LITTLE ROCK, Ark — A 12-year old Little Rock native is stepping into the music industry with her very first online hit inspired from her personal experience of peer pressure as a pre-teen.
Singer and songwriter Leilani Anjalila said it took 3-weeks to write, "You Survived," a song aimed at providing hope to those who have gone through hardships.
"I felt that I wasn't accepted in a lot of ways and I felt like I have to fit in so I did stuff that other people did," Leilani said. "It lead to a lot of other stuff. As I was writing the song, I started including it from different aspects like COVID, depression, and anxiety."
Her father and producer, Tracy Bell said seeing his daughter give in to peer pressure opened his eyes to her experience and the things she was going through in her own life.
"She was having her own life experiences and that kind of spun her to a place to where maybe she felt like she wasn't a part of, which led her to make other decisions. During that time she started to have emotional withdrawals and different things," Bell said.
Instead of spiraling downward, Leilani decided to turn a negative into a positive and wrote her very first song, which has since received good feedback.
Her father said that she's always had musical talent, so she brought the idea to her dad and asked him to produce the song.
"She couldn't write at four, but she would make up her own songs. I didn't know she was capable of doing this on this level until she took on this project and she asked me to produce it for her which has been amazing," Bell said.
Leilani said recording the song was nerve-racking at first until she got the hang of it, and now she's comfortable being in studios.
With lyrics most adults would think are beyond her years, Leilani sings throughout the song about problems that hinder pre-teens as well:
"Even though you've been hurting, feeling pain
You've been in a storm in the rain
You've been broken and shattered
Feeling defeated, nearly lost your mind.
But you survived"
The song encourages people to seek help if they need it and celebrates overcoming those obstacles.
The song resonates with those both in and out of Leilani's age-group.
In 2020, young adults ages between the ages of 15 and 24 had a suicide rate of 14.24% according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
In 2021, 35,000 Arkansans between the ages of 12 and 17 suffered from depression according to the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Although Leilani falls in to that age category, Bell said a lot of adults have related to the song and enjoy hearing the lyrics come from the young girl.
"It really is to let people know man, you survived, don't ever forget that. If you look at where you at now, you survived that. Keep going. Keep fighting," Bell said.
Leilani is homeschooled to dedicate the time to her new found craft. Following the song's release, she has a clearer view on her life and who she wants to be in the future.
"I was in the point in my life where I was like, I don't have to fit in with anything. I can just be myself. I just want to help people just in general," said Leilani.
For those who want to listen to Leilani's song, you can find 'You Survived' online here.