Stranger Things 5: How Duffer Brothers Incorporated These Classic Tunes Into Series Ending

After Season 4, fans of Stranger Things were expecting some big song choices in the finale. This time, they didn't just get the Kate Bush's Running Up The Hill moment; they got three! Co-creators Matt

and Ross Duffer used the songs of music icons Prince and David Bowie to great effect in that emotional last episode. Here's how their songs fit right into the series finale titled The Rightside Up, released on December 31 on Netflix. If you haven't caught up with the finale, here's a warning that there are major spoilers below for Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 3.

How Duffer Brothers landed two Prince songs for finale

The second half of The Rightside Up has two consecutive moments where Prince's songs When Doves Cry and Purple Rain are used. Released in 1984, the songs fit right in the era where the show is set, as the fifth season now takes place in 1987. When Doves Cry is heard after the Hawkins gang manages to make it out of the Abyss and save the children. Hopper (David Harbour) and Murray (Brett Gelman) set off the bomb to destroy the Upside Down, and the gang leaves, elated that their mission is a success. Moments later, the mood turns grim after they enter back into Hawkins through the MAC-Z gate and are surrounded by Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) and her men. They are after Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), but she instead is right back inside the Upside Down as it is collapsing, sacrificing herself for the greater good. Before leaving, she steals a personal moment with Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) in the mind void.

The Duffers were able to get the Prince song thanks to the pop culture moment of Kate Bush in Season 4 with Running Up That Hill. Ross Duffer told Tudum, "What is also very exciting about it is it just has not been used. [Prince’s] estate does not generally allow that song to be licensed outside the Purple Rain movie.” He shared the song choice was quite important, as "it summed up the emotion of the moment."

Why was David Bowie chosen for the end credits?

Apart from Prince's two songs from the Purple Rain album, the finale also featured David Bowie's Heroes. Dedicated fans might remember that a cover of the 1977 song by Peter Gabriel was used in Season 1 when Will Byer's fake body is pulled out of the lake. And the show closes on the original version in the finale. Mike watches his sister Holly (Nell Fisher) play Dungeons and Dragons in the basement and closes the door as he leaves. As the animated sequence of the end credits begins, so does Bowie's song. Ross Duffer revealed it was actor Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington, who suggested the track again.

He added, "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. To use the original Bowie version just felt right and fitting for the conclusion." All three songs have been added to the official Stranger Things playlist on Spotify. The full season of Stranger Things with all eight episodes is now streaming on Netflix.