Since “Stranger Things” debuted the first episodes of its fifth and final season in late November, several tracks from Volume 1’s needle drops — including Diana Ross’ “Upside Down” and Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” — saw more than 1,000% surges on Spotify, TheWrap can exclusively reveal.
“Upside Down” (1980) saw a 1,250% increase in global Gen Z streams specifically, as well as a 510% increase in global streams and a 3,538% increase in global searches, while “I Think We’re Alone Now” (1987) saw a 880% increase in global Gen Z streams, a 490% boost in global streams and a 1,288% increase in global searches, according to Spotify data from the day before the Season 5 premiere to a week after the premiere on Dec. 3.
Likewise, The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman” (1954) and ABBA’s “Fernando” (1976) saw a 740% boost and 645% increase, respectively in global Gen Z streams, while “Mr. Sandman” saw a 625% increase in global streams and a 1,030% increase in global searches. Likewise, “Fernando’s” global streams saw a 335% increase while global searches for the song were up 1,110%.
Per Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, streams for the Diana Ross catalog are up 92% in the U.S. and 113% globally, while Tiffany’s catalog streams are up 318% in the U.S. and 299% globally while. Additionally, “Fernando “(1976) streams are up 234% in the U.S. and 221% globally.
The boosts in streams matches the massive viewership for “Stranger Things,” which logged an impressive 59.6 million views in its first five days on Netflix — the biggest premiere week for an English-language show in the history of the streamer.
In the lead up to the debut of Volume 2 on Dec. 25 and the grande finale on Dec. 31, Netflix and Spotify will give fans clues for which songs are featured in Volume 2 with a WSQK The Squawk radio takeover.
Beginning Dec. 16, Spotify’s “Stranger Things” official playlist will be taken over by WSQK The Squawk radio, where fans can hear Maya Hawke’s Rockin’ Robin share special broadcast messages dropping every morning at 8 a.m. ET through Dec. 18. While not every broadcast is a clue, fans should pay special attention to any numbers in the clips, as they will come together to form clues that reveal a secret code that consists of a series of numbers. Fans can type the final sequence into the Spotify search bar to unlock new content available on Spotify from Dec. 18-20.
