REVIEW: The Music of Stars on Ice
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY JULIA FINOCCHIARO ☆
FOR FIGURE SKATING FANS, THIS YEAR’S STARS ON ICE LINEUP BROUGHT OUT THE BEST OF THE BEST—2026 Olympians Alysa Liu, Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ellie Kam, Danny O’Shea and Jason Brown were just some of the immensely talented skaters that would perform at this stop of the tour at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Walking through the concourse, it was easy to tell that the sold-out crowd of around 17,000 fans ranged anywhere from kids and toddlers all the way to their parents and grandparents, all ready to see the magic unfold in front of them that night.
While most people going to Stars on Ice probably aren’t coming solely for the music, the song choices for the performances are a significant part of what brings each routine to life. We wanted to highlight the choices the skaters made for (almost) all of their performances, since listening to the music is probably the biggest part of what you’ll experience at the show after the skating itself.
“Brink of Annihilation/Fearless” - Tommee Profitt
This mashup of two songs produced by American singer-songwriter Tommee Profitt was the opening soundtrack to the night’s performance, a fitting way to start off what would (in part) be a reenactment of the Olympic team event later that evening. The dramatic instrumental of “Brink of Annihilation” could be seen as parallelling the down to the wire competition that Team USA had to overcome as they were close to losing the gold. This, leading into “Fearless” with lyrics like “Time to be fearless, time to be brave / Ready for battle, whatever it takes” and “Fearless, fearless / This is our moment, this is our fight,” mirrored the attitude that the last few skaters for the team had to have in order to secure their win.
“Material Girl” - Madonna
This was the first of many “fun” song choices throughout the night, and it was the perfect match for world silver medalist and Olympic team member Isabeau Levito. Her mannerisms, bedazzled outfit, and just a little bit of sass throughout the performance played a perfect homage to the original music video for the song, and Levito’s effortless glides and spins on the ice showed the audience that she is much more than just a “Material Girl.”
“Promise” - Laufey
Alysa Liu’s short program performance to “Promise” by Laufey was one of the more emotional performances we would see that evening. Throughout the song, the Icelandic singer repeats the lyric “It hurts to be something / It’s worse to be nothing with you.” This could be seen as a nod to Liu’s return to figure skating after stepping away in 2022 after burnout from being a young prodigy. Coming back on her own terms has given Liu a chance to share her art and love for the sport in a new way, and it is clear from her performances the absolute joy that skating brings her today.
“Paint It, Black” - Ramin Djawadi
Originally by The Rolling Stones, Olympic Gold Medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates chose this instrumental arrangement of “Paint It, Black” as the backdrop to their first program. Their outfits were a clear reference to the original lyrics of the song, which describe the funeral of a girl from her lover’s perspective. In their performance, Chock and Bates were dressed fully in black, except for a red cloak around Chock’s waist, she being the only thing not yet “painted black” by her lover’s sadness. Recently married in 2024, it is clear the passion the couple has for the sport and for each other, which brings the emotions in their performances up to an even higher level.
“Friend Like Me” - Ne-Yo
Olympic Bronze Medalist Jason Brown’s program to Ne-Yo’s version of “Friend Like Me” from Disney’s Aladdin was a somewhat subtle nod to the R&B singer’s music video he filmed for the song. Brown’s outfi—which started as a black suit and top hat before ending as a blue shirt, bowtie, and bright red pants and overalls after some mid-set quick changes—mirrors Ne-Yo’s outfit from the video. Brown’s personality bleeds through his skating, and this program was a perfect change of pace from the emotional sets the audience had just seen.
“That’s Life” - Lady Gaga
Brown’s program led right into the next, which saw Olympic Gold Medalist Amber Glenn performing to Lady Gaga’s “That’s Life” while dressed in a sharp black pantsuit. In the chorus, Gaga sings, “Each time I find myself flat on my face / I pick myself up and get back in the race.” Both her song and outfit choices spoke directly to Glenn’s attitude throughout her career to fight the pressure that she faced and always try to be her authentic self, and there was some beautiful, fierce skating to go along with it.
“I Was Made for Lovin’ You” - YUNGBLUD
Ilia Malinin’s performance to YUNGBLUD’s rendition of this famous KISS song was maybe the second most emotional performance of the night after Liu’s first short program. YUNGBLUD is one of those artists who puts his whole heart into his music and performances, and Malinin fed off of this energy as he seemed to put his whole soul into his skating, even handing out a rose to an audience member mid-performance.
Before intermission, the whole cast took the stage for a very fun, slightly silly performance soundtracked to “Too Darn Hot” originally written for the 1948 musical Kiss Me, Kate. Opening up Act 2 would be “the boys of Stars on Ice:” Jason Brown, Ilia Malinin, Danny O’Shea, Anthony Ponomarenko and Andrew Torgashev, all decked out in sequin-adorned green suits and skating along to Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might.”
“Like a Prayer” - Madonna
The second Madonna song of the night made an appearance for Amber Glenn’s second solo program of the night with a choir version of “Like a Prayer.” Lyrics like “Feels like flying / I close my eyes” felt right at home with the big jumps and grand movements she made across the ice throughout her performance.
“Golden” - KPop Demon Hunters
Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito, sometimes nicknamed “The Blade Angels,” teamed up for a fun, powerful performance to this empowerment anthem. “I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin' like I'm born to be / We dreamin' hard, we came so far, now I believe” were just some of the lyrics serving as the soundtrack to this performance. It was a nice change of pace following a few instrumental, cinematic programs by the other skaters, and the ladies’ smiles and friendship were palpable, on top of the technical skills of the performance which closed out with each skater performing their signature spins.
“Slide” - James Bay
Leave it to Madison Chock and Evan Bates to deliver another beautifully devastating, romantic program as their second pair performance of the night. It is hard to fully describe how these athletes move across the ice together with such grace, and how their expressions seem to perfectly convey the lyrics they are skating to. “Nobody wants to wake up alone / Then we slide into the arms of someone else” and the closing lyrics “The weight we carry is love / And so must rest in the arms of love at last, must rest in the arms of love” along with James Bay’s soul-filled voice played in the background as the two told the story of the song through their skating.
“Lose Yourself/Jump Around” - Eminem/House of Pain
Ilia Malinin’s hip-hop inspired set that opened with Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was an ingenious callback to the headlines that came about from his Olympic free skate performance. It felt like all the focus was on his solo 8th place finish instead of his performance in the team event. “Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity / To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment / Would you capture it or just let it slip?” was an emotionally charged callback to his fall in Milan and the pressure he had to perform, with “Snap back to reality, ope, there goes gravity” being a little too eerily fitting. The program seamlessly transitioned into a high-energy, backflip-filled conclusion to House of Pain’s “Jump Around,” where Malinin got a chance to fully showcase his technical ability.
“Stateside” - PinkPantheress (ft. Zara Larsson)
Alysa Liu brought her 2026 Figure Skating Exhibition Gala performance to Stars on Ice with a solo program to “Stateside,” which some might see having some tongue in cheek references to being a member of Team USA. “I'll land right next to you / I'm going stateside / Where I'll see you tonight” PinkPantheress sings, alluding to Liu’s return home to the states after the Olympics. Liu truly seems to have fun every time she is on the ice, and this program is no exception as she smiled ear to ear and waved to the audience when the set was over.
The event wrapped up with a full cast performance to OneRepublic’s “Life in Color,” with everyone wearing colorful costumes to conclude the event. Something that really stood out with a lot of these song choices and something I loved was how these skaters seemed to choose songs that they themselves listened to or that seemed to speak to them and what they have gone through throughout their careers. People may think of figure skating to have mostly older, instrumental songs, and while these absolutely have their place, seeing young stars perform to songs released just as recently as 2024 and performed by artists like YUNGBLUD and Zara Larsson is so refreshing.
Stars on Ice continues their tour until the end of May, hitting arenas in the Midwest, Southwest and West Coast. You can see tour dates and buy tickets here.
