Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: The final episode of Stranger Things offers one more series of gigantic streaming bumps for both the songs and actors-turned-musicians featured, while a 2010s pop favorite enjoys a long-overdue stateside moment and another buzzy series also closes its season with a couple big music moments.
Such a Shame Our Series Had to End: ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Delivers Massive Gains for Prince, David Bowie, More ‘70s and ‘80s Classics
It’s been the single most valuable synch placement opportunity for legacy artists for most of the last decade, but at long last, Netflix’s sci-fi teen series Stranger Things has finally come to an end. The show that made 2020s chart smashes out of ‘80s cult classics by Kate Bush and Metallica returned to streaming — and for the first time, came to theaters — on New Year’s Eve 2025, to cap its blockbuster final season with one more trip into Hawkins, Indiana, the Upside Down, and various other alternate dimensions the show has come to encompass over five head-spinning seasons.
But of course, the show wasn’t going out quietly — particularly with its soundtrack. As the shows’ creators hyped up a good deal in the lead-up to the final episode, they landed a couple especially valuable synchs courtesy of the Prince estate, who licensed the use of two signature Purple One cuts from his and The Revolution’s all-timer Purple Rain LP: “When Doves Cry” and the title track. Both saw massive gains in the days following the finale’s premiere, with “Doves” amassing nearly 1.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams over the first four days of this tracking week (Jan. 2-5) — a 254% gain over the same four-day period the prior week, according to Luminate.
Meanwhile, “Rain” has turned into an absolute streaming hurricane, whipping up nearly 4.3 million over the same period, a 648% gain. The song, which originally peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, should be in contention for a return to the Hot 100 next week — it would need to make the top 50 to be eligible — which would mark its first appearance on the chart since it reached No. 4 following Prince’s death in 2016.
Prince isn’t the only 10-years-gone legend featured in the finale: David Bowie’s much-beloved 1977 anthem “Heroes” was also included over the episode’s end credits, seeing a 198% streaming gain over the same four-day period (587,000 to over 1.7 million). And the show also called back to another timeless ballad from a ‘70s classic rock outfit in Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” which gained 61% to nearly 4 million streams over the same period.
But it wasn’t all Rock and Roll Hall of Famers on the Stranger Things finale’s soundtrack. The show also boosted college rock favorites of the time from the Pixies (“Here Comes Your Man,” up 161% to 423,000) and Cowboy Junkies (“Sweet Jane,” up 107% to 280,000), as well as an enduring shredder from metal greats Iron Maiden (“The Trooper,” up 110% to 436,000). And that’s not even talking about the boosts received from songs by The Clash and The Police featured in previous seasons (and on streaming Stranger Things playlists), or songs by other ‘80s artists never included in the show, but still lifted by an overall Stranger-abetted surge in sentimentality over the early MTV era in pop music.
Suffice to say, Stranger Things will be missed by its fans, but it will probably be missed even more by catalog artists and their respective publishers. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Forget the Soundtrack — ‘Stranger Things’ Cast Member Joe Keery (Djo) Gets Biggest Bump of All
While the past decade of Stranger Things has had a massive impact on the catalog side of the music business, it’s made its presence felt in contemporary music as well. Cast members including Maya Hawke (Robin) and Finn Wolfhard (Mike) have launched positively received music careers following their Stranger breakouts, and have also seen their consumption spike following the show’s feverishly anticipated climax. Over the first four days of this tracking week (Jan. 2-5), Hawke’s catalog jumped 76% in official on-demand streams from the same period the week before (298,000 to 524,000), according to Luminate, while Wolfhard’s ballooned by 107% (449,000 to 929,000). (Wolfhard’s band Calpurnia also saw big gains over the same period, growing 72% to 185,000 streams.)
But by far the biggest musical breakout act from Stranger Things has been psychedelic alt-rocker Djo — better known to fans of the show as actor Joe Keery, or his character Steve “The Hair” Harrington. And Djo has also seen easily the biggest post-finale streaming growth, with his catalog up 114% to 18.7 million streams, while also seeing a 364% gain in digital song sales (up to nearly 5,200) over the same period.
More than half of those numbers are attributable to the song that marked Djo’s crossover breakthrough: 2022 alt-rock quasi-power ballad “End of Beginning,” which caught streaming fire in 2023 and crossed over to the Hot 100, eventually peaking at No. 11 in early 2024. Thanks to the extra Stranger Things interest, the song once again exploded on streaming in the past couple weeks, even re-entering this week’s Hot 100 at No. 16, just five spots shy of its initial chart peak.
And the song is still growing: It’s up 114% to 9.8 million streams over the first four days of this week, while also spiking 430% to 4,200 in digital song sales, making it among the most-streamed and most-sold songs of the week so far. Chances are good the song reaches the top 10 for the first time next week, and then could it climb even higher from there? As we’ll say for the 250th (but sadly likely final) time in this column: Stranger Things have happened. – AU
Zara Larsson Zooms to Main Pop Girl Contention as ‘Midnight Sun’ & Catalog Cuts Surge on Streaming
Zara Larsson’s been churning out pop bangers since the mid-2010s with collaborations like “Symphony” and “Never Forget You,” but 2026 looks to be the year she finally establishes herself as a top 40 force to be reckoned with.
Last year, the Swedish pop star earned rave reviews for her opening stint on Tate McRae’s arena-conquering Miss Possessive Tour, which helped her 2025 Midnight Sun LP hit the Billboard 200 and earn a Grammy nomination for its title track (best dance pop recording). According to Luminate, “Midnight Sun” has jumped 68% in streams over the past seven weeks, and its growth isn’t slowing down. During the final week of 2025 (Dec. 26-29), the track logged 1.07 million official on-demand U.S. streams; that figured leapt 31% to 1.42 million official streams by the four-day period of Jan. 2-5, 2026.
As “Midnight Sun” continues climbing, Zara’s momentum is also helping lift a fellow European pop star’s ascendant hit: PinkPantheress’ “Stateside.” Zara’s infectious remix dropped alongside Pink’s Fancy Some More? remix album last October, and now it’s on its way to being one of the first new pop hits of 2026. During the week of Nov. 21-27, “Stateside” earned 1.48 million official streams. Five weeks later (Dec. 26-Jan. 1), that figure exploded nearly 95% to 2.88 million streams.
As if a rising solo hit and a fast-growing collaboration weren’t enough, Zara is also experiencing a revival for “Lush Life,” a single from her debut album that reached No. 75 on the Hot 100 nearly ten years ago. Aided by the recently wrapped European leg of her Midnight Sun Tour, where she invited several fans onstage to perform the track’s viral dance break, “Lush” has been up 84% in streaming activity over the past three weeks. Heading into the New Year (Dec. 26-Jan. 1), “Lush Life” collected 4.07 million streams. Notably, Zara and Pink linked up for their own “Lush Life” dance TikTok just two days ago.
With the American leg of her Midnight Sun Tour kicking off next month (Feb. 28) at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, expect Zara to continue barreling towards the zenith of Top 40. — KYLE DENIS
‘Heated Rivalry’ Finale Spurs Big Gains for ‘Cottage’ Soundtrack
Heated Rivalry has proven inescapable since its November 2025 premiere, and its season one finale (Dec. 26) gave a sweet post-Christmas streaming bump to a pair of key syncs.
Ellisa Sun’s aptly titled “Unravel” plays as Shane (Hudson Williams) anxiously drives to his parents’ house for a conversation set to change his life forever. In the week preceding the season finale, “Unravel” earned a negligible number of official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. By the end of the week following the premiere of “The Cottage,” Sun’s song ballooned an eyebrow-raising 187,539% to over 61,000 official streams.
Cailin Russo experienced a similar bump for her own “Bad Things,” which soundtracks the final scene and end credits for the season finale. Leading up to “The Cottage” (Dec. 19-25), “Bad Things” logged under 5,000 official streams and a negligible number of digital downloads sold; once viewers arrived at Shane’s secret refuge, the song leapt 18,972% to 851,000 streams and over 1,100 digital downloads.
Williams and co-star Connor Storrie are slated to present at Sunday’s Golden Globes (Jan. 11), just days before and after their respective late-night television debuts, so expect the Heated Rivalry buzz to keep on simmering. — K.D.
The Golden Globes are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
Hence then, the article about stranger things finale offers huge bumps to prince david bowie classics but saves its biggest boost for one of its cast members was published today ( ) and is available on billboard ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Offers Huge Bumps to Prince & David Bowie Classics — But Saves Its Biggest Boost for One of Its Cast Members )
Also on site :