'Stranger Things' Finale Pushes Joe Keery Song to No. 1 on Spotify Charts

Netflix's "Stranger Things" series finale didn't just deliver record viewership for Netflix this week.

It also sent a three-year-old song to the top of Spotify's global charts.

Joe Keery, who played beloved character Steve Harrington on the show, saw his 2022 track "End of Beginning" dethrone Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" on January 4.

The song, released under Keery's musical alias Djo, reached 6.5 million streams and claimed the No. 1 spot for the second time after initially hitting the milestone in 2024.

Swift's track had held the top position for 78 consecutive days, making Keery's displacement particularly notable for brands watching how cultural moments can drive consumption patterns.

Here, we can see how series finales can turn old songs into hits when they capture what viewers are feeling.

People want to hold on to the experience after a show ends, and music that matches their mood becomes their way to process it.

Timing Turned a 2022 Song Into a Chart Hit

"End of Beginning" originally appeared on Keery's 2022 album "Decide" before gaining traction on TikTok and Instagram in 2024.

The song's reflective lyrics about endings and new chapters made it an ideal soundtrack for the "Stranger Things" finale moment.

Keery revealed on "The Spout Podcast" in May 2024 that Swift had complimented the track when they ran into each other at Electric Lady recording studio in New York City.

"Before anything happened with this track, she said, 'Hey, I really love that track of yours, End Of Beginning,'" he explained.

"She just said that she had heard the song and, you know, obviously I'm like, 'What? You heard that song? How the hell did you hear that song?'"

This kind of organic recognition adds context to the surge, showing the track had already circulated quietly among Keery's peers before the finale pushed it back into mass listening.

The song currently sits at No. 1 on both the global Spotify chart and the U.S. chart with 1.38 million streams.

Finale-driven surges, such as this one, prove emotional resonance matters more than release timing.

A three-year-old album cut can outperform new releases when it captures what audiences feel during a specific cultural phenomenon.

Finales as Cultural Ignition Points

The "Stranger Things" finale created a perfect storm for "End of Beginning." 

Note that Netflix didn't actually use it in the series' soundtrack.

Audiences processed the show's conclusion, discovered Keery had released music years earlier, and found a song with a theme perfectly matching their emotional state.

The song's reflective nature about endings and beginnings gave fans a way to process 10 years of "Stranger Things" through music that felt personally connected to the show.

Netflix's marketing strategy focused heavily on driving appointment viewing for the finale.

This, in turn, created a concentrated cultural moment where millions of viewers looked for ways to extend their engagement with the show.

Djo's chart surge highlights several transferable patterns tied to finale-driven momentum:

• Cultural moments can reactivate dormant assets, as audiences search for meaning once a shared experience ends.
• Cross-disciplinary talent lowers discovery friction, giving audiences a natural bridge into adjacent work without formal promotion.
• Emotionally aligned content sustains attention longer, especially when it reflects how audiences feel rather than what a brand wants to say.

Teams that track emotional inflection points are better positioned to act when culture opens brief windows of renewed attention.

Our Take: Can Brands Predict Finale-Driven Moments?

I think predicting which songs will surge after finales requires understanding emotional arcs, and not just audience size.

"End of Beginning" was a hit because its themes matched exactly what Stranger Things fans were feeling once the show aired its final episode.

The song's title alone captured the bittersweet experience of saying goodbye to characters they knew and loved.

Brands can't manufacture this kind of resonance, but they can identify when passionate fanbases will seek ways to process major cultural milestones.

Streaming platforms and music services should use finale moments to surface older songs that match what viewers are feeling instead of just pushing whatever's new.

Can't get enough of "Stranger Things?" Check out how we rounded up the best brand campaigns from the finale.

Brands looking to capitalize on cultural moments created by entertainment properties need agencies that understand emotional timing and audience behavior.

Take a look at the top entertainment marketing agencies in our directory.