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Amber Glenn chose a striking piece of music for her short program at the Milan Cortina Games, setting her routine to the iconic sounds of Madonna. On Tuesday, the American figure skater took to the ice with a performance that captured the attention of both the audience and an unexpected fan.
In Milan, Italy, Glenn’s moment on the Olympic stage was made even more special by a message from the “Queen of Pop” herself. Prior to her performance, Glenn received a surprise video from Madonna, offering her best wishes for the individual competition at the Winter Games.
Madonna’s encouragement wasn’t just a stroke of luck; it was a dream come true for Glenn. The music legend had stumbled upon a clip of Glenn skating to her song “Like a Prayer” and was evidently impressed enough to reach out.
Just before Glenn performed her short program at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday night, which is set to Madonna’s song “Like a Prayer,” she received a video from the “Queen of Pop” wishing her luck in the individual competition at the Winter Games.
Turns out that Madonna had seen a clip of Glenn performing to her song.
“I have to tell you, I was blown away by it,” Madonna tells Glenn in the video. “You are an incredible skater. So strong, so beautiful, so brave. I can’t imagine that you would not win. So I just want to say good luck. Go get that gold.”
Glenn covered up her mouth in surprise while watching.
“I’m in shock. I’m in complete shock,” she said. “I’m legitimately shaking. Oh my God.”
If the call from Madonna was a dream, the program later Tuesday night was a nightmare.
Glenn got off to a great start with a big triple axel and a solid combination pass, but she doubled up a triple loop near the end of the program, and that meant an invalid element and no points. The mistake was so costly that Glenn was left in 13th place going into the free skate on Thursday night, well out of contention for that gold medal.
Madonna wasn’t the only big-name celebrity tossing her support behind Glenn and teammates Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito, who had dubbed themselves the “Blade Angels.” Pop superstar Taylor Swift provided the voice-over for an NBC spot highlighting them.
Liu had a much better short program and sat third behind Japan’s Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto. Levito was in eighth.
The issue of music rights became a big storyline for figure skaters during the Milan Cortina Games. Several had to frantically try to get approval for their program music at the last minute, and some were even forced to change their programs entirely.
Glenn was among those who had a problem.
Her free skate is set to “The Return” by Seb McKinnon, who produces music under the name CLANN. He posted on social media that he was surprised to hear the song during Glenn’s performance in the team competition, which helped the U.S. win the gold medal.
McKinnon said that Glenn did not have the proper permission to use the song, even though it has been a part of her program for the past two years. But the two spoke on the phone a couple of days later and managed to smooth everything out.
“I’m very honored that Amber chose my music for her routine, won gold no less!” McKinnon said. “I’m happy things were resolved amicably and that we both stand for the protection of artist rights.”
The outspoken Glenn had been asked about music rights on the eve of the Olympics. She said at the time, “If I do get a message from Madonna saying she doesn’t want me to skate to her music, I’ll just be excited to get a message from Madonna.”
Glenn ended up getting the best of both worlds.
“You are an icon and a legend forever,” Glenn said in response to Madonna’s video, “and thank you for supporting athletes in their artistic ventures, and I hope I can do the song justice. Thank you.”
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