For Their Consideration: SkateMUSIC Suggestions (2025 Edition)
How often do you hear a song on the radio (or YouTube, or social media, or your streaming platform of choice) and say Ohhh this would make a KILLER short program?
Or free skate? Or free dance? Or rhythm dance? (Or at least part of one?)
That’s me in a nutshell– as far as my ears go, anyway. For as long as I can remember. I didn’t get as specific in the early days, but as someone who has skated and/or danced all their life… to hear something is to see movement in my mind’s eye if it’s there to be seen.
I was thrilled to witness TWO senior-level short programs last season featuring music on my mental wish list: Janet Jackson’s “This Time” (used by U.S. Champ Amber Glenn), and Shakira’s “Objection (Tango),” used by 2024 U.S. Silver Medalist Josephine Lee. In fact, Lee is keeping the Shakira program for the 2025-26 season. No “objection” here!
Both of the above programs were choreographed by Kaitlyn Weaver, so if we have another “match” this season, I should start a GoFundMe to go be a fly on the wall at her various choreo sessions. Who’s in???
Anyway… I post this inaugural list of SkateMUSIC “suggestions” fully aware that
a) most elite skaters have already announced their selections (or at least have CHOSEN them… ), and
b) they (or better said, their choreographers and/or coaches) weren’t likely to be relying on my ideas anyway. In fact, plenty of athletes deliberately choose well-established pieces for an Olympic season. Three current examples:
Cha Jun-hwan with a Moulin Rouge FS
Bradie Tennell with The Mission for FS
Mone Chiba with Romeo + Juliet (1995 version) for FS
But there’s nothing in anyone’s rulebook saying these suggestions must be used THIS year, so skaters/choreographers/coaches, have at it! (And if you speak of me, speak well… LOL)
“I Don’t Care Anymore” by Phil Collins
Whether you know him as the guy who sang lead after Peter Gabriel left Genesis, or one of the best-known pop/rock artists of the 80s, or the dad of actress Lily Collins (Emily in Paris)…it’s his drumwork that makes Phil Collins’ music so good for skating. After all, anyone who has turned his 1981 classic “In the Air Tonight” into a short program wouldn’t have done so if not for its iconic drum break.
But I say… why give just one Collins song all the love when he released this absolute banger a year or so later?
Collins had a lot of emotions to release following his divorce from his first wife; “I Don’t Care Anymore” is reportedly a vessel of such (as were many tracks on his Face Value debut). Between the angry drive of the drums, the sparse but incredibly effective synths, and a snarling vocal delivery by Collins (one that earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance), the elements for an angsty short program are all there for the taking. There’s even a solid cold ending (cold= abrupt)... no passive fadeouts at the end of all aggression!
“A Different Corner” by George Michael
On the other hand– or other skate– is this moody, contemplative, mid-80s ballad from the late, great George Michael. “A Different Corner” doesn’t get the airplay today that Michael’s #1 smash “Careless Whisper” continues to receive, but it’s different like that– a quiet, introspective gem that was written and recorded in all of 14 hours. It’s not a gentle piano ballad; Michael’s textured synthesizers and impassioned vocals made sure of that.
There is yearning, apprehension, and sorrow in “A Different Corner” that begs to be taken to the ice. Camden Pulkinen is the first athlete that comes to mind as someone who could work wonders with this… listen to it yourself, and let me know who else you “see” using it.
“Ta Fete” by Stromae
I gave a brief primer of Stromae in my US Champs Class of ‘25 post, when his “L’enfer” became a short program fave last season. I dug into his discography this past summer and discovered Racine Carree (Square Root), his 2013 release containing multiple European chart-toppers. And in the very first track– “Ta Fete” (meaning “Your Party”)-- I found a smart, relentlessly high-energy piece of music that feels destined for the ice. While not as cerebral and brooding as “L’enfer,” it simmers with the Belgian artists’ vibes and craftsmanship.
Considering “Ta Fete” was named the official song for the Belgium National Team at FIFA World Cup in 2014, its place in large arenas is long-established. Who should take this one on?
“From the Start” by Laufey
As I write this, reigning World Champ Alysa Liu is in search of new SP music because she scrapped her original choice– a collab between Laufey (LAY-vay) and D4vid (Day-vid)-- in light of a criminal investigation into D4vid. For her consideration… and yours… what about “From the Start”? Liu used Laufey’s ballad “Promise” to incredible effect last season, and sounded eager to continue promoting her music. This piece was the single Laufey released just ahead of “Promise’; it’s a floaty, charming tale of unrequited love told in her bossa nova style. And… as fate would have it… “From the Start”-to-finish, it runs two minutes and fifty seconds. The perfect length for a senior SP– no edits required!
I even have a costume idea… an homage to this darling cupid’s arrow dress worn by Ginger Rogers in the 1939 film Carefree. Watch the above video to see why it would work so well!
“In These Shoes” by Kristy MacColl
So you’d like a Latin-themed SP that hasn’t been done to death already? Look no further than this fun, salsa-infused gem from back in 2000. For singer and co-writer Kirsty MacColl– who died while protecting her sons from a wayward speedboat, not even a year after this single made the rounds– “Shoes” sadly became the final single from her final album (Tropical Brainstorm).
The lyrics, which combine tales of sexual misadventures with the challenges of fashionable footwear (“In THESE shoes?/I don’t think so”), probably make it a better fit for the 21-and-over athlete. Far sassier than Laufey, but not as overtly so as the Janelle Monae track that I’ll talk about next… doesn’t “In These Shoes?” have the potential to be a delight to see In These SKATES?
“Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monáe
Maybe this track from Janelle Monae’s Grammy-nominated album Dirty Computer has been deemed “too much” for ISU judging panels up to now. With a slinky funk groove daring to out-Prince Prince, ear-popping lyrics, and an accompanying video packed with bisexual imagery… perhaps skating wasn’t ready for it in 2018.
But since then it’s been used in everything from cracker commercials to Love Island USA, where it served as the theme song for Season 7.
With that in mind… isn’t it high time for Monae to come up off the shag carpet and onto the ice?
“Breathe (2 AM)” by Anna Nalick
What if you aren’t looking to be edgy, or spicy, or charming? What if you simply want a lyrical, impactful piece of music that doesn’t blend into all the others used in a given season? Anna Nalick’s “Breathe (2AM)” was released 20 years ago, yet has a message about dealing with life’s more vulnerable moments coupled with a timeless sound that still makes it a skating program natural.
Warm and inviting, with a 6/8 time signature to keep things moving and a built-in mantra that benefits ANY skater (“And, breathe… just breathe” repeated in the chorus), Nalick’s best-known song got a sales boost when it was featured prominently in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy many years ago. I think a skating-related boost would be irresistibly gratifying!
The Beach Boys medley and/or remix(es)
While it comes as no surprise that Beatles-based skating programs have been around for decades, it’s a bit of a stunner that there hasn’t even been a fraction of that kind of love yet for The Beach Boys. (Yes, we got a healthy dose of them in Gilles/Poirier’s surf-soaked rhythm dance last year, but can you name another…?)
They are, after all, one of the bestselling AND most influential bands of the 20th century, with even the aforementioned Fab Four taking cues from BB’s groundbreaking Pet Sounds album as they created Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Speaking of Pet Sounds… have you ever heard this orchestral treatment of “God Only Knows”?
Or this remix of “Good Vibrations”? (One of many, no doubt)
I’m not always big on remixes– “Vibrations” is a masterpiece all by itself, and plenty skateable– but the options are out there. The melodies, the harmonies, the sheer sonic magic led by Brian Wilson (who passed away earlier this year)... Gilles/Poirier only scratched the surface. Who will go for the deeper dive?
Hair (Broadway Musical/Film)
I don’t remember how this came up while “live Blue Skying” (or whatever it’s called to tweet on the Blue Sky social media platform) during Worlds last Spring, but if you’re a follower of mine who suggested music from Hair for a free dance program, thank you!
For those unfamiliar with it, Hair was billed as “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical” when it hit Broadway back in April 1968. But in all honesty, the music from this 57-year-old “counterculture” show could be as big a breath of fresh air to ice dance of today as it was to musical theater back then! The above clip showcases two well-known numbers (“Aquarius” and “Let the Sun Shine In”), but with SO many quality songs of varying tempos at their disposal, it’s almost an embarrassment of riches.
And don’t get me started on how amazing the costumes could be…!
(The above clip is from a 1969 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show… you can watch the 2009 revival cast of Hair performing on The Late Show with David Letterman HERE. Fun fact: both episodes were performed in the same theater, 40 years apart!)
Monkees Medley
Full disclosure: as a person who grew up watching The Monkees in syndication five days a week, way before they gained that “new audience” via MTV in 1986… I knew of, and loved, the “Prefab Four” well before knowing much about the actual Fab Four.
Do today’s skaters know anything about the four guys who portrayed members of a struggling, madcap rock band called The Monkees on TV from 1966-68… and became a real-life band called The Monkees who performed, off and on, for decades after the series ended? Maybe the better question is, which choreographer will assemble a program with bangers like “Last Train to Clarksville” or “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” jazzy jams like “Goin’ Down,” or lovely ballads like “Shades of Gray” and “Porpoise Song?” (And if they wanted to find a place for “Daydream Believer,” I’m sure that’s easily done.)
The Monkees may never make it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (sigh), but what effervescent programs their music could make on the ice!
“Fly” by Ludovico Einaudi
Must all skating music these days have vocals? Absolutely not. In fact, I still think there’s something to be said about vocals distracting from the performance, depending on how familiar one is with the music choice.
Since I know far less about off-the-beaten-path instrumental options, though, I’m only including two on this list. First up is by contemporary artist Ludovico Einaudi, who has already been embraced in the skating world for “Experience,” “Primavera,” and other compositions. I think “Fly,” which Einaudi contributed to the soundtrack of the popular French film The Intouchables over a decade ago, needs to be embraced as well.
Metaphorically speaking, it’s tough to find a better song with which to soar along the ice than “Fly”... but as you listen to the entire 4:41 of the track, you sense that “flying” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. As the sonic layers build on the final minute, it could be a representation of flying into something that confines you. Or… it could be the moments of struggle just before breaking free and flying away. What do YOU hear in it…? In any case, I love the idea of these kind of conflicts being told choreographically. I hope we see it someday!
“Starry Night” by Jordan Critz
Welcome to Music That Calls From My iPhone Late At Night…
Jordan Critz is a composer/producer who is gaining a following online with his dream-like piano work (88K subscribers on YouTube as of this writing). With a title like this one it’s easy for Van Gogh’s “Starry Starry Night” to leap to mind– but you don’t need to be a student of Vincent’s OR an aficionado of that famous work of art to appreciate this piece of music.
With only the piano to deliver the entire piece (unlike the complex arrangement of Einaudi’s “Fly” showcased just before this one), “Starry Night” appears delicate and simple… but is it deceptively so? If there’s any place you might actually want to “read the comments” online, it’s the well-received musical contributions to YouTube. Thoughtful, nostalgic, plaintive– just so many ideas and feelings generated by this one piece of Critz’s. I’d love to see someone bring it to life on the ice.
And that wraps up this first-ever edition of For Their Consideration!
What pieces of music would YOU like to see make their way into the arena we call figure skating? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
