Credits: Social Media
Viral TikTok song is by Stranger Things actor and fans can’t believe it
People are just discovering that one of TikTok’s most viral songs is by a Stranger Things actor – and no one can believe it.
The track is called End Of Beginning by an artist called Djo, and it’s already been used in more than 1.5 million videos.
TikTok song by Stranger Things actor
Djo Joe Keery’s stage name, who is best known for playing Steve Harrington in the science fiction series. He starts off as a stereotypically unlikeable jock, but progresses throughout the seasons into a more courageous and caring character.
Keery has had a few other acting roles, including the comedy movie Free Guy and the crime drama Fargo, but he’s also a musician.
End of Beginning is part of the 31-year-old’s 2022 album DECIDE, so it’s not actually new at all. However, TikTok has suddenly popularised the track, and it’s shot to number two on the app’s viral 50 songs in March 2024.
It’s stuck in everyone’s heads with the catchy lines “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it” and “You take the man out of the city, not the city out the man” – and it’s being used in the background of all kinds of videos.
The track is most commonly played as part of the ‘If I Won The Lottery’ trend which sees people sharing what they would do if they won a huge amount of money, but it’s funny things like buying hundreds of puppies.
Djo’s song is currently losing the top spot to Bobby Caldwell’s What You Won’t Do For Love, an old track which went mega-viral this month because of a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries.
Inside Joe Keery’s music career
The Stranger Things star’s music career began in his early 20s, long before he started acting. He released music under the name Cool Cool Cool before becoming a guitarist in the Chicago-based American psychedelic rock band Post Animal.
Their debut album was released in October 2015, and they went on to release another three years later. However, Keery stopped touring with the band in 2019 and later left due to his acting commitments. He then started releasing solo music again under the name Djo.
His first single Roddy came in 2019, followed by another called Chateau (Feel Alright). Later that same year, the star released his debut album Twenty Twenty. However, he hasn’t dropped any new music since his second album in 2022.
Fans can’t believe he sings it
Fans can’t believe the viral TikTok track is sung by the Stranger Things star, and many didn’t realise he was a musician at all.
One person wrote on Twitter/X alongside loads of mind-blown emojis: “Omg that TikTok song ‘and when I’m back in Chicago’ was by an artist called Djo who’s actually Joe Keery???? Joe Keery the Steve from Stranger Things??!!!”
“What do you mean the song from the new TikTok trend is sung by the stranger things actor,” another dumbfounded fan wrote.
A third person added: “Wait a minute wait a minute. Steve from Stranger Things is the guy who does that Chicago song thats blowing up on TikTok?! I love it.”
“So no one was gonna tell me this was the guy from Stranger Things… I thought this was some indie musician. Why is this the best song I’ve ever heard,” someone else wrote on TikTok.
Keery responded to the revelation in February, sharing a video of himself mocking his new-found TikTok fame with phrases like “I’ve been Tokked” and “Wait I’m Djo?” written on the screen.
