WF BLOG
Bethesda’s AIDEN ADAMS
Smashes YouTube with Music Video ‘For Elise’
A day in the life of a 7-year-old
child might include playing sports,
attending school and hanging out
with family and friends.

For Aiden Adams, his time also includes
performing in music videos.

His song “For Elise”—an ode to his best
friend—is a rock rendition of Beethoven’s
“Für Elise.” The video was released on
YouTube Sept. 4. Nearly a month later, it
has more than 60,000 views. His YouTube
channel has more than 8,000 subscribers.

The song is also available on iTunes.

“This song is only for Elise./She holds the
keys/To love and peace/For Elise,” Aiden
shares through his song.

The Montgomery Virtual Academy student
lives in Bethesda with his parents and three
siblings. Except for the guitar solo, Aiden
arranged the song and wrote the lyrics.

The choice of music came naturally. When
he thought of the name Elise, the Beethoven
composition just popped into his head, he says.

In the video, sweeping aerial shots show
Aiden’s shoulder-length hair flopping
as he runs through a tree-lined field.

The camera zooms in to show him plucking
petals off a red rose and reclining in a velvet
turquoise armchair.

“We were going for this really kind of
glam rock ‘n’ roll look,” says Aiden’s father,
Neal Adams.

But he was quick to point out that many of
the creative ideas were his son’s suggestions.

“He came up with a lot of the ideas on his
own,” Adams says. “He said, ‘I want to be in
this big field, and I want a pond nearby.’”
So they drove an hour and a half at 5 a.m. to
Wolftrap Farm, in Gordonsville, Virginia, and
Aiden’s older brother edited footage that his
friend filmed on a drone, along with close-ups
from Adams’ phone.

“I felt very happy,” Aiden says about the
video’s popularity online—although this
experience is hardly the first time the 7-year-
old has found fame.

His website, aidenbooks.com, shows
14 Washington FAMILY NOVEMBER 2021
numerous video projects online—from
mashups to fun challenges—and he has
written five books. He even has fans. (A Miss
Susan from his neighborhood brought him
Legos because she liked his videos.)
Aiden wrote his first book about a search
for sheep in New York City when he was only
4 years old. Adams illustrated most of the
books, which are self-published on Amazon.

“Finally, it became real and I was so
amazed,” Aiden says. “I like imagination, and
I like stories.”
Adams says Aiden has always been keyed
into his imagination.

“Even at the age of 2, he would sit with me
at my desk, and I would have my papers that
I worked on, and he wanted his own set of
papers,” he says.

Most of Aiden’s stories have an underlying
message or lesson—something very
important to him. His first music video—
released in March—was a song called “I Love
You Earth,” which featured a message about
caring for the planet.

“It’s important to send messages to the
world that help the Earth and everyone on
Earth,” Aiden says. “My books also do that
same thing. So that’s my goal.”
In fact, Aiden has a lot of goals in life. “I also
want to be (an) actor. And also a doctor. And
also a president. And a rock star,” he says. But
Adams says no matter what they are, Aiden’s
family will be there to support him.

“We’re just letting him be a kid and do
what he enjoys,” he says. “My main goal
is to encourage him and help him achieve
his goals.”
“And before they had kids, they were
achieving their goals!” Aiden says of his parents.

Currently, Aiden’s goals include releasing
more books (his next book, “Buttons,” is out
this October) and starting a band. Once he
has eight songs under his belt, Aiden says he’ll
perform them with others—including with
Elise, who plays piano.

“We’re really proud of him,” Adams says.

“He works very hard.” n
PROVIDED PHOTOS/NEAL ADAMS
BY LINDSAY C. VANASDALAN



FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS can be complicated. Families that
come together through foster care, guardianship and adoption often
experience added layers of complexity. One constant for all these
families is the experience of loss. For some children and their
parents and caregivers, these losses loom large, creating
significant challenges. Families often fail to understand
the significance of these losses and struggle to
cope with and respond effectively to the unique
experiences of grief, which can lead to difficulties
in the household.

Some losses are more ambiguous than others and
lack the finality that is necessary for an individual to
come to a sense of peace and closure. Not knowing
one’s birth story, having missing information or
having information but not knowing if or when
you’ll ever see birth family members again can create
significant distress for children and youth.

Loss can also be further complicated when the
child’s adoptive family does not publicly acknowledge
or support the child. The fact that the birth family
may be physically gone from their lives doesn’t mean
that they are emotionally and psychologically absent.

Further, many children also lose a sense of their identity
if they are now being raised in families and communities
that are culturally or ethnically different from their
family of birth.

advocate for
ADOPTION COMPETENCY
BY DAWN WILSON
Specialized training helps mental health professionals
understand the needs, challenges and experiences of
children and their foster, adoptive and kinship families
THITAREESARMKASAT/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS
WashingtonFAMILY.com 15