The Winter Olympics are on the go at the moment in Beijing, with prizes being won left, right and centre. A chance for athletes to show all their hard work over the past four years, you probably wouldn’t think that music would be making the headlines alongside it. Torvill and Dean set the standard when it came to classical music, with their iconic “Bolero” set back in 1984. But this time it’s pop music that’s getting the limelight.
The men’s singles figure skating competition happened last Thursday, with a number of interesting musical choices along the way. Some acts had the likes of Daft Punk playing (“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger“). Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation“ also made an appearance. But it was the performance of American skater Nathan Chen that really grabbed people’s attention.
Winning gold with a comfortable 22.55 point lead over the silver-medallist, all Chen had to do was win in style, and it seems he chose the right soundtrack for that, which featured a medley of Elton John hits. Dancing to a classic seventies round-up which included “Rocket Man“ and “Bennie and the Jets”, Chen’s smile at the end seemed to confirm even he knew he’d done a winner.
It was especially good news for him after coming fifth in 2018’s Pyeongchang games, and it gets better. Elton John himself offered his congratulations on Twitter, saying “Congratulations @nathanwchen for winning Gold skating to Rocket Man in the free skate finals in Beijing“. It followed with a video post showing Chen in a series John himself had exec-produced, titled From the Top.
Congratulations @nathanwchen for winning Gold skating to Rocket Man in the free skate finals in Beijing pic.twitter.com/c9C2Kc3zti
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) February 10, 2022
Chen, a musician himself, was of course pleased by the positive response, saying “my agent texted me the Elton John tweet, and it’s just nuts to think that he even knows I exist. Sir Elton John?! That’s amazing”. Sadly a jam session between the two seems out of the question, with Chen saying that “I don’t know if I’d be able to keep up with his talent. But even to be able to meet him in person would be the most special“.
As for Elton, he’s currently in America enjoying his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour after having to cancel some shows last month due to a positive covid test. He said at the time “It’s always a massive disappointment to move shows and I’m so sorry to anyone who’s been inconvenienced by this but I want to keep myself and my team safe.“
On the bright side, he’ll be in the UK next year in April, so there’s that to look forward to. If you want tickets for any of his shows, you can look here.
