The NeverEnding Story song had already had one unlikely comeback moment before Stranger Things ever touched it, thanks to a Netflix interactive film most casual fans of the tune had probably never seen. Then season 3 gave it a second life entirely, and this time even the singer’s own family had to tell him what was happening.
Table of Contents
- How The NeverEnding Story song ends up in Stranger Things
- What happened to streaming numbers after the episode aired
- How Limahl found out his song had gone viral again
- The viral challenge that pushed the song even further
- Frequently asked questions about The NeverEnding Story song
How The NeverEnding Story song ends up in Stranger Things
The NeverEnding Story song was originally released in September 1984 as the English-language title track for the fantasy film of the same name, produced and composed by Giorgio Moroder with lyrics by Keith Forsey, and performed by English pop singer Limahl. According to Wikipedia’s entry on the song, it found real chart success at the time, reaching Number 1 in Norway and Sweden, Number 2 in Austria and West Germany, and Number 4 in the UK.
The song resurfaces nearly 35 years later in the season 3 finale of Stranger Things, sung as a duet between Dustin Henderson and his long-distance girlfriend Suzie Bingham over his homemade ham radio. According to a Fandom wiki entry on the song, the sequence is used as a way for the two characters to reconnect after a long separation, with Dustin performing the song specifically to prove to his skeptical friends that Suzie is real — and to secure a scientific equation the group desperately needs from her in exchange.
What happened to streaming numbers after the episode aired
The NeverEnding Story song’s numbers moved dramatically once season 3 premiered on July 4, 2019. According to Wikipedia, viewership of the original 1984 music video increased by 800% within just a few days of the season’s release, while Spotify reported an 825% increase in stream requests for the song over that same short window.
Billboard’s own coverage of the phenomenon captured the scale of the shift directly from Limahl’s own account: his Spotify monthly listener count for the song jumped from roughly 300,000 to over one million in a single week. That kind of sudden surge placed The NeverEnding Story song alongside a small handful of older tracks that Stranger Things had already turned into unlikely streaming hits, cementing a pattern the show would repeat again with songs like Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in later seasons.
“For some strange reason, things have gone ‘Neverending Story’ crazeeee again,” Limahl posted on social media, joking about the sudden surge in attention.
How Limahl found out his song had gone viral again
The NeverEnding Story song’s Stranger Things resurgence reached Limahl in an unusually casual way, given the scale of what was happening. According to Wikipedia’s account, Limahl had not actually watched Stranger Things himself; he learned about the song’s inclusion in the show only after his nephews told him about it, and he watched clips of the Dustin and Suzie duet after the fact rather than the episode in full context.
Billboard’s interview with the singer, then 60 years old and still widely known for his earlier work fronting the band Kajagoogoo, captured his genuine surprise at the timing. “I’m gobsmacked,” Limahl told the outlet, describing a moment when he mentioned the Stranger Things connection casually to his 23-year-old nephew while driving with his 82-year-old mother, only for his nephew’s reaction to make clear just how big a deal the placement actually was. He also noted this wasn’t entirely unfamiliar territory — Wikipedia notes Limahl had experienced a similar streaming boost previously when Netflix used Kajagoogoo’s song “Too Shy” in the interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
The viral challenge that pushed the song even further
The NeverEnding Story song’s momentum was amplified further by a social media trend launched directly by one of the show’s own stars. Billboard reported that Millie Bobby Brown started a “#NeverEndingChallenge” that generated more than 5.3 million likes on her initial post, encouraging fans to create their own versions of the Dustin-and-Suzie duet moment across social platforms.
That viral spread extended into mainstream late-night television as well, with Billboard noting that The Tonight Show aired a parody of the scene featuring Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert — a detail Limahl himself reportedly wasn’t even aware of until it was brought to his attention, given how quickly the wave of attention had built around a song he’d written and recorded 35 years earlier for an entirely different project.
For more on the couple whose radio duet triggered this entire resurgence, Read more: Suzie Bingham covers her full arc from season 3 punchline to season finale hero. And for the actor whose character delivered the performance, Read more: Dustin Henderson breaks down his journey across the series.
Billboard’s full interview with Limahl goes deeper into his reaction to the song’s unexpected second life, and it’s worth reading in full here.
Stranger Things 5 | Official Trailer | Netflix
Frequently asked questions about The NeverEnding Story song
How much did streams of The NeverEnding Story song increase after Stranger Things? Spotify reported an 825% increase in stream requests for The NeverEnding Story song within days of the season 3 finale’s release, while the original music video’s views increased by 800%.
Did Limahl watch Stranger Things when his song appeared in it? No. Limahl had not watched the series when The NeverEnding Story song was featured, and he learned about its inclusion from his nephews before watching clips of the scene afterward.
Who sings The NeverEnding Story song in Stranger Things? The NeverEnding Story song is performed as a duet between Dustin Henderson and Suzie Bingham, played by Gaten Matarazzo and Gabriella Pizzolo, in the season 3 finale.
Was this the first time Netflix boosted one of Limahl’s songs? No. Limahl had previously experienced a similar streaming increase when Netflix used his band Kajagoogoo’s song “Too Shy” in the interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
What viral trend followed The NeverEnding Story song’s Stranger Things scene? Millie Bobby Brown launched a “#NeverEndingChallenge” on social media that received more than 5.3 million likes, and the scene was later parodied on The Tonight Show by Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert.
