"End of Beginning" is a song by the American actor and musician Joe Keery, under his stage name Djo. It was first made available by AWAL on September 16, 2022, as the sixth track from Keery's second studio album, Decide. The song began to gain popularity on TikTok in 2024; as a result, it was issued as a single on March 1, 2024.[2][3]
The song received a second wave of popularity in January 2026 following the series finale of Stranger Things, in which Keery stars as the character Steve Harrington. It has topped the charts in Czech Republic, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten in over 25 other countries, including Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States.
Background and composition
“End of Beginning” was premiered for the first time during a show in Birmingham, Alabama on April 28, 2022. Having been released as part of the album Decide the same year, the song did not garner attention until 2024 when trending TikTok users picked up a lyric of the track to underline clips of their hometowns.[4] As a result, it entered charts in various countries by late February 2024, including Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.[2]
"End of Beginning" is a synth-pop song,[2] accompanied by guitar riffs and a "nostalgic electro sound", about the recurring feeling of returning to Chicago.[5]
Commercial performance
"End of Beginning" made its debut on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 51, with 8.4 million streams, on the chart dated March 2, 2024.[4] The song then reached its initial peak at number 11 in its fifth week on the chart dated March 30, 2024.[6] Bolstered by the series finale of Stranger Things, the song re-entered the chart at number 16 on the week dated January 10, 2026,[7] and reached its new peak at number six the following week.[8][9]
In the United Kingdom, "End of Beginning" made its debut at number 100 on the UK Singles Chart on February 16, 2024 – for the week ending date February 22.[10] The song rose to number 11 in its second week and reached a peak of number four during its fourth week in the chart on March 8, 2024 – for the week ending date March 14 – becoming Djo's first top ten song in Britain.[11] Following the release of the Stranger Things series finale, the song re-entered the top ten of the UK Singles Chart in January 2026, and topped the chart for the week ending on January 15 – becoming the second Stranger Things-associated song to do so after "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush in June 2022.[12]
On the Billboard Global 200, "End of Beginning" entered the top 10 for the first time during the week dated March 16, 2024, reaching number six.[13] The song rose to number five the following week,[14] and reached its original peak of number three during the week of March 30.[15] Following the conclusion of Stranger Things, the song reentered the top 10, topping the chart during the week dated January 17, 2026.[16]
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