Spotify surprise: Joe Keery overthrows Taylor Swift. How the “Stranger Things” star went viral with “End of Beginning” and why Swift is a fan herself.
Joe Keery, who in addition to acting has been releasing music under the alias Djo since 2019, has now pushed Taylor Swift from number one in the Spotify charts with his hit “End of Beginning”.
The artist began making music before his ten-year role in Stranger Things. In addition to his solo and acting career, he is a member of the psychedelic rock band Post Animal. He has already released three records under his artist name.
Chart success through “Stranger Things” season finale?
The first single “The Fate of Ophelia” from Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL stayed at the top of the Spotify charts for 78 days. Last weekend (December 2-4), the artist’s hit “End of Beginning” knocked the pop star off the leaderboard throne.
The 33-year-old owes his success in the streaming service’s hit list to the season finale and simultaneous end of the hit series “Stranger Things”, which was released at the turn of the year. In the Netflix production he played the role of Steve Harrington, mentor and close ally of “The Party” group. Fans of the series and the Hollywood star gave the song the necessary boost in Spotify streams.
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Viral hit and popularity from Taylor Swift
The track belongs to the singer’s second studio album entitled DECIDE from 2022. However, “The End of Beginning” only became a viral hit in 2024 thanks to a TikTok trend. Users of the social media platform created a short video compilation about Chicago or their own hometown for the refrain lines: “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it / Another version of me, I was in it / I wave goodbye to the end of beginning” and used the song as a soundtrack.
Listen to the song here:
According to the artist’s own statements, one of the first fans of the song was ironically Taylor Swift herself. In the podcast “The Spout” in 2024, Keery spoke about an encounter with the megastar when they were simultaneously working on their own projects in the recording studio Electric Lady Studios. Swift told him that day that she “really loved” “The End of Beginning.” The chance meeting between the two stars took place in June 2023.
“Stranger Things” season finale was a box office hit in the US
The finale of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” generated exceptional sales in cinemas in the USA at the turn of the year. On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, well over 25 million US dollars, the equivalent of a good 21 million euros, flowed into the cinema operators’ coffers.
Watch the trailer for season 5 here:
Industry observers see the finale of the cult series as a kind of unofficial number one hit at the box office – even if, strictly speaking, it involves catering sales, which remain entirely with the cinema operators. To explain: For the Netflix event, the operators of the cinemas were only allowed to sell mandatory vouchers for food and drinks. The reason for this is contractual royalty agreements between performers and the cinemas, as reported by “Deadline”.