David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ sees streaming surge following ‘Stranger Things’ finale
‘Heroes’ by David Bowie has witnessed a huge surge in its streaming numbers following its use in the climax of the Stranger Things finale.
The classic track from 1977 played as the credits rolled on the long-awaited final episode of the Netflix sci-fi epic, which has come to an end after five series over almost a decade.
In the days since the last instalment landed all over the world on the streaming platform on January 1st, Bowie’s staple song has soared in terms of its streaming numbers. According to Rolling Stone, it has witnessed a 500 per cent increase in plays dating until January 5th.
Prior to its inclusion in the Stranger Things finale, ‘Heroes’ had reportedly been streamed approximately 94,000 times over the span of the last five months, but this has risen exponentially since the release of the New Year’s Day episode.
The track was first played 342,000 times on January 1st, before rising to 456,000 and then 470,000 times over the course of the two days that followed.
It means that Bowie could stand a chance of re-entering the charts if this pattern continues, symbolically potentially coinciding with the tenth anniversary of his death on January 10th.
It would follow the precedent set by Kate Bush, whose standout hit ‘Running Up That Hill’ shot straight to the top of the charts in 2022, 37 years after its original release, when it was also used in a Stranger Things finale to culminate the fourth series.
In terms of ‘Heroes’, however, the show’s co-creator Ross Duffer previously explained that it was chosen following a suggestion by Joe Keery, who plays the character of Steve Harrington.
“Once Joe said that, we immediately knew that was the right song to end the show on because it is, in some ways, an anthem for Stranger Things,” Duffer said.
“To use the original Bowie version just felt right and fitting for the conclusion,” he added, referencing the fact that an orchestral version of the song, played by Peter Gabriel, has been used in past episodes of the series.
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