The Billboard charts have lit up for Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” sparked by the song’s sync in the new fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. On the current June-18 dated rankings, the 1985 classic ascends to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, crowns the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales surveys and is No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally. Hounds of Love, Bush’s 1985 album that houses “Hill,” has also soared to No. 1 on Top Alternative Albums and hits a new No. 12 high on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Beyond the song’s domestic success, the track by the British singer-songwriter and producer has exploded worldwide. It climbs to No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart with 85.9 million streams (up 75%) and 37,000 downloads sold (up 30%) globally in the week ending June 9, according to Luminate.
Further, “Hill” crowns eight of Billboard‘s Hits of the World rankings – more than any other song this week. After debuting on 23 of the international lists last week, the song surges on the newest editions.
(Bad Bunny follows, topping seven Hits of the World lists. He leads six, alongside Chencho Corleone, with “Me Porto Bonito,” and rules Spain Songs with “Tití Me Preguntó.”)
“Hill” hits No. 1 on Billboard‘s official song charts for Australia, Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Switzerland and Bush’s native U.K. Clearly, the song’s most concentrated pocket of global success is in Europe, with top five placements in another nine of the continent’s charts. As social media users further fan the flames for the track, “Hill” also reaches No. 3 in South Africa, No. 5 in Singapore and No. 20 in Malaysia and debuts at No. 21 in Brazil.
Including her well-documented surge on Billboard‘s U.S.-based charts, “Hill” is now among the biggest songs on six continents (all but Antarctica, which, understandably, does not have an official Billboard chart).
“The track is being responded to in so many positive ways,” Bush marvels. “I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before!”
