Above: Starr Andrews flexes her muscle as her final season in singles skating gets underway. Photo by Janet Liu
By Elvin Walker
Long before Starr Andrews was battling for medals on the international figure skating scene, she was an internet superstar. Her celebrity began with the 2023 U.S. pewter medalist doing what she loves most — skating.
Back in 2010, at the age of 9, Andrews became an overnight sensation after a video of her skating to Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” went viral. With more than 50 million views, the video continues to appear on social media, extending Andrews’ 15 minutes of internet fame into 15 years.
Andrews has made it a habit to step out of the figure skating tradition by selecting music that falls outside of the typical catalogue of warhorse classical pieces. In fact, the Los Angeles native boasts a competitive resume that includes superstar artists like Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato. But in 2018, after encouragement from her longtime coach Derrick Delmore, Andrews took her music selection to the next level by choosing to skate to her own vocals.
“I've been singing since I was very young, probably when I knew how to talk. Andrew said. “I've always sung just around the house at the rink. It's just something that I do regularly, sometimes not even realizing that I am singing.”
Andrews first stepped into a recording studio at Norco College in Riverside County, California, to work with Brady Kerr, a Grammy-nominated musician who has been in the music industry for more than four decades. There she learned all about music production and very much enjoyed the process of recording her own version of Whitney Houston’s classic “One Moment in Time”
“I’m pretty sure that the first time I ever heard myself sing,” Andrews said of the recording. “I didn’t skate to my version the entire season and first performed to it at the U.S. Championships. When people write songs, they are trying to get their emotions out. When I sing, I try to tap into something completely different which has allowed me to connect to the music at a deeper level.”
That season was Andrews’s debut as a senior woman at the U.S. Championships, and her free skate set her apart from the rest of the field. A longshot to make the three-person Olympic team, Andrews nearly crashed the party, finishing in sixth place, less than 10 points away from the podium. In an instant, the little girl who flung her hair around eight years prior, became a senior woman to be reckoned with.
Since then, Andrews has made it a tradition to record her own vocals in an Olympic season, tackling Etta James’ standard “At Last” in her quest to make the 2022 U.S. team. So, when it came time to select music for this — her final season as a singles skater, Andrews knew that she had to pull out all of the stops.
“This season I am skating to ‘Turning Page’ by Daniel Hart for part of my free skate, and I have recorded the vocals for it,” she said. “The title means something to me because I have been turning pages and making a difference in the sport as a Black female in figure skating. Because I decided that this is my last year, the lyrics are even more special to me. There is one lyric, ‘Nothing prepared me for what the privilege of being yours would do’, that really hit deep because I’m thinking about everyone who has been on this journey with me. I’m grateful for all of the support that I have had over the years, and this is kind of a thank you to those who were there for me. At the same time, I am turning a page on my career in some ways, so this is a special program for me.”
Though Andrews has announced her intention to move on from her singles career, she is planning to begin training to transition into the world of pairs skating.
“I get asked to do pairs every year and I have always said no because I never thought my singles career was where I wanted it to be,” Andrews said. “I decided to put everything into my singles career this season, because I don’t think that I could last another four years in singles. I’ve been told that I am the perfect size for pairs, and I have a consistent toe (loop), Salchow and loop. Once the season is over, I will start working on my upper body and core strength to make the transition a bit less challenging.”
Before Andrews turns the page on her prolific singles career, the 24-year-old has some exciting opportunities in front of her. First up is Skate America, the eleventh Grand Prix assignment of her career, and this season, she has been selected to sing the national anthem in front of the Lake Placid, New York, crowd.
“It will be my first real public performance, so I am working with a vocal coach to help me get ready,” she said. “I’m excited to have this opportunity and to get myself out there.”
