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U.S. Figure Skating

ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Salzburg
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National Team: Figure Skating Darci Miller

Starr Andrews: From Viral Fame to National Contender

You've probably heard of Starr Andrews.
 
In 2010, Andrews shot to viral fame when her program to Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" hit the internet.
 
Then just 9 years old, Andrews skated in a bright pink top and purple shorts and, you guessed it, emphatically whipped her hair in a show program choreographed by her mom and aunt.
 
The video now has more than 54 million views.
 
"I had no clue what (going viral) meant at the time," she said with a laugh. "So I didn't really care about it that much. I liked skating more. I was like, 'I don't know what that means, but okay!'"
 
Andrews is now 17 years old, fresh off her senior U.S. Figure Skating Championships debut in January, and still fields questions about her "Whip My Hair" program "all the time." While she says she doesn't get tired of it, she still has some trouble wrapping her head around her brush with fame.
 
"It's a little weird looking back," she said. "Like, that's me?"
 
Watching Andrews skate now, an observer could find themselves wondering the same thing.
 
Andrews took the ice at the 2018 U.S. Championships in an elegant red bodysuit, skating her short program to a rendition of "Fever" sung by Beyoncé. Her free skate, set to Whitney Houston's iconic "One Moment in Time" with portions sung by Andrews herself, earned her a career-best U.S. free skate score of 127.36.
 
She finished in sixth place overall, an impressive debut and enough to garner some buzz as she prepares to make her senior Grand Prix debut at 2018 Skate America in Everett, Washington.
 
"That's awesome," Andrews said of the opportunity to skate in front of a U.S. crowd. "It's going to feel like nationals again."
 
But, Andrews insists that she's not feeling any additional pressure.
 
"For me, thinking about (every competition), it's different, but when you go there, it all feels the same," she said. "So I just tell myself this is just another competition, do what you have to do, and you'll be okay."
 
As for dealing with the expectations that come with a strong debut, Andrews says she doesn't let that get to her either.
 
"I usually don't think about it too hard because that's when I can start freaking out, so I put it in the back of my mind," she said.
 
She dipped her toe into the senior international scene at the end of last season, placing seventh at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.
 
Andrews made her season debut at the Autumn Classic International in September, placing seventh overall.
 
Her programs this year reflect her continued growth into a more mature skater. Her elegant short program is set to "Summertime" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, while her free skate to "Jungle" by various artists has a wildly different, intense look and feel.
 
Andrews finds herself hard-pressed to pick a favorite program, but is partial to her current free skate. When her coach, Derrick Delmore, showed her the music, she said she had no idea what it was but thought it was the perfect piece to skate to and was immediately on board.
 
"To me, skating to the same genre of music is kind of boring. I like to mix it up," Andrews said. "Like, I can have a sad program and then my long program would be completely opposite from that, and then the next year doing something so different. I want something to skate to that's different, I want different choreography, different movements, and I find that really fun."
 
Andrews has been having fun figure skating since she was 3 years old when she accompanied her mom, who began taking lessons as an adult before Starr was born, to the rink. The elder Andrews had tried to get her two older daughters to take to the sport, but neither was interested. So she let Starr sit on the sidelines.
 
That didn't stick.
 
"I wanted to get on the ice really, really bad but I was too small, so I had to wait," Andrews said. "And then when I did get on the ice…" She paused, gesturing around her at the Broadmoor World Arena, where she was attending U.S. Figure Skating's Champs Camp. "I'm here now!"
 
Andrews says her mom has played a major role in her career, supporting her through everything.
 
Not least of all, she was the one to suggest Starr skate to "Whip My Hair" all those years ago.
 
The question remains: would Andrews ever revisit the program that was the source of her first brush with fame?
 
"I would," she said, smiling coyly. "Yes, I would."
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