Most songs get a music video, a radio push, and a rollout plan. "Stateside" got something better: three minutes on ice at the Winter Olympics.
Who Is Alysa Liu
Alysa Liu is an American figure skater who's been competing at the top level since she was a teenager. At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, she won two gold medals, one for her individual performance and one with Team USA. By the time the competition wrapped up, she was already one of the biggest stories of the Games.
The Performance That Started It All
After the medals are handed out, the Olympics hold an exhibition gala, a final skate where athletes perform just for fun, no scores, no pressure. That's where Liu chose to skate to "Stateside," a song by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson. She skated in a sparkly blue dress on February 21, 2026, and the clip spread everywhere within days. PinkPantheress is Liu's favorite artist, and even sent her a message of support before the performance.
Who Is PinkPantheress
The woman behind "Stateside" is PinkPantheress, a British singer-songwriter from Bath, England, real name Victoria Walker. She got her start in 2021 by posting short, lo-fi song clips on TikTok, blending 2000s UK garage and jungle sounds with soft, bedroom-pop vocals, and the clips went viral. Her breakout hit, "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" with rapper Ice Spice, became a top 10 hit in multiple countries and made her one of the most recognized new voices in pop. By the time "Stateside" came out, she already had a track record of turning short, catchy songs into massive online moments.
Once Liu's routine went viral, PinkPantheress didn't stay quiet about it. She posted on Instagram, "incredible work my good sis," as the clip spread. After "Stateside" hit #1 on the U.S. Spotify chart, she posted again, saying the song being played at the Olympics felt like "dreams really do come true."
For Liu, the song has turned into something bigger than a one-time performance. It's become the piece of music people now connect directly to her, a kind of anthem for a skater who's still just getting started.
A Song That Was Already Rising, Then Skyrocketed
"Stateside" had picked up real momentum after the Zara Larsson remix dropped in October 2025, entering the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-January 2026. Then Liu skated to it at the Olympics, the clip went viral, and the song jumped straight to its peak. It climbed all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of this week, it's still sitting at #17, a run most songs never get close to.
Liu's routine didn't just help "Stateside" on the Hot 100. It also pushed the song to #1 on Billboard's Global 200 chart. It's one of the clearest examples yet of how one viral moment, not a marketing budget, can turn a song into a hit.
Watch It Come to Life on VibeSynced
"Stateside" has the kind of beat that's built for visuals: light, bouncy, with a bassline that never lets up. Paste the song into VibeSynced and let one of the reactive scenes pick up on it. Galaxy leans into the song's bigger moments, while Techno keeps pace with the steady beat underneath.
Paste "Stateside" into VibeSynced and see it move.
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