Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ Tops Both Billboard Global Charts

Gary Trust
·3 min read
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Kate Bush‘s 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” is the biggest song in the world, as it returns for a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and posts its first week atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey, sparked by its sync in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, whose newest episodes, further spotlighting the song, arrived July 1.

The two charts, dated July 16 (and which began in September 2020), rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Bush Back Atop Global 200

Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” rebounds 3-1 for a second week atop the Billboard Global 200 chart, after it first led the list dated June 18. Sparked by its sync in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, whose latest episodes premiered July 1, the song, originally released in 1985, sports gains of 21% to 73.7 million streams and 33% to 28,000 sold worldwide in the July 1-7 tracking week.

Harry Styles’ “As It Was” drops to No. 2 on the Global 200, after a record 12 weeks at No. 1 beginning in April.

Notably, British acts have now topped the Global 200 for a milestone 20 consecutive weeks – extending the longest continuous command for any country since the survey began. Prior to Bush’s two weeks at the summit and Styles’ dozen, Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” reigned for six weeks, starting in March.

Elsewhere in the Global 200’s top five, Bad Bunny’s “Me Porto Bonito,” with Chencho Corleone, slips to No. 3 from its No. 2 high; Bad Bunny’s own “Tití Me Preguntó” revisits its No. 4 best, up from No. 6; and Joji’s “Glimpse of Us” falls 4-5, after reaching No. 2.

‘Hill’ Climbs to No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.

Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” concurrently crowns the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, for the first time. The song jumps from No. 4 with increases of 21% to 52.3 million streams and 19% to 11,000 sold in territories outside the U.S. in the July 1-7 tracking week.

Rounding out the Global Excl. U.S. top five (which mirrors the ranks of the Global 200’s top five), Harry Styles’ “As It Was” descends to No. 2, after a record 12 weeks at No. 1; Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito” holds at No. 3, after reaching No. 2; Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó” returns to its No. 4 high, from No. 6; and Joji’s “Glimpse of Us” is steady at No. 5, after climbing to No. 2.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated July 16, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (July 12). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to final calculations.

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