Not just another pretty voice, although her independently released album "My Girlfriends Quilt" was enough to land her a recording contract as the debut artist on Relentless/Nashville Records (a division of Madacy Entertainment), Valerie DeLaCruz's real talent lies in her songwriting. Performing her own music as early as age 15, when she opened for Johnny Rivers, Valerie's musical path included solo acoustic presentations, acoustic harmony acts, a top 40 lounge band, jazz combos, a funk-r&b band and a country rock band. Today Valerie has come back full circle to her acoustic roots, writing and recording original songs. She cites songwriters Beth Nielsen-Chapman, Kim Richey, Angela Kaset and Hal Ketchum as current influences. She's been compared to Linda Rondstadt, Trisha Yearwood and even Cher with her sultry alto voice. Her stage-saavy performances have delighted audiences from Disney World to the Bluebird Café as she delivers her sassy tunes. She's won numerous songwriting awards including First Prize in the USA Songwriting Competition, Country Category, 1997 and 1998 Songwriter of the Year from the Northeast CMA, and 1999's First Prize in the Great American Song Contest (Country). She is a mentor for Just Plain Folks.com, the world's largest songwriting organization. Valerie has performed in the Lilith Fair Talent Showcase, WGNA's CountryFest featuring Martina McBride, the John Lennon Songwriting Bus and has done a mini Wal-Mart Tour. She's produced the All Girl Music Revue, featuring regional female singer-songwriters. After three independent CD releases, her Relentless Nashville release, "They'll Never Know" featured the single and video for "Hey! That's My Kiss," which was praised by Billboard Magazine and CMT Magazine.