Stranger Things Just Gave Prince Another Cultural Moment
The Stranger Things effect is real. Again.
And this time, it belongs to Prince.
Following the release of the fifth and final season’s finale, the Duffer Brothers’ Netflix juggernaut has sent Prince’s catalog rocketing back into the mainstream. Spotify numbers don’t lie, and they’re loud.
According to official data from the platform, Purple Rain saw a staggering +243% increase in global streams between December 31, when the finale dropped, and January 1, 2026. But the real headline lives in the generational breakdown. Among Gen Z listeners, streams exploded by 577%. Yes, five hundred seventy seven.
The spike didn’t stop there. When Doves Cry followed closely, posting a +200% global increase, with Gen Z streams up 128%. Taken together, Prince’s entire catalog enjoyed a 190% global streaming boost, turning a late-20th-century icon into a first-week-of-2026 obsession.
This isn’t nostalgia. It’s discovery.
For many younger listeners, this wasn’t a throwback. It was a first encounter. TikTok reactions, Spotify adds, and fan edits flooded feeds within hours of the finale. Prince didn’t just trend. He converted.
Without giving anything away, Purple Rain and When Doves Cry play pivotal roles in the final episode, The Rightside Up. One fuels a high-stakes action sequence. The other underscores the emotional goodbye to a series that shaped a generation of TV viewers.
“We knew we needed an epic needle drop,” Ross Duffer told Tudum. “And nothing is more epic than Prince.”
Hard to argue with that.
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