Cameryn Dixon

Deaf Performer, Justina Miller, has made her mark by stealing the show during Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance.

Miller appeared on “CBS Mornings” for her first interview since the Super Bowl LVII. She explained how she was able to hear the songs performed while still being identified as deaf. Miller has been seeing an audiologist and has taken many tests to see how well she can hear. 

Audiologists have come up with different levels to determine a person’s deafness so that they may assess each person correctly, according to Justina Miller. So, if you are over 30% or 40%, and can slightly hear, an audiologists will still consider you as deaf. 

As the interview went on, Ms. Miller introduced herself as a nursing student at Bowie University in Maryland, but her dream job is to be a performer. She told “CBS Morning” Co-host, Gayle King, that she loves to dance, and dancing is something that her whole family is into. One of her goals with nursing is to pave the way for deaf people to become nurses and help deaf people when they go into hospital, so they may have assistance.

Miller spoke how far in advance they go into to preparing for such huge performances. She received the set list five days before the show, and she became nervous. She overcame her nervousness by memorizing the song and beats and looking at the lyrics and doublechecking to make sure that her signing match up with the correct translation.

The performers would rehearse months in advance, but Ms. Miller rehearsed in a week with the full cast and was still able to give a performance of a lifetime.

However, even though she was the ASL performer for Rihanna Halftime performance and had practiced with the cast, she did not get to meet with the celebrity herself but received a DM from the performer congratulating her. “She was like black queen yes, you’re amazing, we are BFFs in my head—oh, you were amazing. I was glad we killed it “according to CBS Mornings.

In the interview Ms. Miller, described the way she used her interpretation during a performance. Miller went on to say, “I am trying to show her art through how I feel, through her songs, how the artists is herself since she is a visual performer, so she tries to be the same.” Since this was a huge opportunity for the deaf community, she made sure she was well equipped to give the audience exactly what they needed.