From Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” to Gloria Estefan’s “Reach” to Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé’s “Barcelona,” the Olympic Summer Games have spawned numerous musical anthems now widely regarded as part of the sporting glory songbook. Ask even the most ardent Olympics fan to name a theme from the Winter version, though, and they’d no doubt struggle.
Yet over the years, several high-profile names have aligned themselves with the rather niche world of short track speed skating, curling and that death-defying event which involves throwing yourself down a high-speed ice course on a tea tray.
Ahead of the Beijing 2022 opening ceremony on Friday (Feb. 4), here’s a look at ten of the best.
10. Taeyang, “Louder”
K-pop was surprisingly underrepresented at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, with only Exo, CL and Bolbbalgan4 making the cut – BTS reportedly turned down an invitation to perform. But organizers did entrust one of the scene’s veterans with recording the official theme. A founding member of boy band Big Bang, Taeyang made history in 2014 when he scored the highest-charting entry by a South Korean solo artist on the Billboard 200 at the time with his sophomore album Rise. The man hailed as his homeland’s Prince of R&B once again did his country proud with a “let’s get loud” call to arms almost as addictive as J.Lo’s.
9. Mariah Carey, “100%”
“100%” was initially intended for the film which, nearly a decade after Glitter, proved that yes, Mariah Carey could actually act. But after reportedly being bumped off the Precious soundtrack by fellow double threat Mary J. Blige’s “I Can See in Color,” the R&B ballad was repurposed as a way of inspiring her homeland at the 2010 Winter Games. “100%” was something of an anomaly on the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack compilation it was released on, though, which also featured various post-grungers (Puddle of Mudd, Hoobastank) and country outfits (Sugarland, Rascal Flatts) waving the Stars and Stripes.
8. Nikki Yanofsky, “I Believe”
Then aged just 16, Nikki Yanofsky was pretty much inescapable during the Vancouver Winter Olympics of 2010. The jazz pop singer performed “I Believe” at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the games and also helped to kick off the subsequent Paralympics with the same universal and unifying ballad (“I believe in the power that comes/From a world brought together as one”). Penned by hitmaker Stephan Moccio (Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”) and Glass Tiger frontman Alan Frew, the track also featured prominently throughout Canadian TV coverage – a bilingual version with Quebec chanteuse Annie Villeneuve was shown, too – and even topped the host nation’s Hot 100.
7. Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado, “Bang the Drum”
Bryan Adams appeared to fully get into the Olympic spirit when the Winter Games came to his Vancouver hometown in 2010. Not only did the gravelly-voiced rocker accept German TV network ARD’s offer to write and record an original track (“One World, One Flame”) for their coverage of the event, he also teamed up with fellow native Nelly Furtado to perform at the opening ceremony. The pair’s motivational collaboration “Bang the Drum” obviously did the trick. Canada achieved the highest number of golds, making them the first host nation to achieve such a feat since Norway 58 years earlier.
6. Andrea Bocelli, “Because We Believe (Ama Credi E Vai)”
A David Foster co-write, “Because We Believe (Ama Credi E Vai)” is one of the few official Winter Olympics themes to grace a Billboard chart: it peaked at No. 39 on the Adult Contemporary chart shortly after being performed by Andrea Bocelli at the Turin 2006 closing ceremony. Perhaps that’s due to its memorable staging – the Italian tenor was joined in the Stadio Olimpico by no fewer than 500 lily-carrying, Dove of Peace-forming brides in full wedding dress attire. First appearing on his 11th studio effort Amore, the classical pop number also soundtracked the extinguishing of the flame.
5. LeAnn Rimes, “Light the Fire Within”
“This performance will forever be one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had as an artist. I still cry watching it.” That’s how LeAnn Rimes described her performance at the 2002 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony in a social media throwback 16 years later. Co-written by David Foster and Linda Thompson – the dream team behind The Bodyguard‘s Oscar- and Grammy-nominated ballad “I Have Nothing” – the similarly epic “Light the Fire Within” was the official song of the Salt Lake City Games. Rimes delivered a powerhouse rendition accompanied by hundreds of lanterns, a children’s choir and a figure skating display from several former medalists, including Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi.
4. John Williams, “Call of the Champions”
John Williams had composed themes for the Summer Games at Los Angeles 1984 (“Olympic Fanfare and Theme”), Seoul 1988 (“The Olympic Spirit”) and Atlanta 1996 (“Summon the Heroes”). But “Call of the Champions” was the first time the composer had brought his dramatic flair to the Winter version of the event. As you’d expect, Williams’ contribution to Salt Lake City 2002 was just as emotionally stirring as his sunnier efforts, largely thanks to the powerful cries of the Olympics motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”) from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
3. David Foster, “Winter Games”/”Can’t You Feel It”
Sixteen-time Grammy winner (and the current Mr. Katharine McPhee) David Foster is the closest the Winter Olympics has to a songwriter-in-residence. The prolific producer has had a hand in numerous themes over the years, starting with his double whammy for Calgary 1988. Performed by a bunch of impossibly happy track-suited Canadians at the opening ceremony, the vocal-led “Can’t You Feel It” is a curious fusion of ’80s poodle rock and Broadway show tune. But the energetic piano-led instrumental “Winter Games,” a No. 85 hit on the Hot 100, was much better suited to the exploits of Eddie the Eagle and co.
2. John Denver, “Just A Dream Away”/”The Gold and Beyond”
John Denver might not have had a particular affiliation with Sarajevo. But as a keen skier – “Annie’s Song” was conceived while riding an Aspen chairlift, while the video for single “Dancing with the Mountains” saw the bespectacled balladeer show off his finest downhill moves – his contributions to the 1984 Winter Games still made total sense. Denver recorded two tracks specially for the occasion, “Just A Dream Away” and “The Gold and Beyond,” with the latter doubling up as the theme tune to ABC’s coverage. If any further proof of his passion for winter sports was needed, the country legend served as commentator for the network, too.
1. Chuck Mangione, “Give It All You Got”
Chuck Mangione’s “Give It All You Got” lost best instrumental composition to John Williams’ score for The Empire Strikes Back at the 1981 Grammys, but America’s most famous flugelhorn player could take solace from the fact that unlike anything from the Star Wars sequel, his contribution to the 1980 Lake Placid Games made it onto the Hot 100 – all the way to No. 18 (and No. 1 on Adult Contemporary). Mangione, who was asked by ABC Sports president Roone Arledge to work his magic for the event, also got to perform the jazz-funk crossover at the closing ceremony.
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