The ‘Stranger Things’ finale brought everyone back to Prince

Whether you loved it or hated it Stranger Things, one thing it did was get people to listen to Prince again.

By Varietythe successes of the late artist in 1984 “Purple rain” And “When the doves cry” jumped in global streams on Spotify by 243% and 200%, respectively. For Gen Z in particular, both tracks were boosted by 577% for “Purple” and 128% for “Doves.” And they’re not alone: ​​the outlet reported that streams for Prince’s entire discography were up 190% overall, with an 88% increase for Gen Z streams.

The Oscar winner Purple rain The soundtrack album was highly regarded upon its release and considered one of the greatest albums ever made, and neither song has been used in a television show since Prince’s film of the same name.

Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer explained that he and his brother Matt “knew we needed an epic needle drop” once they decided a disc would trigger a bomb during the finale’s climactic battle. And in the words of Ross, “There’s nothing more epic than Prince.”

Matt Duffer credited the show’s big season four needle drop — Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” of course — as helping get the ball rolling with Prince’s estate. Music supervisor Nora Felder told the brothers it would be a “very long road” to get approval. In a separate Variety In the interview, Felder revealed that the brothers approached her with the script and their goal: two songs from 1987 or earlier, by the same artist, with song one beginning on side A or B of the album, and song two ending on the alternate side of the album. And that was before the scene was even shot.

“It’s just me imagining it in my head — and it has to play out through this big, emotional, sad scene,” Felder explained. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but there’s always a first.” She sent a classic artist to the Duffers (and whose name she remembered), but ultimately they all decided to try to get the two Prince songs erased. Getting approval from the estate side was a “grueling” two weeks, with the green light coming just days before filming.

The numbers showed that Prince was the right choice and that the pursuit of these songs paid off – and Netflix knows it, placing “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain” as the second and third tracks on the series’ latest Spotify playlist.

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