Djo‘s viral hit ‘End Of Beginnings’ has topped the UK charts two years after it first appeared in the chart thanks to the finale of Stranger Things.
Joe Keery’s best known song was released in 2022 but gained popularity after featuring in a viral TikTok trend. Users posted travel videos set to the song, using the lyrics ‘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.’
‘End Of Beginnings’ first entered the UK chart in February 2024 and peaked at Number Four the following month. It’s since spent 28 weeks inside the Top 100, but only reached the top as a result of the Stranger Things season finale even though the song wasn’t featured in the episode.
‘End Of Beginnings’ took the top spot from RAYE‘s ‘Where The Hell Is My Husband?’, which then fell to Number Three.
In an interview with NME about the song last year, Keery said: “I’m not trying to live in the past. I have new memories that I’m linking to [Chicago]. I’m not 27 anymore. That’s a part of me, maybe, but not the whole part.”
The full UK Singles Chart Top 5 is:
- Djo – ‘End Of Beginnings’
- Taylor Swift – ‘The Fate Of Ophelia’
- RAYE – ‘Where The Hell Is My Husband?’
- Dave and Tems – ‘Raindance’
- Olivia Dean – ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’
The Stranger Things finale has influenced the rest of the chart as well. Prince‘s hit ‘Purple Rain’, which soundtracks the climax of the show’s final battle, has re-entered the chart at Number 12, while Kate Bush‘s ‘Running Up That Hill’ is at Number 14.
Other songs used in the show to chart this week include The Police‘s ‘Every Breath You Take’, which achieved its highest chart placing in 43 years at Number 17, and Fleetwood Mac‘s ‘Landslide’ which makes its chart debut after 41 years at Number 20. Also charting are Diana Ross‘ ‘Upside Down’ (26), Tiffany‘s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ (27), David Bowie‘s ‘Heroes’, used in the show’s final credits and coinciding with the 10th anniversary of his death (34) and The Clash‘s ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ (40).
Meanwhile, Olivia Dean has remained at the top of the UK Album Chart for the second week running and the fourth overall with The Art of Loving.
The full UK Albums Chart Top 5 is:
- Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving
- Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
- Fleetwood Mac – 50 Years – Don’t Stop
- Taylor Swift – The Life Of A Showgirl
- The Weeknd – The Highlights
In other news, Keery called out President Donald Trump for defending ICE after an officer fatally shot a US citizen.
Taking to Instagram Stories, Keery shared a photo of Trump’s Truth Social post in which he the victim Renee Nicole Good “a professional agitator”, and wrote over the top: “Zero human decency. Stop this man”.
