Ghost’s track “Mary on a Cross” has made the Billboard Hot 100 after going viral on TikTok.
The song was the B-side on the Seven Inches of Satanic Panic release in 2019. It’s unlikely debut on the latest edition of Billboard’s overall song chart comes thanks in large part to 6 million US streams during the week of September 9th through 15. This follows the song’s Top 40 placement in the UK last month.
It all started when a TikTok user took a slowed-down version of the song to soundtrack a clip from Stranger Things. Now the hashtag #maryonthecross has roughly 800 million views and the song has been used in over 10,000 TikTok videos.
Ghost themselves even released an official slowed-down “chopped and screwed” version with added reverb. It hit digital platforms on August 26th.
While “Mary on a Cross” is the first Ghost song to break into the Billboard Hot 100, the band has appeared numerous times on the album chart. Six Ghost LPs/EPs have charted on the Billboard 200: Infestissumam (No. 28, 2013); If You Have Ghost EP (No. 87, 2013); Meliora (No. 8, 2015); Popestar EP (No. 16, 2016); Prequelle (No. 3, 2018); and IMPERA (No. 2, 2022).
The TikTok fame rounds out a strong 2022 campaign for Ghost, who released their highly anticipated fifth studio album IMPERA back in March. The Swedish band is currently wrapping up a North American tour, which Heavy Consequence caught when it stopped at New York’s UBS Arena with Mastodon and Spiritbox. Only two dates remain, with tickets available here.
Below you check out the slowed-down version of “Mary on a Cross” and the original TikTok that caused the song to go viral.
@editingtherapy as it should be. #strangerthings #byler #strangerthings4 #st #eleven #finnwolfhard #noahschnapp #gay #ship #viral #willandmike #foryoupage #viral some inpo: @byler stan