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You may not be able to get David Bowie’s “Heroes” out of your head after the iconic Stranger Things finale – and it’s also being streamed by thousands of people. According to new Luminate data obtained by ROLLING STONE on Monday, the classic song that soundtracked the end credits of the Dec. 31 Stranger Things finale recorded… an increase of almost 500 percent in streaming services.
On average, the 1977 song achieved around 94,000 digital streams daily over the past five months. However, after New Year’s Eve – when the song was used in the final episode of the Netflix series – it received around 342,000 streams on January 1st, 456,000 on January 2nd and 470,000 streams on January 3rd.
This represents an increase of approximately 3.6 to 5 times the daily average in the days following the release of the finale.
Joe Keery floated the idea
In a Monday interview with Netflix’s Tudum, the Duffer Brothers explained that it was Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington in the series, who suggested the Bowie song would be the perfect ending to the series’ end credits. At the same time, it was a nostalgic reference to the song’s Peter Gabriel cover, which was used in previous seasons.
“It was actually Joe Keery who suggested doing the Bowie version,” Ross Duffer told the portal. “When Joe said that, we knew straight away that it was the right song to end the series. Because it’s kind of an anthem for Stranger Things. Using the original Bowie version just felt right to finish it off.”
Streaming boost for Djo too
Speaking of Keery. The actor’s artist project, Djo, also saw a surge in streaming following the finale. His song “End of Beginning,” originally released in 2022, climbed to number one on the global Spotify charts this week. And thus displaced Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia”, which had been at the top there for weeks.
Throughout its run, “Stranger Things” played a key role in reviving the culture and music of the 1980s. Especially through his song selection. The finale also featured two Prince songs, “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain.” Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” returned to the charts back in 2022 after the song was used in season four.
Prince songs for the big moment
The Duffer Brothers knew they would need several songs for key moments in the final episode after it was determined that a record player would be used as a trigger for the bomb that would destroy the bridge between the real world and the Upside Down. Ross Duffer told Tudum that they had “never talked about a song choice as much as they did with that moment.” He added: “We knew we needed an epic needle drop. And there were so many ideas thrown around. I don’t think there’s anything more epic than Prince.”
When it came to hitting those two moods, the second side of Purple Rain “suited us perfectly,” Ross said.
According to Variety, “Purple Rain” saw a 243 percent increase in streams on Spotify since the finale aired on New Year’s Eve. Among global Gen Z listeners, this increased by 577 percent.