Blind woman with autism singing 'Part of Your World' for Pride Month has us speechless
Grab your tissues because this rendition of "Part of Your World" is unlike any other.
A 24-year-old blind woman with autism stunned a crowd at her local church in Massachusetts when she sang a special song in honor of LGBT Pride Month.
Lavender Darcangelo sang "Part of Your World" from Disney's "The Little Mermaid" for an LGBT cabaret performance at the First Parish Church in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
A video of Darcangelo's performance was posted on Twitter by former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford who was honored at the event, and it already has over 537,000 views.
Darcangelo's performance was met with tears and rounds of applause in the audience, including from her own two gay adoptive fathers who were cheering her on in the audience.
'Part of Your World'
Darcangelo shared that she chose to sing "Part of Your World" because she resonated with the song's meaning in many ways.
"I felt like I was lonely in my life because I have multiple disabilities in my life being blind and autistic," she told "GMA."
"Sometimes having more than one disability can make you feel like you have a foot in all these different worlds, but you don't feel like you have a home in them completely."
Darcangelo shared that she could sing before she could talk, and growing up, it helped her persevere through challenges in her life.
"Sometimes having more than one disability can make you feel like you have a foot in all these different worlds."
"When I was alone at night in my room, I would daydream about singing on TV," she said. "[These daydreams] were like a coping mechanism, I guess, and I just loved doing it."
Finding a home
Darcangelo connected with the character of Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" after seeing a live musical of the Disney movie with her two adoptive fathers Jamie and Wil Darcangelo, in April 2019.
"I felt like I could relate to the girl because she's living in this box of this mermaid but she wants to live with the humans, so you feel marginalized in your home," she said.
Lavender asked Jamie and Wil Darcangelo to legally adopt her as their daughter in 2015 when she was 19.
Wil met her as her singing coach at Fitchburg High School's Tribe Music Mentorship Project and they immediately felt a special connection.
"I knew that a singing career was the only option for her to be happy and have a happy career.” Wil shared with "GMA."
Within a month of knowing each other, Lavender asked Wil if he could adopt her as his daughter.
"Even though I wasn't planning on becoming her adopted dad, I knew I had a duty to be her mentor always."
"They've taught me unconditional love and that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel," Lavender said.
Her father Jamie shared how it feels really "special" to have a daughter as a gay man.
"When I was coming up, I didn't even think I'd ever be able to get married and now to be able to have someone in my life who I'm responsible for, who counts on me, is really awesome," he said.
"When I was alone at night in my room, I would daydream about singing on TV."
'This is what I'm meant to be doing'
Lavender said she does "not have words" to describe how she feels after the responses she has received about her performance.
"These were the daydreams that I had when I was lonely and sad in my room at night," she said.
"I feel like it's such a miracle that things that were in my head came to be me reality."
She feels as though she has "fulfilled her purpose," which is to help others who might face challenges similar to her own.
"What if there's somebody else out there like me and I could be breaking down walls that I don't even know about?" Lavender said.
"This is what I was meant to be doing."
