Stranger Things Effect: Bowie's “Heroes” Boosts Streams by 500%. The Songs of Season Five

"Stranger Things" strikes again.  After bringing past hits back into the spotlight, like Kate Bush's Kate Bush's “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and Metallica's “Master Of Puppets” in the fourth season, the show has now given a massive boost to the track that closed out the fifth season: “Heroes” by David Bowie. Played over the closing credits of the finale, the Thin White Duke's hit saw global streams surge by almost 500 percent. The numbers speak for themselves: from around 94,000 daily streams, it jumped to 342,000 on January 1st, then 456,000 the following day, and 470,000 in the next 24 hours. A remarkable result, not least because the track, released in 1977, is the only one among those revived by the show that doesn't belong to the 1980s.

The choice wasn't random. As the Duffer brothers, creators of the show, have explained, the idea of using Bowie's original version came from Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington: "It was Joe who suggested it. When he proposed it, we immediately realized it was the right song to close out the series. In a way, it's the anthem of Stranger Things, and using Bowie's version felt perfect for the finale."

This isn't the first time “Heroes” has appeared in the show's universe: previously, it was Peter Gabriel's reinterpretation that had been used. But for the finale, returning to the original gave both the song and the series an added symbolic weight, turning an already iconic track into an unexpected new contemporary hit.

In recent days the same effect had been felt with Prince: "Purple Rain" saw a 243 percent rise in global streams, peaking at 577 percent among Gen Z listeners, while "When Doves Cry" grew by 200 percent worldwide.

Here's the full list of songs from season five of "Stranger Things," episode by episode.

Chapter One: The Crawl

• Should I Stay or Should I Go – Stranger Things Cast (by The Clash)

• Rockin' Robin – Michael Jackson

• Pretty In Pink – The Psychedelic Furs

• Upside Down – Diana Ross

• May 25th – Matthew Cardinal

• Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

Capitolo Due: The Vanish of Holly Wheeler

• Fernando – ABBA

• Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

• Notes On A Scandal – Philip Glass

• Someone in Your Garden – Philip Glass

• Mr. Sandman – The Chordettes

Capitolo Tre: The Turnbow Trap

• To Each His Own – Freddy Martin & His Orchestra

• I Think We're Alone Now – Tiffany

• Oh Yeah – Yello

• Car Boy – Julek Ploski

Chapter Four: Sorcerer

• Higitus Figitus – Karl Swenson

• Premature Plans – Elmer Bernstein

• Betrayal – Elmer Bernstein

• Sh-Boom – The Chords

• Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

Chapter Five: Shock Jock

• Heart and Soul – Floyd Cramer

• The Fight – da Nightmare on Elm Street 3

• Snake Pit, Pt. 1 – from Nightmare on Elm Street 3

Capitolo Sei: Escape from Camazotz

• Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

• Running Up That Hill (Instrumental Cover) – Rob Simonsen / London City Orchestra

Capitolo Sette: The Bridge

• Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

• When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die – Moby

• Human Cannonball – Butthole Surfers

Capitolo Otto: The Rightside Up

• Sh-Boom – The Chords

• When Doves Cry – Prince

• Purple Rain – Prince

• Landslide – Fleetwood Mac

• Here Comes Your Man – Pixies

• The Trooper – Iron Maiden

• Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies

• Heroes – David Bowie

Ride the wave of great music

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