Streaming

Only the "Beginning": Djo Tops Spot as Catalog Surges

January 6, 2026

For the second time in two years, musician and Stranger Things star Joe Keery's Djo project has topped the Spotify global chart with a song that wasn't even issued as a single upon its 2022 release.

Fueled by massive viewership of the final episodes of the Netflix series, which began rolling out on Christmas and wrapped on New Year's Eve, "End of Beginning" racked up 7.8m global streams on Monday to remain #1 on both the global and U.S. charts. It has now spent 689 days on those tallies and is closing in on 2b total streams.

The song, which was released on the 2022 AWAL album Decide but became a TikTok-fueled viral smash in early 2024, previously went #1 on Spot global on March 25 of that year. But this time around, the rest of Djo's catalog is also seeing a major boost, with the Nick Stern-managed artist garnering more than 5m streams of other songs on Monday alone.

"We are pulling every lever possible on a global basis," AWAL CEO Lonny Olinick tells HITS of the latest Djo developments. "From creating content that supports the storytelling to ensuring that the DSPs are fully supporting Djo to telling the story at radio and through press, we are making sure the moment is as big as it deserves to be. And more importantly, we are focused on breaking an artist. The entire catalog is growing and his social footprint is growing, so we are focused on shining a light on 'Delete Ya' and 'Basic Being Basic,' from his new album, The Crux, as much as telling the 'End of Beginning' story."

Between his role as sensitive jock Steve Harrington on Stranger Things and other acting gigs, Keery was able to play nearly 80 shows around the world this year in support of The Crux, his third full-length. They culminated in October with two sold-out nights at L.A.'s Greek Theatre in front of 11,000 fans. Djo's set at Austin City Limits drew a crowd of 40,000.

Keery will again be busy with acting commitments for most of 2026, although he will play nine March shows as part of or adjacent to Lollapalooza South America. He's booked by CAA's Kevin French and Brian Greenwood for the U.S. and Andy Cook everywhere else.

Asked why he thinks "Beginning" is surging once more despite not actually being heard in Stranger Things, Olinick answers, "It always starts with a great song, and this is truly a great song from a great artist. It's timeless. Its lyrics are incredibly poignant and they can relate to so many situations: end of the year, beginning of a new year, end of a current chapter and beginning of a new chapter in life, the end of Stranger Things but the beginning of something else new and exciting. Everyone can fill in their own blanks to this story."

Olinick stresses that rather than chasing fleeting viral wins, Keery has worked tirelessly over the past seven years to build "a real global fanbase," noting, "We see that in live business, the consumption of all of his music and the unbelievable enthusiasm for the stories he tells."

Meanwhile, Keery's Stranger Things co-star and fellow musician/AWAL signee/Stern Management client, Finn Wolfhard, will host the Jan. 17 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live, with musical guest A$AP Rocky.