The official soundtrack for the internet-sensation series Heated Rivalry is now available for streaming, featuring an original score composed by Quebec City musician Peter Roy, known professionally as Peter Peter. The album, released on Friday, January 18, 2026, includes 34 original tracks and can be found on all major platforms like Spotify.
Montreal at the Heart of a Hockey Romance
Adapted from Rachel Reid's popular Game Changers book series, the Crave show is a gay romance set in the world of professional hockey. It follows two rival players who must conceal their secret relationship in a league without openly gay athletes. The series is directed by Montreal's Jacob Tierney, who also serves as writer and producer.
The show has a strong Montreal connection, not just in its setting—featuring a local hockey player as a main character—but also in its creative team. Actors François Arnaud and Sophie Nélisse, the latter seen sporting a iconic St-Viateur Bagel T-shirt in an episode, are part of the cast. Tierney emphasized the integral role of music from the start, stating Peter Roy's work was on constant repeat during the writing process.
The Soundtrack That Carries the Show's Pulse
For Peter Roy, this project marked his debut as a screen composer, a longtime fantasy for the singer-songwriter. He admitted the intimate scenes in the series, which have garnered significant attention, surprised him with their sensuality and forced a creative pivot.
"At first, I really envisioned something more rhythmic, more aggressive," Roy told The Gazette. "When I received the footage, I decided to pretty much throw everything down the drain and start from scratch." The resulting score ranges from fast-paced techno to melodic, almost orchestral synth pieces.
Director Jacob Tierney praised Roy's contribution in a statement to Billboard, saying, "His original score doesn't just sit underneath the story; it carries the emotion, the rhythm and the pulse of the show. I honestly can't imagine this series without it."
A Quebec-Curated Phenomenon
The series' success has exceeded expectations, becoming a cultural phenomenon since its premiere in the fall of 2025. The soundtrack extends beyond Roy's original compositions, featuring licensed songs from other Canadian and Montreal artists like Wolf Parade and Feist, a choice reflecting Tierney's francophile tastes.
"Jacob's a Montrealer. He's also Francophile. So he loves a lot of artists out there, and he wanted them to be part of the show," Peter Roy explained, noting that Tierney had been following his music for nearly a decade.
While confident in the project's quality, Roy expressed surprise at the scale of its success. "It's something that's surprising everyone... it's just like to be such a phenomenon. It's not something that you can plan," he remarked. The series first premiered as part of the Image + Nation film festival at Concordia University in Montreal on November 23, 2025.
