“Teardrop” by Massive Attack served as House M.D.’s opening theme in the United States.
The song appears in the show’s opening title sequence, which combines medical imagery with images of Hugh Laurie and the main cast. Its atmospheric sound helped establish the drama’s distinctive mood before each episode’s diagnostic mystery began.
“Teardrop” was released by the English trip-hop group Massive Attack in 1998. Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins provided the song’s vocals, and the track became one of Massive Attack’s best-known recordings.
International broadcasts and releases did not always use exactly the same music arrangement or theme presentation. That variation can cause confusion, but the commonly identified U.S. opening theme for House M.D. is “Teardrop,” not a song by one of the show’s actors.