By DAVE SKRETTA
World figure skating champion Alysa Liu of Oakland is scrapping her short program for the upcoming season, including the Milan Olympics should she make the U.S. team, amid an investigation involving one of the artists who performed the music for it.
Liu had been fine-tuning a program set to the song “This Is How It Feels,” performed by Icelandic singer Laufey and American artist d4vd. But that was before the body of a missing teenage girl was found earlier this month in an impounded Tesla that was reportedly registered to d4vd (pronounced “David”), who first rose to fame with a viral TikTok in 2022.
The Los Angeles Police Department has not implicated d4vd in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, though authorities have confirmed that his home has been searched. His representatives have not replied to requests for comment.
“I have to change it, you know? Forced to change my hand, basically. But that’s alright,” Liu told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “I almost was grieving the process — ‘Oh, I have my programs. They were going to grow and evolve, and I was going to add more to it.’ But there’s nothing like a fresh start.”
World champion ice skater Alysa Liu talks about her experiences during a practice session at the Oakland Ice Center in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Liu participated in the Stars on Ice tour this past spring, skating at Oakland Ice Center in mid-May.
Most figure skaters begin working on new programs in late spring, then unveil them during a series of lower-level competitions toward the end of summer. By the time the Grand Prix season rolls around in October, they are tightening up the elements ahead of the most important competitions, such as the Grand Prix Final and national and world championships.
Or, every four years, the Winter Olympics. The next one takes place in Italy in February.
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The 20-year-old Liu is favored to make the three-woman contingent for the U.S. team. The two-time national champion made a triumphant return from a brief retirement to finish second at nationals earlier this year, and then surprised the skating establishment by winning the world championship in February — the first for an American woman since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
Liu made her season debut two weeks ago at the Lombardia Trophy in Italy, where she won the short program with her since-discarded “This Is How It Feels” routine. Liu wound up finishing fourth after her Lady Gaga-inspired free skate. Liu’s free skate routine that she used to win a world title and help the U.S. win the World Team Trophy in Tokyo last spring was set to the Donna Summer song, “MacArthur Park.”
Liu said the plan is to create an entirely new short program with her longtime coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, though they are still sifting through potential music. In the meantime, she plans to use some of her old programs for upcoming competitions; she is scheduled for the Cup of China beginning Oct. 24 and Skate America beginning Nov. 14.
Gold medalist Alysa Liu, of the United States bites her medal during a ceremony for the women’s free skating program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Last year, Liu performed a short program set to “Promise” by Laufey and Dan Wilson, one of the members of the American rock band Semisonic. It earned her the highest scores at both nationals and the world championships in Boston.
“It’s a process,” Liu said. “I listen to my entire playlist. I have, like, 2,000 songs on it, and I look at new artists and new music as well. I get suggestions from other people around me. But in the end, I have final says. It’s always really picky.”
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics