Deaf Performer Justina Miles Goes Viral After SuperBowl
Rihanna's Sign Language performer goes viral with incredible performance during Super Bowl show. Check out our video for more details!
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. Surprisingly 3 Deaf people were part of the programme as well! Hearing interpreters? No they were Deaf people! Let me tell you. Oscar award winner Troy Kotsur, who provided the ASL performance of the national anthem, and Colin Denny, performed the song “America the Beautiful” through a blend of ASL and North American Indian Sign Language!
Justina Miles is just 20 years old. She signed the pre-show’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” sung by Emmy-award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. It is known as the Black national anthem. Justina became the first deaf female to perform during the superbowl halftime. She performed Singer Rihanna’s performance in ASL! During the halftime show, Miles delivered a high-energy performance running through 13 minutes of Rihanna’s biggest career hits. Miles said, ‘I am very honored to be part of the event. It’s an important moment not only for me to share this experience with the whole world but to really bring that empowerment to millions and millions of Black deaf people all over the country who’ve never really seen that before. I value the opportunity to make it possible for all deaf people to enjoy these songs, and not have them miss out on the full Super Bowl experience.”
Miles went viral in 2020 after her version of the TikTok #crushonyouchallenge was shared widely across social media. In the video, Miles signs a verse and pays homage to rapper Lil’ Kim’s colorful 1997 “Crush on You” music video. Miles is from Philadelphia and is current nursing student at HBCU Bowie State University. She is hard of hearing. Her mom is deaf, and her family is mixed with hearing people. Miles was also part of the USA team that went to the 2021-22 Deaflympics in Brazil and won a silver medal as part of the 4x100 women’s track relay team. Miles hopes her performance will inspire others to “not to let any obstacles prevent you from achieving your dreams, and to always believe in yourself to go beyond.” Country music star Garth Brooks sings the National Anthem with American sigh language translation preformed by actress Marlee Matlin on January 31, 1993 in California.
