Can't Help Falling In Love ... with Hubbell & Donohue (fan thread #2)

[Bigbird]

Saw a HQ shot of their costumes and have to agree on that. Best costumes I've seen this season. So modern and casual chic.

That "Daddy" song for the SD though...a little cringey.

That's why it works.

 

[lmarie086]

Someone please tell them to forget about voiceovers!!

Their skating is beautiful but this program has a lot of growing to do. I'm still surprised by the music choice - I hope I buy in by the end of the season.

 

[topaz]

They were robbed, period.

 

[topaz]

Saw a HQ shot of their costumes and have to agree on that. Best costumes I've seen this season. So modern and casual chic.

That "Daddy" song for the SD though...a little cringey.

Why?

 

[blancanieves]

Someone please tell them to forget about voiceovers!!

Their skating is beautiful but this program has a lot of growing to do. I'm still surprised by the music choice - I hope I buy in by the end of the season.

I think the voiceovers are unnecessary too. Both songs have lyrics that clearly communicate what the characters think and feel. No prompts are required to understand what is going on.

Not a fan of Shallow, but I recognize that it is a really well composed song. It organically goes from a quiet start to a fuller sound, interesting bridge, anthemic chorus and the end is the resolution of the emotional build up throughout the song. Why mess up what already works? To shorten the song, take out a verse, a chorus, but protect the flow of the original composition.

Both, Alibi and Shallow, are musically dynamic songs already. There's no need for an overproduced medley with manipulations that take away the soulfulness of the music. Just focus on finding the right point of transition from one song into the next. Think of melody and flow, make the music cut sing. It's unsettling to hear bits of song 1, then out of nowhere bits of dialogue, song 2 starts, full stop, another bit of dialogue, then song 1 again.

I like the country pop, alt country style they're exploring. Hope they get the music right.

 

[lmarie086]

(((H/D)))
I do think they need to go back to the drawing board on the FD (I'd like to swap out a song in their SD as well, but I won't ask for too much...). I know it's early in the season, but I don't think this is the right vehicle for them to retain the national title and stay on the world podium or move up again. They're so good, so their odd music choices stand out, and not for the better.

 

[Sylvia]

Nick McCarvel chatted with them after the FD press conference:

Live chat with ice dancers Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue | Fresh off a 13th career Grand Prix medal, Olympians and two-time U.S. champs Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue join us from Skate Canada ⛸ | By Team USAFacebook

Fresh off a 13th career Grand Prix medal, Olympians and two-time U.S. champs Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue join us from Skate Canada ⛸

www.facebook.com

 

[cocotaffy]

Back to the drawing board for them. I really question their GP strategy this year. No senior B and then back to back events doesn't seem to be a good idea for those guys. You need to be sure of your capacity in picking the absolute right programs for yourself which is definitely not their case. Now they'll go to the GPF final undermined in their leader position. Plus, we have yet to see what C/B are gonna get on the GP circuit. Of course, they can turn the tide, nothing is ever set but they sure made it much harder on themselves. Such a pity because they are such a talented team.

 

[RoseRed]

Back to the drawing board for them. I really question their GP strategy this year. No senior B and then back to back events doesn't seem to be a good idea for those guys. You need to be sure of your capacity in picking the absolute right programs for yourself which is definitely not their case. Now they'll go to the GPF final undermined in their leader position. Plus, we have yet to see what C/B are gonna get on the GP circuit. Of course, they can turn the tide, nothing is ever set but they sure made it much harder on themselves. Such a pity because they are such a talented team.

Well, the back to back events wasn't really their choice this time. The no challenger was, though.

 

[bcash]

I don't think this FD can be compared to the humdrum ill-fitting R&J program. This definitely feels like them and they do many interesting things choreo-wise on top of the powerful skating. I can see the argument that the music arrangement needs a bit more thought and finesse. But other than that, I really can't fault them for anything.

 

[Vash01]

I love their choice of music for the FD. Somehow it is not winning. May be they need to make some changes to the program ? Or is it a matter of getting used to the new program?

 

[laviemn]

I've never seen this story Madison's mother wrote on Instagram. Kudos to this account for being one of the like 5 decent human beings on Skating Twitter.

https://twitter.com/shibsibschen/status/1188330531454439424

 

[aka_gerbil]

Back to the drawing board for them. I really question their GP strategy this year. No senior B and then back to back events doesn't seem to be a good idea for those guys. You need to be sure of your capacity in picking the absolute right programs for yourself which is definitely not their case. Now they'll go to the GPF final undermined in their leader position. Plus, we have yet to see what C/B are gonna get on the GP circuit. Of course, they can turn the tide, nothing is ever set but they sure made it much harder on themselves. Such a pity because they are such a talented team.

I talked about this in the dance hall thread, but nothing that has happened with H/D this season is fatal. Someone else already commented that the back-to-back GP events were not a choice this year. They had to take what was left after P/C and S/K picked. I did get their logic about feeling frustrated by doing early challengers in the past--they always got SLC and I can understand not wanting to skate early season at altitude. This is a hindsight is 20/20 thing. I think they need to put one back on their schedule for next season, and if they don't want to do SLC, they have enough clout at this point I think they could ask USFS to be assigned to something else.

The upside of having the back-to-back gp events and having the gpf ticket stamped means that they have more time than anyone else to go back and work on their programs. They don't have to make the hasty changes and turn around and schlep of to Europe or Asia to compete again in a few weeks. They just get to stay home and work. I know they said they didn't want to have to make program changes this year, but they're going to have to. I'm sure they get that now. H/D are a scrappy team. They'll do what they need to.

As for the programs themselves, I like the FD. I don't love it (yet), but I see the potential there for it to grow to something really great by the end of the season. Country-rock is very them and a close cousin to the blues style that worked so well for them in their debut FD in 11-12 and again in the Olympic season. Get rid of the voiceovers, maybe tweak the music cuts, definitely play with the choreography in parts. I was prepared to hate the SD, but I actually quite liked it and do not mind the "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" part. As someone pointed out in a different thread, it's not that much different from "Big Spender", which people skate to all of the time without comment. I only think they need to convert the dress to have a more natural waist instead of the drop waist.

 

[Wyliefan]

I've never seen this story Madison's mother wrote on Instagram. Kudos to this account for being one of the like 5 decent human beings on Skating Twitter.

https://twitter.com/shibsibschen/status/1188330531454439424

The account is protected. Can you summarize?

 

[marbri]

The account is protected. Can you summarize?

Hmm, it wasn't protected an hour ago. User probably didn't appreciate the sudden traffic lol.
It linked to Madison's mothers instagram account (I think it was instagram) where she did an 8 post story about how hard Maddie and Zach work and that it's okay to have different opinions but to be kind because words can hurt people. It was kind of cute, not whiny or moany, just wanted to add that here because you need to see it and not make a conclusion based on my summary. I think it dated 2017 and I don't know if the screenshots were from actual instagram posts or a story.

 

[laviemn]

The account is protected. Can you summarize?

Her mom's story starts with this post, keep clicking the left arrow to the end

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[UMBS Go Blue]

Well, the back to back events wasn't really their choice this time. The no challenger was, though.

Agreed on the first point. And even on the second, I can't blame them for taking some time for themselves.

The previous year (2018) was a whirlwind for them: the emotional highs of winning Nats, qualifying for the Olympics, taking in and actually being at the Olympics, missing out on the Olympic podium, recovering to make the podium at Worlds, being on SOI throughout the spring, getting new programs ready in just a couple of months, doing SLC, and then doing back-to-back GPs. Sounds like a recipe for burnout to me.

While they may need to spin their wheels again this season when it comes to altering their programs, you can't deny that their actual skating looks great, and that the time off has helped. Even though Zach was sick at Skate America, which affected their execution (it was a miracle that they made it through the last minute of their FD), their skating skills were still the class of the field, by far.

 

[cocotaffy]

Their SS is great for sure even though At Skate Canada Madison was not on, she nearly tripped on the boards at one point. I just think senior Bs are a great help to get a sense of what is working. Hopefully next year they'll strategize differently. I get they are tired but all their competitors are so that is not much of an excuse. However, finances are another matter, it could be that travelling expenses for competitions is too much.
Anyway, I have no doubt they'll come back strong at GPF finals, they have had sets back before. They can count on their great SS, they just need to redefine what it is they want to convey with their FD. They can rework on those voice overs, and the lay out of the second part. Right now it's a bit all over the place.

 

[Sylvia]

With a Spot Secured in December’s Grand Prix Final, Hubbell and Donohue Take a Break… Before Jumping Back In - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

It's week three of the Grand Prix season and two-time and reigning U.S. ice dance champions Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are right where they want to be:

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[aka_gerbil]

It sounds like from the article that they know they have some work to do on the programs. I hope they have a nice break, and I'm really curious to see how they've changed/grown the program by the GPF. I do see the potential in this FD to become something really good in the end.

 

[bcash]

Sounds like they are in a pretty good place mentally. Interesting to know that they actually are taking a mini-break. I like that idea.

 

[aka_gerbil]

I was listening to music on shuffle earlier today, and this came up:

A Storm Is Going to Come

Provided to YouTube by Believe SAS A Storm Is Going to Come · Piers Faccini Two Grains of Sand ℗ Tôt Ou Tard Released on: 2009-04-06 Author: Piers Faccini Co...

www.youtube.com

No team ever skates to what I wish for them to, but I sort of want H/D to do a FD to this.

 

[Sylvia]

Jean-Christophe Berlot's article from the GPF in Torino where H/D won the bronze medal (published Dec. 17, 2018):

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue – Continuing to Build - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue skated their two Grand Prix events back to back at the beginning of the season, at Skate America and Skate Canada International.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Excerpt:

"Marie-France told us that we were not showcasing our speed and power, especially in the first part. Judges didn't seem to respond to the contemporary style we had given that part. They wanted it to be more rock and roll. So we decided to put the main elements at the beginning, before the music turns to "Shallow," and to place the choreographic elements at the end. That was giving us more freedom to express them. Also, we wanted to give the judges somewhat of a break at the end of our program, once we've done our elements. They can check our key points and steps and technical elements in the first part, and then "get lost" at the end of our program."

 

[Ka3sha]

Those edges

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[Areski]

Someone please tell them to forget about voiceovers!!

Their skating is beautiful but this program has a lot of growing to do. I'm still surprised by the music choice - I hope I buy in by the end of the season.

''My Heart Belongs to Daddy'' makes me cringe, and not only me ...

 

[blancanieves]

English isn't the first language of many people around the world, including skating fans. I think analyzing the semantics of a minute's worth of a RD is probably a concern for relatively few.

 

[semogal]

For my birthday, my son gave me an NBC Gold gift subscription. For Christmas, he gave us a new Smart TV. Today I figured out how to marry the two. Tried it out with the practice stream. And the first people I saw were Madison and Zach as they skated through my living room (after a computer screen that is how it seemed)

They looked amazing in practice. Go get this title!!

 

[aka_gerbil]

I don’t have sports gold because it feels redundant since I have the Olympic channel and NBC sports, so I haven’t seen their practices. I’m glad to hear they look good.

Placements will be what they are. I’m going to be happy as long as they skate well.

 

[semogal]

Looking forward to watching the free dance. I know they will give it their all and provide us with beautiful moments.

 

[semogal]

Did anyone notice the difficulties that Madison described in the press conference? I didn't! This does explain their long face to face conversation at center ice after the dance. I was totally into their performance and didn't want it to end. They are so special. Fingers crossed I can see them in person in Nashville 2022