With the number 2274 hanging from her neck, Valentina Pergolini made her television debut at the in-person casting of Popstars. The 20-year-old chose “...Baby One More Time,” the hit by Britney Spears, for her a cappella audition of just 30 seconds and managed to convince the judges.
The singing reality show that returned to the Telefe screen gathered around 3,000 hopefuls at the Mary Terán de Weiss Stadium in Parque Roca, after six months of virtual selection. Among the thousands of participants seeking a spot in the competition, the youngest daughter of Mario Pergolini and psychologist Dolores Galán made the cut.
The announcement came when host Nicolás Vázquez read the numbers of those who were still in the running. Among them was 2274. Valentina did not mention her last name during the presentation and focused entirely on her artistic side.
Before taking the stage, she spoke to the cameras while waiting for her turn. “I feel like there’s a lot of good energy here. A lot of girls came for the same reason and I’m super happy,” she said. Choosing the Britney song was enough to move forward.
A unique path in the performing arts
Although she is known for being Mario Pergolini's daughter, Valentina has been building her career for years. Her first professional job in the commercial circuit was in Despertar de Primavera, the musical directed by Fernando Dente that was presented at the Teatro Ópera.
In the play, based on Frank Wedekind's text, she played Anna. The production addresses themes of adolescence, sexuality, abortion, and domestic violence in 19th century Germany. Valentina had said she had known about the project for a long time and had always wanted to be part of it.
When the call for auditions opened, she applied for the open auditions and went through all the stages until she got the role. “The truth is that I’m fulfilling a dream and I can’t believe it happened this way,” she expressed at that time.
In addition to acting, she is studying for a degree in Performing Arts. Before fully dedicating herself to acting, she participated in the production of projects like Rent and El Principito, also linked to Fernando Dente's work. “It will always be related to all of this. If it’s not being on stage, it’s on the production side,” she explained about her connection to the artistic world.
Family support and the search for independence
During the audition process for Despertar de Primavera, Mario Pergolini supported his daughter from a personal place. When she was advancing but still did not have definitive confirmation, he gave her advice that helped her navigate the uncertainty: “From here on, it doesn’t matter if you keep moving forward, you have to be proud of how far you’ve come.”
When she finally got the role and her father saw her on stage, Pergolini was emotional. Now, with Popstars, Valentina faces a selection process again where she must demonstrate her skills as a singer and artist.
The media exposure of her father was also a topic she addressed. According to her, her family maintained a low profile regarding her personal and artistic life for years. “My family has always been very low profile, so nothing was known about me until now, so I have a lot of freedom to create my own path.”
At 20 years old, with training in performing arts and experience both on and off stage, Valentina Pergolini passed her first test in the reality show. Her choice of Britney Spears, the brief a cappella audition, and the number 2274 were her introduction. Now she must navigate the upcoming stages to try to become one of the new members of the Popstars generation.
