Spoilers ahead for the finale of Stranger Things
Streams of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘When Doves Cry’ have more than doubled on Spotify following the finale of Stranger Things.
- READ MORE: ‘Stranger Things’ season five, volume one review: the big, bold beginning of the end
The fifth and final season of the hit Netflix show was broadcast on New Year’s Day and saw the heroic group of Hawkins residents come together one last time, on the anniversary of Will Byers’ disappearance, to battle Venca and destroy The Upside Down for good.
Alongside the star-studded cast, including Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, and Millie Bobby Brown, the series also came with an impressive soundtrack featuring ’80s hits from the likes of Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, ABBA, Kate Bush and more.
Similarly to the surge in popularity Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ had thanks to the show, Prince is now seeing a significant Spotify streaming boost after his tracks featured in the show’s conclusion.
As Variety reports, since the last episode debuted, ‘Purple Rain’ has seen a 243 per cent increase in global streams and a 577 per cent surge in global Gen-Z streams specifically.
‘When Doves Cry’ also saw a 200 per cent boost in global streams, as well as a 128 per cent increase in Gen Z streams, while overall streams of Prince‘s catalogue have climbed 190 per cent, with an 88 per cent increase in solely Gen Z streams.
Other big musical moments spurned by the finale included the classic David Bowie single ‘Heroes’ playing out as the final song of the entire series. While recently speaking to Netflix Tudum, show co-creator Ross Duffer revealed that the song was chosen after it was suggested by Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington on the show and also releases music under the alias Djo.
“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,” he said. “To use the original Bowie version just felt right and fitting for the conclusion.”
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter recently, The Duffer Brothers also addressed the ambiguity around the central character, Eleven, and the theory that she faked her own death to keep herself and her friends safe.
When asked if the character is alive at the end of the series, Ross Duffer responded: “I don’t know if we want to say. Obviously, we’ve had these conversations with Millie too, and we all have our own interpretations. I worry if I say it, it might take away. We really want the audience to take from it what they want.”
Not everyone was satisfied with the final season, however, with volume two’s conclusion having one of the worst fan ratings of the entire run.
In a four-star review of volume one, NME described the show as “the big, bold beginning of the end.”
“Perhaps inevitably, volume one feels a lot like an appetiser for the rest of the season” it read. “But even in piecemeal form, Stranger Things has a flair for epic and emotionally resonant storytelling. After all those years, this smart, big-hearted sci-fi show still has the power to turn your head upside down.”
