In the past several seasons of figure skating, this particular incarnation of my blog State of the SkateMUSIC has popped up several times a year with deeper dives (or “longer listens,” as I’ve been known to say) into popular and/or classic choices for skating music. From Astor Piazzolla to Hans Zimmer; from “Bolero” to “Rocket Man”... the variety of selections never cease to intrigue me.

But this season, perhaps more than any other, shows how diverse the selections can be– a process that has continued to evolve ever since 2014 (when vocals were permitted in singles and pairs skating music). That’s roughly 10 seasons of learning to hear beyond the Chopin, and Bizet, and Puccini (and vocalizations of such), and find more contemporary musicians than ever– from multiple genres. 

So rather than hone in on one or two musical works heard at the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, I’ve created a little primer of over two dozen artists heard in Wichita this past January. While this only includes programs in the Senior division— and a mere fraction of those, at that— I think it’s a worthwhile cross-section of artists and compositions that are neither warhorses (yet) nor moody covers of 80s hits (IYKYK). Read on…

CONTEMPORARY (Non-Classical) ARTISTS-

Do great contemporary music choices need to come from anyone BUT Americans? One might come to that conclusion with the realization that most of these artists are either European (with a disproportionate number from France) or Asian. Except… the American athlete who chose American artists this season— Ilia Malinin— happens to be one of the best competitors in the history of the sport. So much for theories.

The song in question (not the skater’s performance) is linked in each case.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL ARTISTS

Sure, we heard 19th-century legends like Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff… but they were greatly outnumbered by these luminaries-in-waiting from the 20th century.

POP/ROCK/R&B CLASSIC ARTISTS

BEATLES- The classic of pop classics, Beatles music (both originals and covers) has been a popular choice off and on since vocals were permitted in skating. And while multiple ice dance teams were lured back to the Beatles well when this season’s rhythm dance was chosen, U.S. pairs skaters Williams/Lever took on “Eleanor Rigby” with a fair amount of success. (The version they used was arranged/performed/produced by Cody Fry.)

JAMES BROWN- As with The Beatles and 60s music, James Brown music became a popular 70s music option for ice dancers this season (second only, I suspect, to disco music in general). While his 1976 hit “Get Up Offa That Thing” was heard more than once during the rhythm dance at U.S. Nationals, Tomoki Hiwatashi brought his mid-70s piece “Superbad” to the short program too.

FLEETWOOD MAC- This band wouldn’t be showing up at elite competitions at all if not for two words: “The Chain.” The Dutch pairs team of Daria Danilove and Michael Tsiba used it last season for their FS; when they kept it for this season, they were hardly the only ones anymore. Among them was American Beck Strommer, who used it for his SP and finished 12th overall.

JANET JACKSON- The Jackson 5 got the nod by some teams this year for the 50s/60s/70s music selection, but it was Janet who got the love during the “street dance” Olympic season (remember Hubbell/Donohue?). And thanks to repeat U.S. Champion Amber Glenn, “This Time” (a deep cut off of her 1993 album Janet) has Miss Jackson in the skating limelight once again. 

MADONNA- From the “disco brits” (Fear/Gibson of GBR) to Loena Hendrickx (of BEL, who’s used her music in three different programs), Madonna has become a force to contend with on the ice. At Nationals, her energy was brought to American ice as well… as evidenced by Alex Evans’ free skate to (appropriately enough?) “Frozen” and “Vogue”.

PRINCE-  Prince music has seldom met a skating program for which it wasn’t an electrifying match… especially for men (see Yuzuru Hanyu, Jason Brown, and Kevin Aymoz). This time around it was Emmanuel Savary sporting the purple in his costume, returning to competition for the first time in six years with a self-choreographed short program set to “Purple Rain.”

SIMON & GARFUNKEL- Unlike most other artists on this list, 60’s folk/rock duo Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel have made a name for themselves in the skating arena by way of other artists covering them. (The one exception I can think of is Jason Brown’s medley of “Old Friends”/”Bookends”/”Hazy Shade of Winter” from the 2018-19 season.) The most obvious cover that leaps to mind is the band Disturbed’s heavy-metal take on “The Sounds of Silence,” which was released near the end of 2015 and has been used in competition most every season over the past decade. But Chinese pair OGMs Sui/Han brought a contemporary cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to their final competitive free program with great success… and American Liam Kapeikis introduced a Mumford and Sons’ cover of “The Boxer” for his free skate last season, and liked it enough to keep the program for 2024-25.

DONNA SUMMER-  I will write more about this in a future post, but there’s never been as much “Summer” in the competitive skating world than this season. And while most of the credit goes to the ice dancers choosing disco-themed RDs, U.S. Silver Medalist Alysa Liu opted for selections from Donna Summer’s 1978 “MacArthur Park Suite” for her free skate– and given that we’ll now see that program at both 4CCs and Worlds, it’s safe to say that the “Queen of Disco” has served Liu’s return to competition quite nicely!

THE WHO- Two classic rock giants entered the elite ice dance world this season. One–Led Zeppelin– will be performed at Worlds by way of Davis/Smolkin (GEO). But the other– The Who– ended its season when the U.S. brother-sister team of Oona & Gage Brown free-danced to “Baba O’Reily” and finished 5th overall.

Are there artists and/or compositions you heard at Nationals that YOU’D like to read more about? Whether mentioned here or not, there’s plenty of benefit in a “longer listen”… just drop a note in the comments!