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The Internet Is Living for This French Figure Skating Pair’s Heavy Metal Performance

2 minute read
By Ashley Hoffman

Olympic pairs skating just got so hardcore and the internet is here for it.

France’s Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres performed to the metal band Disturbed’s take on Simon and Garfunkel’s classic “Sound of Silence” at the free skating event and it elicited some truly excellent internet reactions.

The pair, who won the bronze medal at the 2017 European Championships, finished sixth place in the team event short program with a score of 75.34. It was enough to advance them to the medal round. But perhaps most importantly, the duo won over the internet with how they epitomized elegance to a surprisingly hard-hitting track.

It’s the go-to song for the pair, who have been skating together since 2010. They also used the song for their free skate last year. “It was our coaches who found it,” James told the Associated Press about the song. “They were like, ‘We really think it could be a hit.’”

This marks the first Olympics where competitors can skate to songs with lyrics. The use of popular music is helping viewers connect even more with what’s already one of the most popular sports of the Winter Games.

See the best reactions to the pair below.

Listen for yourself below.

Don’t expect all pop hits at the rink in Pyeongchang. Fan favorites like France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron plan to perform to “Moonlight Sonato.”Wint

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