"Running Up That Hill" singer and songwriter Kate Bush has shared her thoughts on Stranger Things season 4, which heavily featured her hit 1985 song. Bush's track has a pivotal role in the season 4 story of Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield and was used throughout the season's later marketing. Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 was released on July 1, over a month after the first batch of episodes dropped.
In Stranger Things season 4, Max is targeted by Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), an entity from the Upside Down who has been murdering distressed teens in Hawkins as part of a mysterious plot, using her guilt surrounding the death of her brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) to isolate and torment her. When Max is attacked by Vecna at Billy's grave, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Steve (Joe Keery) save her by using her favorite song, "Running Up That Hill", to reach her in Vecna's lair. The sequence revived interest in the track, with Bush's song reaching #1 on the iTunes charts almost 37 years since its initial release. Following the debut of Stranger Things season 4, volume 2, Bush has shared her thoughts on the full season.
On her personal website, Bush discusses Stranger Things season 4 in a post. After celebrating the continued success of "Running Up That Hill" on the charts, the singer praises the final 2 episodes of season 4, revealing that beforehand she had only seen the scenes involving her 1985 song without any surrounding context. Check out Bush's comments below.
"I’ve just watched the last two episodes of Stranger Things and they’re just through the roof. No spoilers here, I promise. I'd only seen the scenes that directly involved the use of the track and so I didn’t know how the story would evolve or build. I was so delighted that the Duffer Brothers wanted to use RUTH for Max’s totem but now having seen the whole of this last series, I feel deeply honored that the song was chosen to become a part of their roller-coaster journey. I can’t imagine the amount of hard work that’s gone into making something on this scale. I am in awe. They’ve made something really spectacular."
Bush first reacted to the revived interest in "Running Up That Hill" shortly after Stranger Things season 4 released its first volume in early June via a previous statement on her website. In the post, Bush revealed that she herself was a fan of the series and expressed her delight in seeing a new generation discover the song through it. "Running Up That Hill" has become the definitive song of Stranger Things season 4 thanks to its presence throughout the episodes. Seeing as the latest season is the biggest one yet of the Netflix show, it perhaps isn't too surprising that Bush's track is seeing a major boost in popularity.
Stranger Things' use of "Running Up That Hill" not only created some of season 4's most stunning and memorable moments, but also revived Bush's song in a way that exceeded its initial release. The song has become Bush's highest-charting hit on Billboard's Hot 100 charts to-date. After Bush praised the Duffer Brothers for their work on volume 1, Stranger Things fans may have been curious about what the singer thought of season 4 as a whole. With her latest statement, Bush joins critics and fans in praising Stranger Things' penultimate season.
Source: KateBush.com