COLDWATER, Mich. — It's all about overcoming personal struggles, and for one West Michigan teen, she's proving that no one can underestimate her.
Aleyah Deller grew up blind, and while her life may look different to some, she is proving that nothing can stand in the way of reaching her dreams through her new song "Underestimated."
"Blind is a gift, not a handicap," said singer and songwriter Aleyah Deller, who was born blind. "I was born with bilateral anophthalmia. It is a general absence of the eye. My eyes were not developed. I am completely blind," she said.
The Coldwater teen grew up loving music and fell even more in love with it during the pandemic.
Her mom's boyfriend, an artist himself, said she is a natural and helped her start her songwriting journey.
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"We threw on a beat. We sat there. We put on the first beat, and she just started going. I said, ‘Hold on, wait a second. Come in front of the mic. Let’s do it again.’ We did it a couple times, and it was just amazing," said Aleyah's mom's boyfriend Adrian Dillard.
Aleyah, who also goes by "F-Low," freestyled everything, creating the song called "Underestimated" from the heart.
"It’s basically about me wanting to show people things that people don’t think I can do. Basically I wanted to tell people that ‘You’ve got me underestimated. I can do a lot of things that you don’t think I can do,’" said Aleyah Deller.
Aleyah's younger sister said her song is inspiring and hopes others can see Aleyah the way she does.
"She is funny. She is very funny. She is kind, smart, brave. She is very productive. She can do a lot of things. People just don’t think she can," said Aleyah's sister Bailee Deller.
It's a big message for a 14-year-old to understand, and her mom said the response has been incredible.
In just the first day, the video had 700 shares and tons of positive messages.
"Proud, beyond proud. It is such a powerful, strong message that we wanted to put a video behind it. We all sat down and talked about the inspiration that it could have for other people," said Aleyah's mom, Bridget Voyce.
"I do want to be an inspiration, and I want to have power. It’s not necessarily to use it in a bad way but to use it in a way where I could inspire so many people," said Aleyah Deller.
Aleyah Deller said she is currently working on a few more songs but doesn't have a date on when she expects to release them.
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