Figure skaters count on music to hit all the right notes with judges

What's in a song? In figure skating, it's everything.

Nail your jumps, lifts or spins in unison with musical highs or flawlessly execute a drag on a low, and the routine comes to life for the audience and judges, who in turn, can become emotionally influenced in scoring a program.

"It's your vehicle, it's like having a Porsche versus a Dodge Neon," says Asher Hill, a former ice dancer on Canada's national team.  "Humans have emotions, music makes people feel. Music has the ability to create those iconic Olympic figure-skating moments."

Figure skating is one of the only sports where music is a performance requisite. It must suit their strengths and carry universal appeal. In an Olympic year, making the right choice and sticking with it is crucial.

"The Olympics are a wider, broader audience, you want people to recognize it," says Carol Lane, a long-time coach and choreographer. "You want the judges to fall in love with you and the audience likewise.

"Music can put you over the top. In the end, if you have nine judges bawling their eyes out and pressing the 5-button, you did it right."

Choosing music has different requirements for the short and long programs.

"The short will always be a little more of an energetic program, more like an 800-metre sprint," Hill says. "That same energy is harder to sustain for a four-minute program so often you will get slower pieces of music. That's kind of the formula, fast exciting short, slower emotional build long."

Lane commissioned the British duo Govardo to arrange and cover The Beatles' The Long and Winding Road for their free dance. In the lyrics of both programs, she drew a parallel to their path over the past decade together.

"Paul broke his leg (ankle) and missed Sochi, Piper's