Wondering why Heated Rivarly’s soundtrack sounds familiar? Here's where you’ve heard hit 2002 song
One of the episodes of 'Heated Rivalry' took fans on a trip down memory lane—episode 4, which aired on December 12, had fans going back with an iconic soundtrack. "All the Things She Said" by t.A.T.u. was one of the most viral songs back during its release in 2002. Now, 'Heated Rivalry' had fans scrambling to remember where they heard it from, back in the day.
That the reactions are not dipping well after Episode 5 proves the popularity of the song. Bits of the track have been doing the rounds on TikTok and Instagram. The song was released at a time when the focus on queer in mainstream pop was a rarity. The track focused on the restlessness and the pull towards relationships framed as forbidden. Making headlines for its controversial lyrics, the song still managed to find an audience who embraced the synth and the beats.
From the show's perspective, the song is recontextualized with a focus on modern-day queer storytelling. The fans who were subject to it for the first time raved about the whole sequence, further adding to the virality. For those yet to catch the series, the logline for episode 4 reads: "A moment of unexpected vulnerability and a high-profile romance unleash a storm of turmoil for Shane and Ilya." With five episodes complete, the focus moves towards a gripping sixth chapter. At the time of writing, the official synopsis for Episode 6 is under wraps. But, per IMDb, the episode will be titled "The Cottage."
Show creator Jacob Tierney shed light on using the song for the episode. "It was a fun sequence to put together. It’s all in the script, and I love being able to do things without talking. It wasn’t initially set to that song, and one day when we were editing, I was like, let’s just try this," per Gold Derby.
"There’s so much Canadian music in the show, and I could literally only think of one queer Russian pop hit. We found a cover version, and it just worked. Basically, it was "Can we get this song? Can we afford it?" Clearing music out of Russia is not necessarily the easiest thing in the world to do! It was alchemy."
In addition, Tierney spoke about the response to the show. "It’s a bit overwhelming, and certainly a lot more attention than we anticipated getting for the show," Tierney told "It’s great. I’m thrilled, and I’m quite tired and all the stuff that comes with it, of running on adrenaline for too long. There’s so much good TV out there, so to break through the noise at all is amazing."
'Heated Rivalry' Season 1 Episode 6 will be on HBO Max at 9 pm PT on December 25, and12 am ET on December 26, 2025.
