Mozart or Rocketman?

[Anna K.]

I just felt that this deserves going down in history as a separate thread because few are the skaters who would have such a dilemma in their Olympic season
So, which of Nathan Chen's programs would you prefer as his Olympic free skate, his Mozart compilation or the Rocketman soundtrack (here for reference the clean version of Rocketman from last year ) and why?

 

[noskates]

Rocketman - all the way!!! It shows so much of Nathan's personality and talent above and beyond his incredible skating feats.

 

[lariko]

Rocketman, for sure.

 

[Blades of Passion]

The Mozart program sucked.

I don't love Rocketman either, he conveys neither the wistfulness nor the abandon of Elton's music, and the attempt at trying to do hip-hop is cheesy, it's like a joke of hip-hop, not authentic. But the overall program does have more energy and sense of purpose than the Mozart one.

His best program was what he had last season. Although for a casual audience or Youtube click perspective, people will like Rocketman the most.

 

[kolyadafan2002]

Land of All
Philip glass.
Neither the two.recent ones

 

[lesnar001]

Rocketman.

 

[Seven Sisters]

Philip Glass!

His best LP by far, fits him like a glove. But of course, he should choose whichever he prefers—it’s not up to us.

 

[4everchan]

anything but skating to a requiem during an olympic season.

 

[susanf]

As a professional musician and someone who has an enormous love of Mozart, I was truly appalled by the arrangement of the Requiem music that was used for his Mozart program this season. So, I definitely prefer Rocketman, but even that felt a little stale this weekend. It's very surprising that he has recycled both SP and LP from past seasons. IMO, It makes him look as if he has not grown artistically and is just coasting.

 

[cake]

None of those The Mozart program seems boring. I don´t feel his rocketman at all and these frantic random moves (aka step sequence) at the end really annoy me (although it gets the crowd going for sure).

 

[Yeslekyelnats]

Rocket man

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Rocketman, but it should be paired with his Moliendo Cafe/Caravan SP.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Philip Glass, but I get that he wouldn't want to repeat a programme 2 years in a row.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Land of All is probably my fave of his to come out of the last quadrennial. It's so thoughtful and has a beautiful build to it and just feels so contemporary and fresh.

Rocketman however really shows his personality and is the "anti-classical/orchestral" freeskate that the world needs to see win the Olympics. Considering Lysacek won trying to present a judge friendly warhorse, Chen winning with something like Rocketman would send a great message to the world as to how far figure skating has come.

 

[yelyoh]

I do think Rocketman is more of a sendup than an actual interpretation and indeed the footwork section is cheesy and gimmicky but it works and it seems to allow Nathan to have fun and therefore relax (though doing a nosedive into the ice is just a tad too relaxed). I too prefer the Philip Glass but since Nathan is fortunately not channeling me he should do what will make him feel most comfortable under the glare of Olympic expectations. Of course, Nathan being Nathan he will do what he feels like when he gets out of bed that morning. Or when he puts on his skates. Or when he hits the ice.

 

[moonvine]

Rocketman is one of my favorite programs of all time. If he skated to it in the shirt his mom made it would he h the most perfect.

 

[Supernovaimplosion]

Rocketman. I think it's better for an Olympic audience anyway. But please Nathan, get a new shirt. The red one looks like an old school screensaver

 

[Anna K.]

As a professional musician and someone who has an enormous love of Mozart, I was truly appalled by the arrangement of the Requiem music that was used for his Mozart program this season. So, I definitely prefer Rocketman, but even that felt a little stale this weekend. It's very surprising that he has recycled both SP and LP from past seasons. IMO, It makes him look as if he has not grown artistically and is just coasting.

I was not surprised by the fact that he, like many other skaters, recycled programs because the last two years have not been the best time period to grow artistically (cancelled events, limited training possibilities, doubts if Olympic games will be held at all, etc.). I was surprised though that he did not recycle his program with Philip Glass music. It felt like it was choreographed with Olympic games in mind. But then again, so felt the Rocketman

Why a lackluster Mozart remix got there is beyond me.

 

[georgia]

Rocket man is more appealing to larger audience.

 

[Joubabe]

Rocketman! He feels it and I feel it.

I actually thought his shirt was a step up for him as far as costumes go.