Rolling Stone
Contact Rolling Stone by Email View all posts by Rolling Stone August 17, 2026
Panettiere performs during Nashville for Africa, a benefit for the African Children’s Choir, at the Ryman Auditorium on Feb. 15, 2016. Rick Diamond/Getty Images Whenever producers would book Hayden Panettiere for a role, they’d land a star who could do more than just act. The New York native, who died Sunday at 36, also held her own as a singer. While the ABC drama Nashville made the most use of that talent, Panettiere showed off her range in a string of films and on soundtracks, especially for the Disney confections Tiger Cruise, Ice Princess, and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time. Each project showcased a vocalist who knew her way around a recording studio, but it was Nashville that gave her room to show what she was truly capable of. These are her most memorable musical performances.
-
“I Fly” From ‘Ice Princess’
Image Credit: ©Walt Disney Co./Everett Collection The 2005 Disney delight Ice Princess has an unsurprisingly killer soundtrack, from Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” to Aly and AJ’s “No One.” But in true Disney fashion, one of the film’s stars took a turn on the mic: Panettiere, who played fellow ice skater Gennifer “Gen” Harwood opposite the late Michelle Trachtenberg. “I Fly” is a sublime pop alt-rocker that could have only come out of the early aughts, as Panettiere climbs octaves across electric guitar. In the song’s video, Panettiere spoke about the magic of the Disney pop track. “A lot of people, I think, can relate to the song,” she said. “It’s just [about] reaching your goals and following your dreams.” —Angie Martoccio
