Photo credit: Keith Bloomfield-DeWeese / CC of 4.0
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” has hit one billion streams on Spotify after it exploded in 2022 when it became a viral sensation after being featured in Stranger Things season four .
On June 21, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, less than a year after 500 million plays on the platform.
The song exploded in 2022, becoming a viral phenomenon after being featured in Stranger Things season 4, and being named the most-streamed throwback song of the year as part of Spotify’s 2022 Wrapped campaign as the song streamed increased by more than 8,700% worldwide.
It was the most streamed song in the world June 2022 and No. 3 on the Billboard Global 200 the following month. Luminate analysts estimate that Kate Bush could have earned around $2.3 million in streaming royalties between the week of May 27 and the end of June 2022.
With this new milestone, the singer posted a similar message to her fans on her website as she did last year.
“One billion streams! I have the image of a river suddenly flooding and turning into many, many tributaries—a billion streams—on its way to the sea. Each of these streams is one of you,” Kate Bush writes about her website. “Thank you! Thank you for taking this song on such an incredibly amazing journey. I’m blown away.”
“I am overwhelmed by the amount of love and support the song is receiving,” Bush wrote last year of the song’s popularity. “I have to admit that all of this really touches me.”
The 1985 single – owned by Kate Bush through her independent record label Noble & Brite and all original recordings of her songs – has reached heights previously unimaginable for the almost forty-year-old title.
But the popularity of “Stranger Things” made all of its retro hits kings, with Metallica’s “Running Up That Hill” and “Master of Puppets” occupying an important place in the season’s plot. “Master of Puppets” jumped to #1 on the iTunes Rock chart after being featured on the show.