Friday the 13th at The Ritz was anything but spooky. Last week, the Raleigh venue was packed with fans of the show “Heated Rivalry” ready to dance the night away at the “Heated Rivalrave,” an event hosted by Club 90’s.
The first “Heated Rivalry” rave launched on Jan. 2 in Hollywood, but viral clips quickly spurred the party promoter Club 90’s to book events across the country. Dozens of venues were booked and sold out in days.
When it was first announced in mid-January, the 18+ party at The Ritz was selling tickets for thirty dollars. By the week of the event, they were being resold for several hundred dollars each.
There was a line ready to enter the venue and a rush to the barricades when doors opened at seven. For the next hour, young people filtered in, grabbed drinks and talked over pre-show music, mostly from the score of “Heated Rivalry.”
The show began after a climactic countdown, and the energy was electric as the first recognizable songs began to play alongside edits popularized on TikTok. After some technical difficulties and un-synced speakers, the party got started with songs by Doja Cat and Tate McRae.
The crowd was predominantly made up of young women, though there were young people of every demographic present. At a table at the front of the stage, two promoters with Club 90’s hyped up the crowd, chose audience members to come dance on stage and took song requests.
Erza Lambert, a recent graduate of Barton College and an attendee, said she watches lots of television surrounding gay men and relationships. When she initially heard about “Heated Rivalry,” it didn’t seem appealing. After watching it, though, she was “obsessed.”
“I figured [this party] was a good opportunity to meet other people in the area with similar interests,” Lambert said.
Lambert also described herself as a K-Pop stan. At the edge of the crowd before the show, she was standing with a group of friends and offering stamps to other partygoers. The simple design being stamped onto attendees’ hands was of a loon, the bird referenced in episode 6 of “Heated Rivalry.”
“It’s a K-pop thing, to give out freebies. It’s a big thing,” Lambert said. “I thought it would match the vibe.”
Others were giving out friendship bracelets that had the character names “Hollander” and “Rosanov” on them along with the colors from their respective fictional hockey teams.
“It feels very judgement free,” Lambert said about the event. “It feels like a safe space. It’s like, we all like the same thing.”
Lambert said she felt connected with the show because she found it relatable to her own queer identity. Joshua Norman, an attendee from Greensboro, also said that the most important part of the show for him, besides the hot guys, was the portrayal of queerness in secret.
“Them coming out [to Shane’s parents] and keeping their relationship hidden because of their fear of getting kicked out of the hockey league – that’s how it is for a lot of us growing up, like not having a safe space to come out,” Norman said.
The show was heavily referenced throughout the dance party, like with songs directly from the soundtrack such as “My Moon My Man” by Feist, “Mangeout” by Wet Leg and “All the Things She Said” by t.A.T.u..
There were also extended scenes from the show projected onto a huge screen, notably the showstopping kiss between Kip Grady and Scott Hunter from the end of episode 5 set to “I’ll Believe in Anything” by Wolf Parade.
Edits made by fans were the main visual appeal and got an especially enthusiastic response from the audience, like the infamous edit of Hudson Williams’ character Shane Hollander set to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Big Ole Freak.”
“Everyone likes hot men on TikTok,” Norman said.
The passion of the crowd was not only reserved for “Heated Rivalry,” but for the actors themselves. Set to popular songs by Charli XCX, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Troye Sivan, clips of Williams and Conner Storrie were met with screams. Storrie’s viral video lip-syncing and cartwheeling to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” brought together a crowd of Gen Z kids over a song from 1989.
Mid-way through the show, the audience was surprised with the appearance of local drag queen Maniac. Though it was not a part of the advertising of the event, the live performance was met with enthusiasm as Maniac showed off her dramatic death drops and whipped around her long wig.
Drag performances have become a common aspect of “Heated Rivalry” themed events at bars and venues, speaking to the way these spaces are overtly accepting of LGBTQ+ art.
The momentum around the show and themed parties hasn’t stopped. The Club 90’s website shows events booked through every weekend of February and March across the country, with some venues hosting the Heated Rivalraves three or four times to meet demand.
Based on the book series by Rachel Reid, “Heated Rivalry” has become an international phenomena celebrating vulnerable yet masculine men. It makes sense that dance parties have become the primary vehicle for a generation that craves mainstream acceptance and queer joy.
Whether it was for a sense of community and connection, or just to enjoy watching edits of young, buff men on a huge screen, attendees of the “Heated Rivalrave” enjoyed a night of dancing and laughter at the Ritz.
