There’s a lot to unpack in the newest season of “Stranger Things” — everything from the darker storyline involving Vecna to Hopper’s return to Eleven’s past in the Hawkins National Laboratory to that comical visit to Salt Lake City.
But the music — one song in particular — is dominating the “Stranger Things” conversation right now.
Without giving too much away, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” serves as a major plot device in Season 4, Volume 1, providing character Max Mayfield with some strength to fight Vecna, the dark monster the teens of Hawkins, Indiana, are determined to defeat.
The song has become so popular that Bush, an English singer-songwriter, has now earned her first top 10 hit in the U.S. for the song she released 37 years ago, The Guardian reported. The 1985 song currently sits at No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 — significantly surpassing its initial peak at No. 30, according to Billboard. The 1980s song is now reaching a new generation, and Bush couldn’t be happier.
“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of ‘Stranger Things’ has recently been released on Netflix,” the singer said in a statement on her website. “It features the song, ‘Running Up That Hill,’ which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show — I love it too!
“It’s all really exciting!” she added. “Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July.”
One thing Stranger Things gets absolutely right is the life saving power of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill
— Maria Dieters ☘️ (@mariadieters) May 29, 2022
Music has played a significant role on “Stranger Things” from the start. In Season 1, it was The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” that helped Will Byers survive his time stuck in the Upside Down. In Season 3, the theme from “The NeverEnding Story” grew in popularity following Dustin and Suzie’s performance right before saving the world — YouTube and Spotify streams of the song spiked by 800%, the Deseret News reported.
Now, Bush’s hit song is seeing a massive resurgence. The singer-songwriter is selective when it comes to licensing her music, Variety reported. But “Stranger Things” made a strong case for its use — and Bush happens to be a big fan of the show.
Although the deal took fairly long to secure — due in part to the number of times the song is used throughout the season — Nora Felder, the show’s music supervisor, was determined to have it.
“I have a running expression I use when my showrunners feel strongly about a song select,” Felder told Variety. “Which is, ‘I’m not going to sleep until I get it cleared.’ For me, as a music supervisor, I always feel an incredible responsibility to do everything in my power to ‘get it done,’ and this was no different.”
Volume 2 of “Stranger Things” Season 4 hits Netflix July 1.