If you felt like Love Is Blind Season 8 ditched its usual “mysterious reality-TV ballads” for recognizable pop, you weren’t imagining it. Creator/executive producer Chris Coelen said the shift was intentional—part of leaning into the show’s fifth anniversary by embracing popular music cues in every episode, rather than relying primarily on library tracks.
Coelen framed the move as more than a flex: familiar songs can heighten the emotional storytelling because people already attach memories and feelings to them—an effect the show wanted to tap more deliberately this season.
The tradeoff, of course, is cost: the Associated Press notes that licensing major commercial songs for TV can climb into the tens of thousands of dollars per use (and higher), which is why many reality shows historically stick to cheaper alternatives.
The live reunion performance tease—then the first-ever moment
Alongside the soundtrack upgrade, Coelen also teased another first: a live musical performance during the Season 8 reunion, tying it to the season’s larger “music and love and celebration” theme.
That promise became reality at the reunion, with Alex Warren taking the stage to perform “Ordinary,” which People reports was the show’s first-ever reunion performance and a major pop-culture moment for the franchise’s new music-forward era.
