Alysa Liu stepped into a full ’60s look on Tuesday, April 7, then turned it into a surprise duet with Icelandic singer Laufey. In an Instagram post captioned “welcome to the party,” Liu danced in an orange-and-yellow mini dress, tall brown boots, an orange headband, chunky bangles and a white beaded necklace while Laufey matched her in a white crocheted minidress, white knee-high boots, a white headband and white earrings.
The video opened with the two performing to PinkPantheress’ “Stateside,” the same song Liu skated to during her free-skate routine at the Winter Olympics in February. Fans flooded the comments with praise, including “The 60s look is so good on alysa WOW,” “I looove retro styles ahhh” and “the collab we never knew we needed.” Simu Liu wrote “crushed it.” PinkPantheress replied “OKAAAYYYY,” and the official US Figure Skating account added, “You have our attention.”
The clip landed because Liu is no longer just a skater with a good eye for music. At the Milan Olympics, she moved from third place after the short program to win gold in the free skate with a career-best 226.79 overall, giving the United States its first women’s figure skating title since Sarah Hughes took gold at Salt Lake City in 2002. In the weeks that followed, her Instagram following climbed to nearly 8 million.
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This was not the first time Liu and Laufey crossed paths in public. Liu had previously skated to Laufey’s “Promise” at the Olympics, helping send the 2023 track surging up the charts, and the two later met at one of Laufey’s live shows. Laufey told the crowd, “She’s like the best figure skater in the world. Do you understand what this means for my 8-year-old figure skating heart?” She also called Liu “an incredible athlete with an incredible story.”
Liu added another layer to the moment on her own Instagram Story, where she posted “Madwoman let’s gooo” and reshared a polaroid from the same day. The collaboration worked because it joined two worlds that already had a shared audience, and Liu’s Olympic rise has made her one of the most visible faces in the sport.
For now, the answer to what made the video catch fire is simple: Liu and Laufey gave fans a polished crossover that felt playful, specific and earned. It was retro on the surface, but it was also a victory lap.
