By DAVE SKRETTA, Associated Press
MILAN (AP) – Those mischievous Minions will have their Olympic moment after all.
Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate got the final approval he needed for his music on Friday, allowing the Spanish figure skater to perform his short program – set to a medley from the Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment animated show – when the men’s competition begins at the Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday night.
Sabate has been running a fan-favorite program all season, thinking he’s gotten the right nod with the ClicknClear four-song program. Last week, Universal Studios asked him to provide more details about the music Sabate used and the clothing associated with the Minions he wore.
He was able to quickly get approval for two musical compositions, and Sabate got a third by reaching out directly to the singer, one from Spain. The song “Freedom” is by American singer and producer Pharrell Williams.
That approval finally came Friday, about two hours before the Olympic figure skating program opened with a team event.
“I’m so happy to announce that we’ve done it! We’ve got the licenses for all four songs, and I’ll be able to skate Minions at the Olympic Games,” Sabate wrote on social media. “It has not been an easy process, but the support of everyone who has followed my story has been the key to keeping me motivated and positive these past few days.”
At one point, Sabate’s condition got so bad that he started practicing his Bee Gee-inspired short routine from last year. But when the news of his ordeal came out, he began to receive approval from other musicians, and his hopes of singing Minions began to grow.
He even rehearsed the show, which opens with the actors laughing, during the morning show on Thursday. The next morning, the Royal Spanish Ice Sports Federation announced that the copyright issue had been resolved.
“I want to thank ClickClear and RFEDH, as well as Universal Pictures, Pharrell Williams, Sony Music and Juan Alcaraz for managing the rights at short notice so I could do my show in Milan,” said Sabate.
The issue of copyright has become a major problem in figure skating, where for many years skaters could only use music without lyrics, which is generally considered part of the public domain. But when the rules were changed in 2014, and modern music was used in the competition, some musicians started to protest that their work was used without proper permission.
Two-time world medalist Loena Hendrickx of Belgium also had copyright issues before the Olympics.
The Belgian had previously performed his short program “Ashes” by Celine Dion from the movie “Deadpool 2.” But after last month’s European Championships, her brother and coach, Jorik Hendrickx, and composer Adam Solya worried that music would not be allowed at the Olympics, and decided to change the soundtrack at the last minute.
Hendrickx now does a slightly modified version of “I Surrender,” another Dion song, which has the same rhythm and sounds like “Ashes.” You were able to get permission for that piece because it is part of ClicknClear’s catalog of licenses.
The 26-year-old Sabate is not considered a medal contender at the Olympics; he was 20 at the world championships last year. But after last week, he’s getting a lot of support when he comes with the Minions on Tuesday night.
“At the moment, I want to give my best and make a program worthy of the love I have received from all over the world,” said Sabate. “I’m happy with the love that a small publisher has received from a small cooperative.”
