Ice Dancing was in full nostalgia mode on Monday as pairs were asked to choreograph their routines to songs from the 1990’s. This led to the British pair skating to a Spice Girls medley, the French incredibly mashing up “Blue” by Eiffel 65 with Daft Punk songs — and the duo from Czechia dialing up a plagiarized A.I. slop version of “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals.
Not only is the song a clear rip-off, but it’s AWFUL. Instead of the oddly soulful, slightly disaffected vocals of New Radicals lead singer Gregg Alexander, we got a butt rock rendition that was a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, and utterly awful.
While figure skating rules do allow for skaters to use A.I. generated music, it’s unclear if those protections extend to clear and obvious rip-offs like this one with “You Get What You Give.” It’s word-for-word identical, albeit performed with the soul of a drunk karaoke singer at a truck stop. This raises questions about music licensing on the brightest stage.
The duo ended up finishing with a 72.09, well off the podium and away from any chance of a medal. I don’t want to say they deserve it for that song, but they deserve it.
