flashdance and A Chorus Line, two eras I feel my soul was a part of. We rehearsed at my home dance studio, Dance Empire of Miami, where we also filmed the dance sequences.
We wanted to show both the grit of rehearsal and the poise of performance, which you can see alternate throughout the video.
The overall question of the video surrounds the play on words “playing pretend”, a question young artists must ask themselves when giving it their all. Do I want to be in this industry to “play pretend” to reach heights as an artist? For fame? For the pleasures of what Hollywood can bring? Or for the passion?
I think that’s what makes “Playing Pretend” special to me. It highlights all the nuances of the obsession with the entertainment industry at large, and the complexities of finding your place in it as a woman. You’ll notice I wear a pink wig as I evolve into that woman, but when I’m dancing, it’s really me. I’m stripped down to the sweat, the wild hair, and the passion.
We made the video on a very low budget, but it was truly a product of love, and I’m grateful my circle came together to make it happen.
SH: What’s your favorite lyric from the song? Why?
BV: “It never ends, all this pain I took so lovingly”
In many ways, this song will, on the surface, be interpreted as a house pop song about heartbreak from a lover, but when you take it in the context of the pain you endure as an artist for the sake of your love for this thing we do, it hits so differently. The sweat, the blood, the tears, the sleepless nights, hopes, crushed dreams and achieved ones.
I’ve been so hurt over my passions, but I’d do it all over again because I love it so much.
Also read about: Larissa Campos on Her Journey as an Actress and Appearing in Hulu’s Furious
SH: Is there anything else we should know about the track?
BV: It’s Aleksei’s debut track and my debut house pop track. House is a genre I never dipped my toes into before, but it allowed me to dive into pop music and understand that it goes so much deeper than it seems.
My idol, Lady Gaga, taught me the importance of pop music, and I always look to her as a reference when I think about how we can evoke real thoughts in an audience through dance. Through song, performance, costuming, and thought-conceptual imagery, the possibilities are limitless.
SH: What can we expect from you next musically?
BV: More. I want to make your ears itch in a good way, singing deep from the earth. After my EP, I’m releasing a music video for a cover I released in 2025, “La Tirana” by LA LUPE. I’m excited to make more videos and more music that make me proud of my voice and of being alive. More songs with layers that remind me of different aspects of the world we live in and allow me to imagine a bigger world.
I’m also releasing a rendition of “What a Feeling” with my own lyrics, called “Can you feel it?” Riding the ’80s wave I’ve been on with FX’s The Shards, I wanted to explore more ’80s styles while continuing to dive into rock pop, possibly incorporating synths.
(Photo credit: Anna Iurman)
SH: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
BV: I’m really grateful for this opportunity on Sweety High, and I can’t wait for you to hear my EP and watch me on The Shards!
Spread love, be kind to one another. Amen, thanks be to God!
For more on the actors who’ve been catching our attention, click HERE to read our interview with Jaylan Evans on playing Skylar in My Life With the Walter Boys.
