Thursday’s Stranger Things season five finale brought an end to the near decade long series. Closing out the series was none other than the utterly iconic “Heroes” by late and legendary musician David Bowie. While Stranger Things was no stranger to needle drops using iconic music of the era, NME reports this particularly important decision of end credits song was influenced by the suggestion of Joe Keery, actor for Steve Harrington and himself musician under the alias Djo.
Show co-creator Ross Duffer commented on Keery’s suggestion. “Once Joe said that, we immediately knew that was the right song to end the show on because it is, in some ways, an anthem for Stranger Things,” Duffer said. “To use the original Bowie version just felt right and fitting for the conclusion.” The finale saw a record breaking debut of 59.6 million views, a new high for an English-language release on Netflix. The Duffer brothers have spoken on a variety of fan theories and speculation in the wake of the ending, sharing that they “want the audience to take from it what they want.” Reception has been mixed, however, with some recent episodes among the lowest rated for the entire series alongside some mockery on social media, though others celebrated the conclusion to the longrunning series.
Released on the 1977 album of the same name, “Heroes” is one of Bowie’s most iconic songs. Co-written by frequent Bowie collaborator Brian Eno, the song was released in English, French and German, all sang by Bowie. Said to be inspired by a scene of two lovers embracing under the Berlin Wall, itself recorded in the country and later famously played at near the border of the wall in 1987. Many fans showed up and chanted for the fall of the wall. “We would hear them cheering and singing along from the other side,” Bowie stated in an interview in 2003. “God, even now I get choked up. It was breaking my heart. I’d never done anything like that in my life, and I guess I never will again.”
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