Jan 12, 2026
3 min read
After making arrangements, Alisa Liu plans to lead Lady Gaga's free skate to the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships.
Alysa Liu is "excited" to do a bold, new free skate inspired by Lady Gaga
- Alysa Liu will debut a Lady Gaga revamped free skate at the US figure skating championship.
- The new show features different songs and a shiny new platinum outfit.
- His performance will help determine the program he will use at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Editor's note: See who has been named to the U.S. Figure Skating Olympic Team for the 2026 Games in Cortina, Milan.
ST. LOUIS — With the 2026 Winter Olympics less than a month away, Alysa Liu will be using the U.S. figure skating championships to see what will be in her arsenal when she arrives in Milano Cortina.
During the free competition on Friday, January 9, the reigning world champion will use his updated Lady Gaga medley, bringing back the show that skating fans have been waiting for.
"It's a brand new free skate, so I'm excited," Liu told reporters on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Liu has been working on this for months, most recently at the 2025 CS Lombardia Cup in September.It wasn't the most exciting show, so he and choreographer Massimo Sculli decided it wasn't appropriate yet and needed to be reworked.In the meantime, he retreats to his "MacArthur Park Suite" for free skating.
Since then, it has been in doubt when Lady Gaga's free skate would return.At the Skate America show in November, Liu said her team is still trying out music and art and working on it "behind the scenes and practicing."
Before the USA Figure Skating Championships, Liu said the program was officially retooled and ready to go to St.
There are few changes especially in the song selection."Bloody Mary" is no longer in the mix, and instead Leo's "Chromatica" and "Paparazzi", along with "Bad Romance" remain close.
There are also new costumes.ANT fiery red dress, Liu presented a platinum, sparkly dress inspired by Lady Gaga's WMA performance in 2009, which she was excited to discover.
"I really like the dress, so I hope you like it too," Liu said.
Liu said the program did not include the triple axel, which was mostly her fault because she didn't feel the competition was that close and it "didn't cross my mind" to train for it.However, it can be included if he decides to go to the USA Championships in the Winter Olympics.
The performance will be an important moment for Liu as he has two free skates in his inventory and may decide to return to his old home of Milano Cortina as he is expected to be on the Olympic roster when the announcement is made on Sunday, January 11.
Liu enters the final performance of the national championships in second place after a breathtaking short program that earned her a season-high score of 81.11, a U.S. championship record.However, this was quickly broken when Amber Glenn's program earned her a score of 83.05 and took first place.
Liu's free skate will take place around 10:35 p.m.ET as he tries to win his first U.S. title since 2020 after finishing second — behind Glenn — last year.
