News

Alexa & Chris Knierim's Free Skate Song Was Valentine's Day Perfection

by Chris Tognotti
Jamie Squire/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

If you've been following the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, you've already seen some simply breathtaking feats of figure skating. But this time ― appropriately enough, with Valentine's Day on everyone's minds ― figure skating fans got to see a scene of both beautiful figure skating, and romance, too. If you haven't heard it already, make no mistake, this song from Alexa and Chris Knierim's Olympics free skate deserves your attention.

Chris and Alexa hold a unique distinction out of all the figure skating pairs this Olympics. Namely, they're the only married couple in the field, and they've known one another for a long time. As such, it was pretty easy to predict they might lean into a romantic theme for their on-ice performance, and on that front they definitely did not disappoint.

The song from their performance is a modern version of "Unchained Melody," a hit song from the 1950s that was eventually used in the 1990 film Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. The version Alexa and Chris skated to is from Ghost: The Musical, which debuted in 2011. Simply put, it was a strong choice of music, and the pair left a very strong impression.

The pair has done this routine before, and it wasn't that long ago. Back in early January, they performed to the same music at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, vying for a spot in the Winter Games. It's a somewhat haunting rendition of the song, and both Chris and Alexa have clearly practiced it intricately, slicing their way across the ice with seeming ease as the music plays.

The famed figure skating paramours are undeniably photogenic, there's no doubt about that. Following their skating routine broadcast on Feb. 14 ― Valentine's Day, as it happens ― they ended the routine with a kiss, showing off their love to millions of people around the world. The only downside to the tender moment: it really set the bar high for everyone else's Valentine's Day plans.

The pair's routine on Wednesday was particularly emotional thanks to events back in the United States, namely the school shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. According to the Associated Press, Alexa specifically said the incident left her feeling "overwhelmed" and "emotionally drained."

If you're interested in following the rest of the Olympic action, whether its skating, hockey, skiing, or what have you, you're going to want to get familiar with the NBC broadcast schedule over the next couple of weeks. The games will be continuing until Sunday, Feb. 25, when the final medals of the 2018 games will be handed out.

Although the events are being played in South Korea, and thus at very different times of day from when most American viewers are able to watch, NBC is devoting its primetime hours to broadcasting the action every night between now and Feb. 25, so if you check your TV listings, or hop over to the official NBC schedule, you'll be able to find out when to tune in.

So far, the Olympic medal count has been dominated by Germany, which has already snapped up seven gold medals, with the Netherlands trailing in second with five, and the United States in third with four. That's the same order in the overall medal standings, with Germany having a combined 12 medals to the Netherlands' 11, and America with just seven. The games haven't been very kind to host country South Korea so far ― the unified Korean team, joining together the North and South Korean talent pool, has only won one medal so far, although it was a gold.