Joe Keery 'shocked and confused' by chart success
Joe Keery is "shocked and confused" by the sudden success of his song End of Beginning, which was released in 2024 but has recently topped the charts in a number of countries.
Joe Keery is "shocked and confused" by the sudden success of his song End of Beginning.
The 33-year-old singer-and-actor, who releases music under the alias Djo, first released the track in 2024 but following the end of his show Stranger Things on New Year's Eve (31.12.25), the song has topped the charts in the Czech Republic, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and Joe admitted the sudden surge in popularity has been "crazy".
Speaking on The Graham Norton Show, he said: “It is crazy. I am shocked and confused about the whole thing. Hearing it in a taxi was cool, and I knew it was big when my grandma asked me about it!”
Joe - who played Steve Harrington on Stranger Things - admitted it has finally sunk in that he will no longer be going back to the show.
Asked if the programme ending has sunk in yet, he said: “It definitely did when the last show came out on New Year’s Eve. I woke up on New Year’s Day and felt, ‘Wow, that’s the end of an era.’ It is so finite and done which is bittersweet.”
The Delete Ya singer enjoyed working on new music during breaks in filming from the show.
He said: "There is so much down-time on set, so I wrote and recorded. Being an actor means a lot of waiting so it’s good to be proactive and busy.
"It started as a break-up song but landed in a place of deep gratitude for the people in my life.”
Joe recently revealed his Stranger Things co-star Winona Ryder was hugely supportive of his music career and has been a big influence on his tastes.
He told ELLE magazine: "She really knows her stuff - loves music and film, maybe more than anyone else in my life. I’ll get a random text, like, 'Here’s an isolated Marvin Gaye vocal track from the stems that they never used from this song' - The deepest cuts.
She’s like an encyclopedia, and she’s eager to share. She’s been to a million shows. It’s cool to have someone who’s just really excited by all of this."
Joe has always been a huge fan of Winona and was "intimidated" by the Hollywood star at first, but once he got to know her, he saw how "invested and passionate she is about work."
Watch the full interview with Joe on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday (23.01.26) night.
