Expressing Herself Through Music, Starr Andrews Continues to Make Bold, Headline-Worthy Choices

Starr Andrews thrives off competing in front of crowds. She loves hearing the cheers and applause that come with performing at an ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event or the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
 
It helped lead her to a second-place finish as a junior at the U.S. Championships in 2017, followed by three consecutive top-eight finishes as a senior, so it's only natural that competing in an empty arena at 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America this weekend gives Andrews pause.
 
"I think it'll be super weird because I usually feed off the audience and their energy, so that'll be a new challenge for me to get out there with no crowd," Andrews said. "I'll have to be my own cheerleader, so that's just something new that I'll have to experience and get used to."
 
This time, the 19-year-old will feed off the energy she gains from her music selections.
 
Skating to music she connects with has been a cornerstone of Andrews' career since she turned heads performing to Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" at 9 years old in 2010. The program has more than 56 million views on YouTube.
 
"For me, music choice is a way that I express myself, so it's really important I choose a song I can connect to because it will just be that much more impactful when I skate to it," she explained.
 
The bold choices have only ramped up since Andrews advanced to the senior level in the 2017-18 season, and have since featured the voices of Christina Aguilera ("You Lost Me"), Beyoncé ("Fever"), Ella Fitzgerald ("Summertime") and Whitney Houston ("One Moment in Time").
 
"It's honestly just amazing to skate to legends like that," Andrews said of the growing list of iconic powerhouse artists. "I'm always honored to skate to their music."
 
Andrews will add Fergie to the list when she skates to her "Finally" ballad for this season's free skate. Her 2020-21 short program is set to the slow, dramatic "It's a Man's World" and "Joke's on You" performed by Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Charlotte Lawrence, respectively, from the Birds of Prey soundtrack.
 
Derrick Delmore, Andrews' coach, found both pieces of music and choreographed both programs.
 
"My short is a little bit sassier this year," Andrews said. "I love it; it's so much fun to do, and my coach did a really good job choreographing it. My long is more mature, and it's really developing the more I practice it."
 
Andrews, who often sings for fun at home, added her own voice to the impressive, aforementioned list of vocalists when she included part of her cover to "One Moment in Time," which was fittingly on the 1988 Olympic soundtrack, alongside Houston's vocals for her free skate at the 2018 U.S. Championships.
 
"My coaches suggested it to me, and I was like, 'You're kidding, right?!'" Andrews recalled. "I thought they were joking, and it turns out they were being serious. I was really, really nervous to do that because then people would hear me sing. When I first did the program at U.S. Championships, I completely forgot that I sang part of my program, so when I did my first long in practice, it was like, woah, this sounds different, and I had to remember it was my voice. It was really, really cool."
 
The brave choice to skate to her own voice, which came while Andrews was suffering through the flu and considered dropping out of the competition, paid off in the form of the fifth-highest score of the day and sixth overall at her senior U.S. Championships debut, as well as an assignment to the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2018.
 
While she would love to feature her own voice in a program again, lately Andrews has been making headlines for making a different statement in her skating.
 
She once again caught the attention of millions when performing to Mickey Guyton's "Black Like Me" this summer for the Peggy Fleming Trophy. Andrews has high hopes to perform the program again as an exhibition.
 
Delmore played the song for Andrews and, as per usual, she was hooked within seconds.
 
"When I heard that song, I was just like, how have I never heard of this artist before," Andrews said. "It's beautiful, the lyrics are amazing, and I was super, super excited to skate to that. The program always makes me smile when I skate to it."
 
Country singer Guyton released "Black Like Me" on June 2, during a time of civil unrest when social injustice protests flooded cities everywhere following the death of George Floyd.
 
"It's just the struggles of a black girl in America, and I can really relate to the song," Andrews said. "It's kind of hard to put into words, but it's just amazing to skate to it and get my message across through skating."
 
Guyton has posted Andrews' program on her Instagram account several times, calling Andrews "everything good the world needs" and thanking her for "blessing us all with your beautiful spirit and talents." Andrews said the two have been in touch and that Guyton is "so, so, so sweet."
 
With the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in all facets of life coming to the forefront this year, Andrews has embraced the added coverage and support from media and fans she has garnered as one of few skaters of color.
 
"Honestly, it's amazing," she said. "It's awesome to know I have so much support, and I'm just so grateful for how many people support me. It's so heartwarming."
 
Don't miss Andrews this week at 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America. Catch the competition live and on-demand on Peacock Premium, your all-access pass to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, Learn more and start your