Although Harry Styles’ “As It Was” maintains its run atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for the fifth week, it’s the Kate Bush 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill” that’s the talk of the charts as it has re-entered the chart at No. 8. The revival of the track on the new fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” became the launching pad for the song to outpace its 1985 No. 30 peak and became Bush’s first top 10 breakthrough on the chart.
“Stranger Things,” which is set in the late ’80s, released the first volume of the new season on May 27 and incorporates the song in multiple episodes. It serves as a focus in the plotline of the character Max Mayfield, played by actress Sadie Sink.
The entire negotiation came as a surprise for Bush fans as she seldom approves of the usage of her songs in other media. In a recent Variety article, Wende Crowley, Sony Music Publishing’s senior VP of creative marketing, film and TV, said Bush approved the song’s participation in the series after reviewing script pages and footage outlining how it would be incorporated. Bush also published a rare statement on her website stating she was a fan of the show and shared her gratitude for the resurgence.
On the U.S chart, it’s almost unheard of for an older song to jump into the top 10, even after a widely celebrated synch or following a celebrity death. It’s believed a non-Christmas catalog tune has not re-entered this high in its original recorded form since Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” went to No. 2 in 1992, after being featured in “Wayne’s World.” In 2020, Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” enjoyed a huge surge in popularity in 2020 due to a TikTok meme, but still made it only as far as No. 12 on the chart.
The synch additionally put the track at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales and onto the Streaming Songs chart at No. 6. As of June 4, “Running Up That Hill” also ranked as high as No. 3 on the weekly song consumption tally, as confirmed by Luminate.
The singer-songwriter first made an appearance on Billboard‘s charts in 1979, but “Running Up That Hill” is her first Hot 100 top 10. It originally hit the charts in November of 1985 as a part of her fifth studio album, “Hounds of Love,” and landed in the No. 30 spot.
Meanwhile, Styles’ “Late Night Talking” dips 4-9 in its second week on the Hot 100. Jack Harlow’s “First Class” stays at No. 2 on the Hot 100, after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1. Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, is equally as steady at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after spending a week at No. 1. Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” jumped up one spot to No. 4 on the chart. Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” also rises 6-5 on the Hot 100, after five weeks at No. 1. Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito” soars from its previous No. 10 spot to No. 7.
Numbers detailing equivalent album units earned from the Billboard 200 chart come from Luminate via Billboard.
Styles’ “Harry’s House” also holds its top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second week, following its debut at No. 1 a week ago. The project earned 160,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending June 2; it originally launched with 521,500 units.
New in the top 10 of the album chart is legendary English rock band Def Leppard, which score its eighth top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with the debut of “Diamond Star Halos.” At No. 10, the album enters with 34,000 equivalent album units earned.
Elsewhere on the album chart: Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti” stays put at No. 2 with 141,500 equivalent album units, Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” remains at No. 3 with 89,500 units, Future’s No. 1 “I Never Liked You” is still at No. 4 with 68,000 units and Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” rises 6-5 with 53,500 units.
Thanks to its release on vinyl, Doja Cat’s “Planet Her” bounces 12-6 with 41,500 equivalent album units. Zach Bryan’s “American Heartbreak” falls 5-7 in its second week with 40,500 units and Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 “Sour” lingers at No. 8 with 39,000 units following the release of a deluxe one-year anniversary edition of the album. Jack Harlow’s “Come Home the Kids Miss You” slips to 7-9 with 34,500 units.
From Variety US