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Deaf model, actor and disability advocate Nyle DiMarco delivered an important message about accessibility in music this week with his unique reinterpretation of an Ariana Grande hit.
The “America’s Next Top Model” and “Dancing With The Stars” champ released his version of Grande’s “7 Rings” Monday. Directed by Jake Wilson, the video maintains the sexy, blinged-out vibe of Grande’s original ― albeit with a major twist: DiMarco translates the song’s lyrics into American Sign Language.
Grande tweeted her approval of DiMarco’s cover shortly after its release. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 269,000 times.
No stranger to the music scene, DiMarco had tweeted at Grande in November, asking her to make her “thank u, next” video accessible to the “466 million people with hearing loss” who would like to watch it, too.
“Deaf here and we do enjoy your music,” he added.
Grande appeared to acknowledge DiMarco’s request, and when “7 Rings” was released Jan. 18, fans could opt for closed captioned lyrics to appear onscreen.
The release of DiMarco’s “7 Rings” couldn’t be better timed as the song rockets to the top of the Billboard charts this week.
DiMarco, who grew up in an entirely deaf family, told HuffPost earlier this month that part of his mission as an artist is to make people who are deaf more visible in the media.
“I wanted to take the opportunity working with ‘America’s Next Top Model’ to really pave a new road,” he said.
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