Olympic Figure Skater Alysa Liu Removing D4vd Music From Routine
Alysa Liu is gliding in a new direction.
As she prepares for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, the figure skater announced she will no longer be using the song “This Is How It Feels” by D4vd—whose car is in the center of a police investigation over the death 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez—and Laufey for her short program routine throughout the 2025-2026 season.
“In light of recent news, my team & I are confidently pursuing a different direction that aligns with my values & just my overall ethos,” Alysa wrote on Instagram Sept. 24. “I’m eager to start brainstorming new ideas, & I want to ensure my creative process isn’t rushed.”
The 20-year-old—who won the World Championship in March after formerly announcing her retirement from competitive skating in April 2022—also revealed she would be performing older routines for the time being.
“In the meantime, you may see some familiar programs,” she continued. “Thank you for your ongoing support!”
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Police Department found Rivas Hernandez’s remains in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd, 20, after responding to a call over “foul odor” coming from the vehicle while it was at a Hollywood impound lot. Authorities said the car had been parked there for several days after it was towed from the Hollywood Hills, where it was initially reported abandoned.
At the time of the gruesome discovery, D4vd was in the middle of a tour to support his debut album Withered. He has since canceled the remainder of his U.S. dates.
Rivas Hernandez’s cause of death has been deferred amid the investigation, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office records reviewed by E! News. Meanwhile, the family of the victim was reunited with her remains on Sept. 23, officials confirmed to TMZ.
And while the LAPD has yet to name a person of interest or a suspect in the case, a spokesperson for D4vd told NBC News last week that the “Romantic Homicide” singer is "fully cooperating with the authorities."
For more about D4vd and details about the case, read on.
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Born in Queens, New York, D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) moved to Houston, Texas, when he was 13 years old.
D4vd first began his career as a streamer, playing Fortnite and other games in an attempt to go viral on YouTube. When he ran into copyright infringement challenges with the music he was adding to his videos in 2021, he turned to his mom.
“I'm like crying to Mom about it,” he told Benny Blanco during an interview for Hero magazine in September 2024. “I'm like, Yo, I don't know what to do I'm not making any money anymore, blah blah blah.’ And she was on a phone, and she was like, ‘Just make your own music, go get out of my face.’ And I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I could probably do that.'"
From there, despite not having any musical experience other than singing for fun, D4vd downloaded an app on his phone and started making music. Soon, some of his songs went viral, and after more of his original music started to go viral on TikTok, his career began to really take off.
The 20-year-old eventually released his debut album, Withered, in April 2025, embarking on his first world tour shortly thereafter.
On Sept. 8, the Los Angeles Police Department was called to a tow yard in Hollywood over reports of a foul odor coming from a vehicle, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
The LAPD found human remains wrapped in a bag hidden in the front trunk of a Tesla, which was registered in Hempstead, Texas, under D4vd’s real name, David Anthony Burke.
Police said the vehicle had been towed to the impound lot after it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office September 16 said the remains found in the Tesla were identified as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been reported missing on April 5, 2024. She was 13 years old at the time of her disappearance.
Her cause of death had been deferred, according to records from the Medical Examiner’s Office viewed by E! News on Sept. 17. Though her date of death was listed as September 8—the day her body was discovered—officials noted her body appeared to have been in the car for an extended period of time before its discovery and was “severely decomposed.”
Following the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s body, a spokesperson for D4vd said in a statement to NBC News that the singer "has been informed about what’s happened, and although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities."
Since then, D4vd canceled the remainder of his U.S. dates.
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