Music & Lyrics

New York Times

I don't know how I missed this during the Olympics, seems like it got completely buried in the sports news cycle, but apparently starting in this competitive year, singles and pairs skaters will be able to use music with vocals in competition.

Allow me one small moment to wig out.

This is a huge deal! Music with lyrics??? That opens up a whole new world of near endless possibilities! No more having to hunt for a lame instrumental version of a pop song! No more having to stick to traditional stuff that doesn't necessarily suit your personality or skating style! You can really express yourself!

End wigging out.

Skaters in the dance and synchro disciplines can already use music with vocals, but the rules for the other disciplines have remained rigid, until now. Not to be confused with exhibition skating of course, where anything goes.

I think it's a good move for the sport's publicity, and will probably make the sport a little more interesting to the casual observer and possibly attract more of the rising generation of both fans and skaters.

An argument that folks have made against it is that it will cheapen the sport. I don't necessarily think so. Competitive skaters are always very conscientious about the music they choose in any discipline, and I doubt that will change. Just because they have the freedom now to choose something with lyrics doesn't mean they'll choose something off-color, laden with cuss words or worst case, Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball." (JK I kind of enjoy that song, dumb as it is.)

And I also wonder how the judges are going to handle it. They seem to have handled the transition with synchro and dance well, so here's hoping.

But I swear, if I so much as hear one skater choose "Call Me Maybe" as their program music...