Bronze medal win in figure skating paying off for musician

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won a bronze medal for Canada in pairs figure skating at the Winter Games on Thursday, but earlier in the week they kept an unlikely Olympic dream going for an American singer-songwriter.

Duhamel and Radford skated to a cover version of U2’s evergreen hit With or Without You for their short program.

It’s by April Meservy, and the attention that’s been coming her way has been unexpected for an independent artist working hard to make the podium in the music business.

You can stream Meservy’s melancholy and breathy-voiced track on Spotify or Youtube, but enough people have bought digital copies of it this week that it’s been in the top 10 on the itunes songs chart.

At the other end of the spec- trum, Duhamel and Radford clinched their medal with a routine set to Hometown Glory by Adele, who obviously doesn’t need their help with her recognition in Pyeongchang or anywhere else.

She may not be smashing sales records or selling out arenas yet, but Meservy got to witness the routine set to her recording in South Korea, as well as at the Canadian championships last month in Vancouver. According to The Canadian Press, both trips were made possible for the Utah singer by an anonymous donor.

“Watching Team Canada, I feel like I have two countries I love and root for now. I love U.S.A. and I love Canada,” Meservy told CP.

“I have to say though, for this, I’m definitely on Team Canada.”

So, well played.

It’s also possible to give a boost to contemporary music that isn’t pop at the Games. Kirsten Moore-towers and Michael Marinaro, another Canadian pair, selected Un ange passe (An Angel Passes) by Alain Lefèvre for the free skate portion of the event. It’s a piece written in 2000 by the French-canadian pianist, who has an extensive list of classical recordings and compositions to his credit.

The usage of his music might not have propelled Lefèvre up the download charts, but it was doubtless heard by millions of people around the world for at least a few minutes.

While Adele and Coldplay may understandably take such things in stride, lesser-known performers are getting to enjoy some reflected Olympic glory every once in a while.