Little did many fans know, Grey’s Anatomy has taken viewers on a musical journey across 21 seasons.
The long-running medical drama series, which premiered in 2005, has named every one of its episodes — save for one — after a song, beginning with the pilot, titled “A Hard Day’s Night” after the 1964 Beatles classic. One superfan even curated a Spotify playlist featuring the songs used in the titles.
But some viewers are just finding out about the hidden Easter eggs after all these years. “Did you know that every single Grey’s Anatomy episode is linked to a song?” one person wrote on social media, prompting another to reply, “Oh interesting. I didn’t realize.”
Another commented: “Omg how have I not known this till now.”
The show’s episode titles have spanned many popular musical eras, from the ’50s (The Platters’ “The Great Pretender”) and the ’80s (Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”) to more recent hits such as Dua Lipa’s “Hotter Than Hell” and Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times.”
The latest episode, which aired on Thursday, May 8, was titled “Love You Like a Love Song” (by Selena Gomez and The Scene).
The only Grey’s Anatomy episode that was not named after a song is season 14’s “1-800-799-7233,” which is the U.S. domestic abuse hotline. In the episode, character Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) is forced to face her abusive ex-husband when he unexpectedly shows up at the hospital.
Grey’s Anatomy has famously celebrated music in other ways, too. One of the show’s most memorable — and divisive — episodes, season 7’s “Song Beneath the Song,” saw the cast of surgeons singing their way through their scenes å la a Broadway musical.
But at the time, some fans found the singing jarring against the emotional and traumatic storyline unfolding.
A pregnant Callie Torres (Sara Ramírez) and wife Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) were involved in a serious car collision, just moments after getting married.
The show also has a habit of using certain songs to foreshadow particularly tragic moments. For instance, when viewers hear the often-played tracks “How to Save a Life” (The Fray) and “Chasing Cars” (Snow Patrol), it’s probably time to pull out the tissues.
Back in 2017, show creator Shonda Rhimes spoke to Billboard about the show’s musical choices. Asked when she knows a song is perfect for a particular scene, she said, “If you can just drop a song over a scene without doing anything to it and it feels right, you’re there.”
The TV mogul, 55, also touched on the power of music in amplifying the emotion of a story.
“I always feel like when someone can’t tell you what their show is supposed to sound like musically, they’re in trouble because that’s the other piece of storytelling to me,” she told the outlet.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.