The world’s coolest girl just got even cooler. After winning two gold medals this Winter Olympics—the first gold America has received in women’s free skating since 2002—figure skater and all-around people’s princess Alysa Liu skated to the Zara Larsson remix of PinkPantheress’s “Stateside” at the Olympic Exhibition Gala this past Saturday. Everyone say it with me now: boots!
Paste named “Stateside” one of its favorite tracks of 2025—as writer Cassidy Sollazzo wrote: “When it was announced that Fancy That‘s standout single ‘Stateside’ would be getting new renditions featuring both Zara Larsson and Kylie Minogue, the world held its breath to see whether Larsson would usurp the old pop guard. And folks, the Swedish pop princess did it. Her version of ‘Stateside’ has become the definitive one, easily one of the hardest-hitting across the 31-song tracklist. The collab comes at the perfect time for both Larsson and PinkPantheress, as each musician steps into their pop-stardom moment—each with some of the most distinct and realized creative visions out there (Larsson’s 2000s Lisa Frank neon haze; Pink’s plaid-clad, Y2K-preppy chic). The original ‘Stateside’ beat is blown out to headphone-shattering levels in Larsson’s care, adding an overt strutworthiness to the mix. And Larsson’s verse has become nothing short of a vocal stim for me; every line rolls off the tongue in the most satisfying way. ‘Boots, that’s my ego boost!’ C’mon now! Serotonin at its finest. Two pop stars on their supersonic rises coming together to maximize their joint stardom… What more could you need?”
That kind of playful, high-gloss banger is a perfect backdrop for Liu, who famously stepped away from competitive skating at age 16, spent some years focusing on herself, and then returned in 2024 with a new looser, more self-directed approach to skating and zero interest in playing the stereotypical blank-slate ice princess. And “Stateside” was just the cherry on top of a very curated week: in competition, she floated through her short program to Laufey’s lush “Promise,” then revved things up in the free skate with the groovy, glittering Donna Summer disco track “MacArthur Park Suite.” The girl has taste, and now she’s got the hardware to match.
Liu has been a very vocal fan of the British popstar and producer for quite some time now, so it only seems natural she takes her victory lap to the sound of a song off Fancy Some More?. And that appreciation is very much mutual: reporter Raymond Braun showed Liu a video PinkPantheress herself took for the figure skater, saying “Alysa, lots of love, thank you so much for supporting me. I hope that you have a really good show. You are so inspiring and when I was younger I was obsessed with figure skaters so you are literally living my dream. Thank you so much for the love.” Liu reacted by promising that, if she got on the Olympic Gala bill, she’d skate to “Stateside”—and she did not disappoint.
Watch her mesmerizing performance below:
[embedded content]
