Massive Attack originally recorded “Teardrop,” the song associated with House M.D.’s opening sequence.
“Teardrop” was released by the English trip-hop group Massive Attack in 1998. Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins provided the song’s lead vocals, and the track became one of Massive Attack’s best-known recordings.
House used an instrumental arrangement derived from “Teardrop” for its opening titles in the United States. The credits sequence shows medical and anatomical imagery, including a stylized image of a fetus, matching the song’s eerie atmosphere and the show’s focus on hidden biological causes.
Some international broadcasts used different opening music, and the American version was not simply the complete original recording. Those variations can cause viewers to name the wrong performer or assume the show commissioned an entirely separate theme.