This version of a Carrie Underwood song may be even better than the original!
An 8-year-old girl who is deaf has earned raves for her performance signing along to Underwood’s song “The Champion,” which the country singer recorded with Ludacris.
Savannah Dahan from Frederick, Maryland, cites the Grammy-winning superstar as her favorite singer. In a heartwarming video, Savannah, who sometimes uses hearing aids, signs the lyrics while the music video plays in the background.
“She asked us to record her because she likes to see herself perform,” the girl's father, Richard Dahan, told TODAY.
Savannah's parents and her two siblings are also deaf.
“She was born with moderate/severe hearing loss,” Dahan said. “Because everyone is deaf in the family and uses ASL (American Sign Language) to communicate, she identifies herself as deaf. She uses hearing aids at times at school and home.”
That's why Savannah has to go through a different process than most to hear music.
“She first memorizes the lyrics and then learns to match the beats with those lyrics,” her father said. “That is how she is able to follow the song.”
Dahan says Savannah “loves to sign songs in the same way as other kids to sing,” and has been blown away by the response to the video.
“We were very surprised to see that both hearing and deaf people have responded positively,” he said. “Her performance has touched many people and many people have reached out to express how that song helped them.”
He added, “We hope the video will show the importance of early exposure to ASL and for the world to see kids with proper communication access at school and home can express themselves just as rich and beautiful as kids that can hear.”