Stranger Things has a superpower, and at this point it’s undeniable. Press play on the right song, in the right moment, and suddenly music history rewinds straight into the present. The series finale, released December 31, proved it one last time. This time, the winner is David Bowie.
Over five seasons, the Netflix juggernaut has become a cultural reboot machine for iconic tracks, especially from the ’80s. Season 4 already changed the game. Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill turned into a global obsession overnight, introducing an entire Gen Z audience to an artist many had never explored. Then came Metallica’s Master of Puppets, soundtracking Eddie Munson’s now-legendary guitar scene and dragging metal back into mainstream conversation.
So heading into the final episodes, the question wasn’t if another song would blow up. It was which one.
First, it was Prince. As previously reported, Purple Rain surged by +243% in global streams after appearing in the finale, with a jaw-dropping +577% spike among Gen Z listeners. When Doves Cry followed closely, posting a +200% global increase and +128% among younger audiences. Prince didn’t just trend. He dominated.
But the last emotional punch came during the end credits. Cue Heroes.
David Bowie’s 1977 classic, technically not even an ’80s track, closed out the series and immediately caught fire. The results were instant and wild. Global streams jumped nearly 500%. From around 94,000 daily plays, the song climbed to 342,000 on January 1, then 456,000 the next day, and 470,000 shortly after. No remix. No TikTok challenge. Just perfect placement.
Context matters. Heroes isn’t just a song. It’s a statement. Hopeful, bittersweet, fragile, and defiant. Basically, Stranger Things in musical form.
According to the Duffer Brothers, the choice came straight from inside the cast. Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington, suggested using Bowie’s original version. Once it was on the table, the decision felt obvious. The creators described it as the unofficial anthem of the series and the only track that felt emotionally right to close the story.
There’s also a full-circle moment here. Earlier in the show’s run, Stranger Things had used Peter Gabriel’s haunting cover of Heroes. Ending the series with Bowie’s original version feels deliberate, like closing a loop and handing the story back to its source.
Bigger picture? This is another reminder of how modern fandom consumes music. A well-placed song in a global streaming series now does what radio, MTV, and playlists used to do combined. It revives catalogs, reshapes legacies, and introduces icons to listeners who weren’t even born when the tracks were released.
Stranger Things didn’t just end a series. It turned Bowie’s Heroes into a new generational anthem. Again.