Victoria Qu Liying’s Original Single “I Have A Friend” from “Cross-Voice” Released Online Worldwide on International Sign Language Day

Some songs are meant to be heard with your eyes.

Sixteen-year-old Victoria Qu Liying decides how the visuals breathe. In the forest, the vibrations of the guitar radiate from the body of the instrument, while her fingers trace distinct shapes in the air—sign language.

From melody to light and shadow, from lyrics and music to storyboarding, this is a cross-sensory work she has crafted entirely on her own.

This past April, at Columbia University’s #FeelTheMusic concert, she was the only hearing high school student invited. When her voice and the sign language of artists from the American School for the Deaf (ASD) met on the same note, she realized this was not just about “listening” to a performance—she also “saw” the music and “witnessed” the connection.

“I Have A Friend” is taken from Victoria Qu’s original musical *Rhythm*. It’s about friendship, but it goes beyond that: it explores the silent wall between the deaf and the hearing, as well as a long-misunderstood fact—that sign language is never merely a supplement to spoken language; it is an independent visual language with its own complete grammar and poetry. What she does is not translation, but rather allowing the two languages to shine together in harmony.