Since the arrival of the first batch of Season 4 episode for Stranger Things hit Netflix over Memorial Day weekend Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (Make a Deal With God)” has seen a surge in popularity. The song, which plays a prominent role in the wildly popular series as Max (Sadie Sink) plays the song on repeat while grieving her stepbrother Billy’s death, has found a new audience with fans, topping the iTunes charts, becoming a trending sound on TikTok, and now, it’s delivered Bush her first-ever top 10 U.S. hit. According to Variety, “Running Up That Hill” has re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart at No. 8 — 37 years after the song’s original release.
Though this is Bush’s first top 10, this isn’t the first time “Running Up That Hill” has charted on the Hot 100. The song, which was fairly popular when it was first released as the first single from Bush’s album Hounds of Love, initially peaked at No. 30 in 1985. Of course, the song is making waves on other charts and metrics as well, with the song hitting No. 1 on Digital Song Sales and hitting No. 6 on the Streaming Songs Chart. The response to the song has been so great that Bush herself, notably a very private figure, recently made a rare statement on her website thanking fans for the song’s new life.
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“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of Stranger Things has recently been released on Netflix,” Bush wrote on her website. “It features the song, ‘Running Up That Hill’ which is being given a whole new lease on life by the young fans who love the show — I love it too! Because of this, ‘Running Up That Hill’ is charting around the world and has entered the UK chart at No. 8. It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July.”
Everything about this new success for “Running Up That Hill” has been something of an unusual situation, not the least of which was the journey for the song to even appear in Stranger Things. It’s not common for Bush to approve her music for synch usage and, according to Sony Music Publishing SVP of creative marketing film, and TV Wende Crowley, it was a unique situation that required a bit of a unique approach to get it approved.
“Nora Felder came to us pre-pandemic to discuss the idea of using it as Max’s ‘song’ for this season,” Crowley told Variety. “She wanted to make sure it was within the realm of possibility before she got the Duffer Brothers on board with the idea, since the song was going to be such a focal point to Max’s storyline. Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music and because of that, we made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used.”
Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 is now streaming. Volume 2 will premiere on July 1st.
