British singer Kate Bush has welcomed a fresh wave of fans from the new generation thanks to Netflix show ‘Stranger Things’.
The 63-year-old music icon’s 1985 track ‘Running Up That Hill’ was used in the first episode of the fourth season that released on May 27, and has since gone viral on social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram.
The almost four decade old song’s newfound virality reflects a trend of older tracks gaining traction on apps where music clips are widely used and subsequently get streamed by curious new listeners and by the artist’s existing fans.
‘Running Up That Hill’ ended up topping Spotify’s Top 50 daily songs chart in the UK, kicking Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ from the top spot. It was No 2 on the Top 50 daily songs chart globally and in the UAE (with ‘As It Was’ being No 1 on both). It also topped the Apple iTunes chart.
Billboard reported that “according to data collected by Spotify on Monday (May 30), ‘Running Up That Hill’ posted an 8,700 per cent increase in global streams compared to its total on Thursday (May 26), the day prior to the ‘Stranger Things’ season four premiere on Netflix. Meanwhile, the song’s US streams increased by 9,900 per cent over the same time period.”
“It’s incredible to watch iconic songs get rediscovered and have global moments with new listeners,” Jeremy Erlich, Spotify’s global head of music, told Billboard in a statement. “‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ is one of those ‘perfect storm’ examples. It’s a classic song that has been introduced to a wide fandom and has now taken on a whole new meaning.”
Other older songs that have gone viral on TikTok in the recent past include 1970’s ‘Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)’ by Edison Lighthouse, 1959’s ‘Put Your Head On My Shoulder’ by Paul Anka, 1978’s ‘Rasputin’ by Boney M and 1977’s ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac.
As for ‘Stranger Things’, it too topped the charts in its own way — ‘Volume 1’ of season four went to No 1 with a record-breaking 286.79 million hours viewed, making it the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English language TV show on the streaming site.
‘Volume 2’, comprising of two episodes, will release on July 1 and mark the end of one of the most popular shows to come from Netflix.
