Cat felt a strange mix of excitement and nerves as she sat in the Radius Records office, pen in hand, staring at the contract. Jason had gone over every detail with her, and even Jade had given her cautious approval. But there was still a thrill—and a little fear—in the idea of committing herself to something this big. She took a deep breath, then signed her full name: Caterina Hannah Valentine.
After that, things moved quickly. She was whisked into a meeting room where a handful of smiling executives and a PR agent sat, ready to start shaping her into a public figure. They welcomed her enthusiastically, offering her a seat and diving right into their plans.
"Alright, Caterina," one of the PR team members began, addressing her by her full name. "So, we'll need to work on a few things before we officially start rolling out your image. First, let's talk about your story."
"My story?" Cat tilted her head, feeling a bit like a character in a movie script.
"Yes, yes—your background, what makes you 'you,'" the PR agent said, nodding eagerly. "And, of course, your love life."
"Oh! Well, I live with my girlfriend, Jade," Cat said brightly, smiling at the thought of her.
The PR team's smiles faltered slightly. One of them quickly spoke up, covering with an easygoing laugh. "Oh, well, you know, Caterina, we want to keep a bit of mystery around you. Let's try to keep things neutral in interviews and public appearances. It's better if you seem… single. You know, for fan engagement."
Cat's face fell slightly, but she nodded, not wanting to rock the boat. "Oh. I get it, I guess."
"What about your family life? Any siblings, any connections to anywhere outside of LA?" Another lady spoke up.
"Oh I have a brother," She said, not wanting to pry to far with it in a room full of strangers. "He lives with my parents in Idaho. And connections? Uh." She flattered. "My Nonna and Nonno were born in Italy so I'm like, half Italian? I think - or quarter?" She trailed off, trying to work out exact percentages.
They moved on, discussing her social media presence. "This will all start moving pretty fast" One explained, "because you're jumping into Alessia's place, who was months further into the brand cycle, so we're currently just playing catch up."
The team was thrilled that she'd un-privated her pages and posted a few covers on them. They pulled up her Instagram and TheSlap profiles, which, seemingly overnight, had started growing slowly with new followers and comments.
"Alright, so as you can see, you've already gained some traction. And that's just the beginning," said the PR manager as they scrolled through Cat's profile, showing her posts flooded with likes and comments. "We'll be working closely with you to develop a posting schedule."
Another team member showed her a page from Alessia's profile. Her posts were immaculate, every photo artfully styled, every caption carefully worded. "We'll do something similar with you, to build a consistent look," they explained.
Cat noticed Alessia's most recent post seemed strangely quiet, with very few likes and comments. "How come that last post isn't popular?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.
The PR manager nodded knowingly. "Well, that's what happens if we pull out on the marketing support."
"So… none of those views and likes were real people?" she asked, feeling a little strange about it.
"Oh, they're real people," he reassured her, smiling. "It's just that we direct people to the content we want them to see. Like how you followed her, her account was encouraged onto your feed by us. With time, of course, profiles generate views completely organically. But Alessia wasn't quite there yet."
"Oh. Got it," she replied, but a little pang of doubt lingered in the back of her mind. Still, she pushed it aside.
"Now, about your branding," one of the team members said, refocusing her. "We love your cheerful energy and your unique style—it's happy, cute, but also a little edgy. So, we're thinking of using that contrast."
The team started brainstorming stage names, tossing around ideas and testing how they sounded. 'Cat' was too plain, 'Cat Valentine' could work but would maybe narrow her branding a little too much towards the February holiday. Even a few completely random names were thrown into the mix. Finally, they settled plainly on "Caterina."
"It's unique but memorable, makes you sound exotic and it has just the right amount of flair," they explained. "Caterina. It captures all of that fun, edgy energy without being too cutesy."
Cat nodded, rolling the name around in her mind. 'Caterina.' No one ever called her that, but could get used to it. Maybe it would be fun to play around as Caterina, keeping her music away from her personal life as Cat.
"Alright, Caterina, now let's talk about your public presence and media training. This isn't just about the music—it's about how people will see you. Fans need to feel connected to you, but also intrigued."
Cat blinked, feeling a little overwhelmed. "Okay, so… what do I do?"
One of the team members smiled, her expression encouraging. "We're here to help. Just remember, we want people to feel like they know you without really knowing you. So, in interviews, talk about the basics—what inspires you, your love for music—but keep things light on personal specifics, especially when it comes to your relationships."
Cat nodded, though part of her felt strange about it. She was so used to being open, especially around her friends. But she reminded herself that this was a different world.
"Now, we'll work on prepping you for all the typical media questions," another team member jumped in. "They'll want to know about your influences, your style, your goals. We can draft responses and practice until you're comfortable."
They launched into a quick role-play, firing off sample questions and guiding Cat through answers that sounded polished yet genuine. Cat was a little hesitant at first, but the more they practiced, the easier it started to feel. It felt like one of Sikowitz' acting challenges, just a lot less wacky.
After a while, one of the team members opened up a polished-looking document on her laptop. "This is your preliminary posting plan for social media. These are some ideas for captions, themes, and regular types of posts."
She handed Cat a printout with colourful thumbnails and notes for different posts: some selfies with playful captions, snapshots of her life that felt candid but were carefully staged, little video clips to tease her music.
Cat skimmed the plan, nodding along. "So… this will be me?"
The PR agent chuckled. "Yes. the enhanced you. It's all authentic; we're just helping present it in a way that catches people's attention." She gestured to Alessia's page on the screen. "Take a look here. Alessia's profile went from a few thousand followers to hundreds of thousands in a few months. With the right strategy, people were drawn to her."
Cat's eyes lingered on Alessia's posts, the way each photo seemed to glimmer with the perfect lighting, the engagement numbers high on each post—except for the last one.
"Remember," the agent said softly, noticing her gaze, "it's about building that initial momentum. After that, fans stay engaged on their own. It's just that… Alessia's didn't quite reach that point before she left."
"Right," Cat murmured, feeling a mix of intrigue and nervousness. It was like a world of smoke and mirrors—real but somehow not quite.
One of the marketing execs broke the silence with a grin. "Enough about the technicals! We're also going to have some fun, Caterina. Photoshoots, public performances, behind the scenes of you in the studio, and when fan's come- interaction with them. Things that'll show off your energy; and make people see that they're catching on early with the next big hitter in Pop. Your happiness and vibe are what we want to amplify about you."
A little spark of excitement finally broke through her doubts. She loved the idea of reaching people, of putting out something that made people smile. And now, she could do it on a grand scale.
"Okay," Cat said with a small smile, giving them all a nod. "Let's do it."