Per Variety, the late artist’s 1984 hits “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” increased global streams on Spotify by 243 percent and 200 percent, respectively. Specifically for the Gen Z demographic, the two tunes were boosted by 577 percent for “Purple” and 128 percent for “Doves.” And they’re not alone: The outlet reported that streams for Prince’s entire discography have increased by 190 percent overall, with Gen Z streams up by 88 percent.
Oscar winner purple Rain The soundtrack album was highly praised upon release and considered one of the greatest albums of all time, and neither of the songs have been used in a TV 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 that a record would trigger a bomb during the climactic fight in the finale. And in the words of Ross, “There’s really nothing more epic than Prince.”
Matt Duffer credits the show’s big season four needle drop — Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” — for helping him get started with Prince’s wealth, of course. Music supervisor Nora Felder told the brothers that getting approval would be a “real long endeavor”. In a separate interview with Variety, Felder revealed that the brothers had approached him with the script and their objective: two songs from 1987 or earlier, by the same artist, with one song starting on the A or B-side of the album, and the other song ending on the album’s alternate side. And this was even before the scene was shot.
Felder explained, “It’s just imagining it in my mind – and playing it out through this big, emotional, tragic scene.” “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but it’s still always a first.” There was one classic artist she sent the Duffers to (and whose name she’s hiding), but ultimately, they all decided to try to get two of Prince’s songs approved. Getting approval from the estate was “difficult” for a couple of weeks, with the green light being received only days before shooting.
The numbers showed that Prince was the right choice and the search for those songs was successful — and Netflix knows it, so the show’s latest Spotify playlist features “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain” as the second and third tracks.
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