American gymnast Suni Lee captured the audience’s attention during the Paris Olympics with her floor exercise routine set to Lindsey Stirling’s song, “Eyes of the Untold Her.”
Lee secured three medals at this year’s Olympic Games, including a gold in the team all-around and two bronzes in the individual all-around and uneven bars.
While she is known for her prowess on the uneven bars, her floor routine was instrumental in boosting her scores during the individual all-around and Team USA’s performance in the team all-around event.
One aspect of Lee’s performance that stood out was her choice of music.
The song, “Eyes of the Untold Her,” reflected the challenges Lee faced on her journey to the Paris Olympics.
In 2023, Lee experienced severe swelling in her ankles, which later spread to her face, legs and hands, per the Olympics.
“I just kept getting more swollen … and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds,” Lee said in an interview with Self.
The swelling was eventually linked to kidney issues, forcing her to pause her training and competition. However, her health improved, allowing her to return and secure her spot on Team USA at Paris.
The significance of ‘Eyes of the Untold Her’
Stirling’s song “Eyes of the Untold Her” is from her latest album, “Duality,” which was released earlier this year. The album showcases Stirling’s signature electronic-pop violin style, with noticeable folk influences.
In an interview with Deseret News, Stirling explained that the folk elements were inspired by her desire to “tap into a wild, free part of myself.”
The music video for “Eyes of the Untold Her,” which has garnered over four million views on YouTube, depicts Stirling confronting the highs and lows of her career, from getting disqualified from “America’s Got Talent” to her viral hits like “Crystallize” and “Shatter Me.”
“I wrote this song about perseverance; about having the courage to push through self-doubt and obstacles,” Stirling wrote on a TikTok video of her reacting to Lee’s floor routine.
“Suni is the perfect person to embody this message,” she added.
Why Suni Lee chose ‘Eyes of the Untold Her’
This is not the first time Lee has used Stirling’s music in her routines. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Lee also performed to one of Stirling’s songs.
In a recent interview with People, Stirling, who was on tour at the time, revealed she learned of Lee’s performance through a flurry of messages after one of her shows.
Taking the initiative this time around, Stirling reached out to Lee via Instagram in January to see if she was searching for a song to use at the Paris Olympics.
“When she said she was, I shared a link to my unreleased album,” Stirling told People. “Outside of my direct management team, she was the first person to hear my whole album.”
The choice of song for Lee’s routine has resonated widely, with the track being Shazam’d around 111,000 times, according to People.
“She (Lee) is a warrior and she’s overcome so much to get back to the Olympics,” Stirling told People. “Suni truly embodies the message of what my song was written about and she performed it so magically.”