Bustle.com
written by Tai Gooden
July 8, 2019
Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things 3. Stranger Things fans love Mileven and the growing romance between Lucas and Max, but now there’s a new teenage relationship to celebrate — Dustin and Suzie. It turns out Dustin was NOT lying when he said he found love at summer camp with a smart and pretty girl from Utah. His friends were shocked to hear “Suzie-poo” ask her “Dusty-bun” where he had been before demanding an impromptu duet with her in exchange for Planck’s constant. The song Dustin & Suzie sing in Stranger Things is the theme song from The Neverending Story, a popular 1984 fantasy film and yet another ode to the past that makes sense in this series.
The magical song, also called “The Neverending Story,” was performed by English pop singer Limahl and American singer Beth Anderson, even though she was not credited as a featured artist, per IMDB. It was written specifically for the movie and ended up being the peak of Limahl’s solo career. Stranger Things 3 takes place in the summer of 1985, so it makes perfect sense for Dustin and Suzie to bond over the relatively recent coming-of-age film and its epic theme song.
And, their long-distance romance (there are four states in-between them) with communication primarily through Cerebro makes their relationship like a never-ending story of her own. The best part is, Gaten Matarazzo and Gabriella Pizzolo, who portrays Suzie, are both singers with Broadway performance backgrounds, so those reat voices actually belong to them.
Their sweet duet was a big surprise (and confusing) to the entire D&D crew, Steve, Robin, Erica, Hopper, Joyce, and pretty much everyone who was on that same radio channel because 1) who knew that Dustin could sing? 2) Suzie actually existed and 3) it was literally happening in the middle of being chased by a monster made of the Flayed and trying to disable Russian technology.
Obviously, Suzie didn’t quite believe Dustin when he said that he hadn’t reached out to her because he was busy saving the world from Russians and monsters. After their song ended, the pair went on to gush about how much they missed each other until Erica abruptly cut Dustin off because, you know, they were in the middle of a crisis. And, all the 80’s and 90’s Stranger Things fans were taken back to their own childhoods as they remembered Bastian’s epic adventure in Fantasia. The NeverEnding Story is available to stream via IMDB TV, so now is a perfect time to relive this adventure and sing out loud.
Stranger Things has been a nostalgic love letter to the fashion, pop culture, toys, and entertainment in the 80’s, so it was only a matter of time before The NeverEnding Story would show up in some form. It's lighthearted callbacks like this that break up the gore, darkness, and feels to remind everyone that these kids are still living the best years of their lives.
There hasn’t been word on when, or if, Stranger Things 4 is happening, but hopefully Dustin and Suzie will still be in love and singing fun songs about adventure, dreams, and wonder. Long live Duzie.
👇 LOVE THIS 👇
Entertainment Weekly (EW)
written by Rosy Cordero
Monday July 15, 2019
Netflix released Stranger Things season 3 on July 4, 2019. This scene appears in final episode 8.
Stranger Things fans from all over the world have accepted Millie Bobby Brown’s #NeverEndingChallenge, but there’s one that stands out from all the rest. Tami Stronach, who played the Childlike Empress in 1984’s The NeverEnding Story, posted a video to Instagram of herself and her look-alike daughter Maya dancing to the fantasy film’s theme song, sung by British singer Limahl.
The Netflix series brought renewed interest to the Wolfgang Peterson-directed film when Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) sings the theme song to his girlfriend Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo).
“My daughter and I just did this hilarious video on Instagram,” Stronach tells EW exclusively about her submission to the challenge.
“You know, they did the theme song for The NeverEnding Story on Stranger Things? Millie Bobby Brown made this dance challenge, so my daughter and I did it. I tried to do my own and then she wanted to do one but it was all too complicated. So we just put on the music from that scene while we were at a friend’s house, and my daughter and I did a funny dance number.”
Stronach and Brown met in 2016 when the former moderated a Q&A with the latter at the Rhode Island Comic Con. With Stranger Things capturing the ’80s so perfectly, this meet-up had fans hoping the Childlike Empress would make a cameo on the popular streaming series. And although that hasn’t happened yet, the film that made her famous as a child had a place of honor on the show.
Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.
💖 The Neverending Story (1984) 𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗆𝖾 𝖲𝗈𝗇𝗀 💖
Entertainment Weekly
written by Rosy Cordero
Tuesday July 9, 2019
A special shout-out in Netflix’s Stranger Things has reopened the pages to A The NeverEnding Story.
In the final episode of season 3, Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) serenades his girlfriend Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) with the theme song from the cult classic ’80s film. The scene has inspired fans to run to their favorite streaming sites to hear the original song, sung by British pop star Limahl — much to his surprise.
“My God! It’s been very exciting to hear about all the new interest in the song,” Limahl tells EW exclusively from his home in London. “Thirty-five years later, it’s reaching a whole new audience — it’s fantastic.”
While the singer doesn’t watch the hit series, he said that his nephews Josh and Max called him when they saw it. “They were so excited. Josh said, ‘Oh my God uncle, they’re using your song in Stranger Things. I love that show!’ They’re both big fans of the show and it’s been so much fun watching their enthusiasm over the whole thing.”
Limahl, born Christopher Hamill, still hasn’t tuned in to Stranger Things, he’s seen the clip featuring Matarazzo and Pizzolo and has given them his official seal of approval.
“I have seen the clip when the two characters perform the song and I was very touched,” he explains. “I didn’t know the show was so big, obviously I’m going to watch it now. This song seems to have gotten everybody really excited. I’m so happy that 35 years later, I’m still around to be able to enjoy this.”
Limahl is right, fans can’t seem to get enough of the original song and its video. YouTube reports that daily U.S. views of his original music video spiked 800 percent on July 6. Spotify confirms to EW that it, too, was hit with a surge of interest in the fantasy film’s theme. Streams of the track soared about 825 percent on Sunday compared to the previous Sunday.
WOW 😊👍💖
This is the second time that a Netflix series has helped bring Limahl’s music back into the mainstream. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch featured his hit “Too Shy” from his time as the lead singer of the pop group Kajagoogoo.
“I had no idea they were going to use the [NeverEnding Story] song because I had nothing to do with the licensing,” he says. “When Netflix used ‘Too Shy’ at Christmas in their Black Mirror series, it was also a total surprise to me. It would be a full-time job to keep track of when our songs are licensed until they end up a part of pop culture in some way and we find out.”
Limahl is grateful that Netflix is helping to expose his music to a new generation and wants The Duffer Brothers to know that he’s also an actor and would be ready to fly to Los Angeles to make a cameo in season 4 of Stranger Things.
“Hey Duffers, if you want me next season you can count me in,” he says excitedly. “It’s my sole duty to catch up on the show. I promise I’ll be ready!”
Stranger Things is currently available to stream via Netflix. You can see Limahl’s original music video below, clad with shoulder pads and tons of hairspray.
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