Both songs featured in latest season
Two songs from the 80s have seen a resurgence thanks to Stranger Things. Kate Bush’s 37-year-old song “Running Up That Hill,” released in 1985, and Metallica’s 36-year-old metal epic “Master of Puppets,” released in 1986, have seen a huge increase in streams since they were both featured in the latest season of the popular Netflix series.
Bush’s “Running” took over Harry Styles’ spot at No. 1 in the UK in mid-June after it was featured in an episode last month. The track was named the most-streamed song in the world in early June, after 57 million streams were recorded in the week following the episode’s release.
“Running” currently sits at No. 4 on the US Hot 100 chart. It topped the Billboard Global 200 chart for three weeks before dipping to No. 3 this week with the expectation it’ll rise again. The song has also become a TikTok trend with more than two million videos featuring it.
“I just can’t believe it – No. 1 for the third week. We’re all so excited! In fact it’s all starting to feel a bit surreal,” Bush shares of the feat. “I’d only seen the scenes that directly involved the use of the track and so I didn’t know how the story would evolve or build. I was so delighted that the Duffer Brothers wanted to use ‘RUTH’ for Max’s totem but now having seen the whole of this last series, I feel deeply honored that the song was chosen to become a part of their roller coaster journey. I can’t imagine the amount of hard work that’s gone into making something on this scale. I am in awe. They’ve made something really spectacular.”
This week, Metallica saw a major increase in streams in its eight minute metal shredder. “Puppets” climbed into the top 10 on iTunes and Spotify’s US daily charts as US streams have grown nearly 400% since the episode premiered last week. Billboard reports that US audio streams from the song were 224,000 on June 30th but skyrocketed to 1.11 million by July 3rd, according to Luminate.
Metallica shares Bush’s sentiments and praise the producers about how “Puppets” was featured.
“The way The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include ‘Master of Puppets’ in the show but to have such a pivotal scene built around it. We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away… it’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?” the band writes. “It’s an incredible honor to be such a big part of Eddie’s journey and to once again be keeping company with all of the other amazing artists featured in the show.”
Metallica is also embracing its new fanbase after a TikTok comment sparked some debate.
“I’m sorry Metallica for all the fake Stranger Things fans love ya,” a TikTok user replied as the band shared a newly recorded live version of “Puppets” from Prague this week.
“Don’t be sorry. Everyone is welcome in the Metallica Family,” the band replied. “If they like ‘Puppets,’ chances are they’ll find plenty of other songs to get into. FYI – EVERYONE is welcome in the Metallica Family. Whether you’ve been a fan for 40 hours or 40 years, we all share a bond through music. All of you started at ground zero at one point in time.”
@metallica Heard any cool songs lately? ⚡️ #Metallica #MasterOfPuppets #StrangerThings #StrangerThings4 #EddieMunson #NotLiveInTheUpsideDown
