David Bowie’s “Heroes” Sees Huge Streaming Spike After Being Featured in ‘Stranger Things’

David Bowie’s 1977 song “Heroes” is finding a renewed audience. The track has experienced a spike on streaming as of late, following its inclusion in the series finale of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

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According to Luminate data acquired by Rolling Stone, the song, which was used in the end credits of the show’s last-ever episode, recently saw a jump of almost 500 percent on streaming services.

The outlet reported that, prior to the Dec. 31 episode’s release, “Heroes” had an average of 94,000 digital streams daily over the last five months.

That all changed the day after Stranger Things‘ finale aired. On New Year’s Day, the song garnered 342,000 streams, per the outlet. That number only increased from there, with the song earning 456,000 streams on Jan. 2 and 470,000 on Jan. 3, the outlet reported.

Bowie has actor Joe Kerry to thanks for the spike, as he was the one to suggest to inclusion of the track. “Heroes” had been featured on Stranger Things before, though it was Peter Gabriel’s cover of the song that appeared in earlier seasons.

“It was actually Joe Keery who suggested that we do the Bowie version,” series co-creator Ross Duffer told Tudum. “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. To use the original Bowie version just felt fitting for the conclusion.”

The Stranger Things Effect on Music

“Heroes” isn’t the only song to benefit from the Stranger Things effect. In the wake of the finale, Prince’s “Purple Rain,” which was also featured in the episode, saw a 243 percent jump in Spotify streams, Variety reported. 

Prior to the finale, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” experienced a massive streaming spike. The track was featured during a key moment of the show’s fourth season. In fact, the 1985 track reached the 1 billion stream mark after the episode’s debut.

 “A billion streams! I have an image of a river that suddenly floods and becomes many, many tributaries — a billion streams — on their way to the sea,” Bush said after reaching the milestone. “Each one of these streams is one of you… Thank you! Thank you so much for sending this song on such an impossibly astonishing journey. I’m blown away.”

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