Skating on a Pinky Swear

The arena in Milan, Italy, fell into a hush that felt less like a silence and more like a held breath. As the first jazz-infused, melancholic chords of Laufey’s ‘Promise’ drifted through the air, Alysa Liu stood at center ice, a figure of poise and quiet intensity. For a skater who once walked away from the sport entirely, this performance wasn’t just a short program. It was a musical confession.

After a whirlwind early career that saw her become the youngest U.S. women’s champion at just 13, Liu stepped away from the competitive spotlight following the 2022 season. Her return in 2024 was unexpected, but her choice of music for the 2025-26 Olympic season signaled a more mature, artistically driven direction.

The lyrics of ‘Promise’ tell a story of distance, a broken vow to stay away, and an inevitable return to a love that hurts to keep but is worse to be nothing without. It is a narrative that parallels Liu’s own complex relationship with figure skating.

"Every time I do the program, I’m very much in it; I let the music kind of take over," Liu shared after her lead-taking performance at the 2025 Cup of China.

The ‘Promise’ program is iconic because it doesn’t pretend the path was easy. Instead, it celebrates the fact that she left and celebrates the fact that she came back.

As the final chords faded in Milan, it was clear that Alysa Liu had finally aligned her career with her heart. She didn’t just return to the ice; she returned to herself. Liu is not just skating for medals, she is skating for herself, proving that sometimes, the most important promise you can make is the one you make to your own happiness.