A Vocal Accord: Alyssa Del-Valle: Never Giving Up

The gift of hearing is one many of us take for granted. However, for vocal artists such as Alyssa Del-Valle, hearing is essential to what they do; it drives their passion and their futures in this industry. At a young age, Alyssa had a passion for singing; however, she faced a medical issue, which almost took from her the ability to hear. This condition discouraged Alyssa from following her dream, and made her shy about singing in front of people. It was not until high school that Alyssa regained her confidence in singing through the help of one of her friends, Janelle.

Currently, Alyssa attends Manhattanville College as a Communications major and music minor. She says that her interest in communications stemmed from her love of music. “It is open and diverse…” she describes, “and I can mix it with music.”

Young and ambitious, this 19 year old from the Bronx has experienced first hand how competitive the industry can be. At the age of 16, Alyssa went to Nashville, Tennessee to audition for the reality show American Idol. However, after countless hours on line and one audition with the show’s producers she was not moved to the next phase in the competition. This didn’t slow her down though, since then Ally Dee, as her friends call her, has only improved vocally and gained more and more confidence in herself.

Alyssa loves the music of artists such as Bruno Mars, Christina Aguilera, David Archuleta, and Jessie J just to name a few and admires all of these artists for their hard work, dedication, and love of music. She considers her own voice to be a blend of Tori Kelly, Bruno Mars and Jessie J, “It’s like a pop, soul, jazzy, rock blend” she says, and there is no doubt about that when listening to her lovely voice.

We spoke of what her potential album name would be and although she was not one hundred percent sure, she mentioned she might want to name is Deaf Sonata. After coming so close to losing her hearing, the first song she learned how to play on the piano was Sonata. And so, the name Deaf Sonata would be relevant to the start of her beautiful journey back toward what she truly loves: music.

Her mom and dad have always been huge inspirations for Ally and she says that if she were to make it big there are a few things that she would do with her money before anything else. She says she would give everything to her mom, make sure her bills were paid and that her mom is able to go on a nice vacation, “I really want to make her happy.” She said. Also, Alyssa plans to choose an existing children’s organization to donate to and actively participate in as a way of giving back.

Motivation is key in an industry like this, and Ally says that she is always doing things to remind herself to keep her dream alive. She is currently taking classes at her college that involve music, “…it’s a part of me” she says. No matter what she does she always has time for her music. “I don’t have to make time for music, music is just always there,” she describes.

Alyssa has assured me that she will always work hard at what she loves, and wants to spread the love though her music. She has come to appreciate the gift of sound so much more after coming so close to losing her hearing, and wants to let other people her age know to never give up on what they truly love because you never know what could happen.