“Wuthering Heights” is back – 560,000 streams for Kate Bush, 4.8 million for Charli XCX. What the cinema release triggers.
With the new film adaptation by Emerald Fennell, the literary classic “Wuthering Heights” gets a pop culture update. Fennell transforms the story into a deliberately stylized gothic relationship drama. The film is both celebrated for its radicalism and criticized for its deviations from the original. Interest is growing noticeably – and with it the reach of film music.
Charli XCX’s soundtrack performed strongly on the release date of the album and film. The twelve songs collected 4.8 million official on-demand streams in the US on the first day alone.
The set is led by the single “Chains Of Love”. It received a total of 2.9 million streams in the first five days (February 13-17). At the same time, “Dying For You” is developing a life of its own on TikTok. Between dramatic gothic edits, viral dance numbers and outfit montages, a feed is created that is strongly reminiscent of the “brat summer” surrounding “Apple”. Fans, It girls and scene figures from Charli’s cosmos pick up on the aesthetic and reinforce it algorithmically.
Kate Bush is experiencing the next streaming peak
At the same time, a classic of the same name is benefiting from its theatrical release. Kate Bush’s 1978 song “Wuthering Heights” garners 560,000 streams in the US in the same five-day period. And the views are continually increasing.
With the song, Bush became the first woman to reach number one in the British charts with a self-written single in 1978. It had already experienced a massive streaming revival in 2022 thanks to the Netflix series “Stranger Things”. “Running Up That Hill” climbed back to the top of the charts worldwide thanks to a key scene in the fourth season. The current wave follows on from this. Scenes from the film become fan edits on social media, further driving the momentum. Lead actress Margot Robbie also takes up Bush’s iconic dance moves from the music video.
Algorithm, aesthetics, revival
The current figures show how closely cinema, streaming and social media are now interlinked. A film sets impulses, platforms reinforce them – and a 46-year-old song becomes the algorithm’s favorite again. “Wuthering Heights” once again goes from literary material to pop present.
“The Most Wuthering Heights Day” should also benefit from the momentum this year. Fans around the world meet once a year – this time on July 26th. In red dresses they perform Kate Bush’s famous choreography together.
