Music supervisor Jen Malone (photo courtesy of Neil Favila).
Neil Favila
Netflix has another hit on its hands with newly-released series Wednesday, a spin-off of the Addams Family franchise. The show, which sees Addams daughter Wednesday heading to a magical boarding school, has remained inside the streamer’s top 10 since it premiered in late November, and it has become so popular, its success is bleeding into other entertainment industries as well.
Two of the songs featured in Wednesday have gone viral, and both are enjoying real, quantifiable surges in popularity. The first of the two to enjoy a massive boost in consumption was The Cramps’ “Goo Goo Muck,” which was initially released in 1981 to little fanfare. The week following Wednesday’s premiere, the song’s streams grew by more than 8,650%, (according to Billboard) when compared with the average number of plays it received per week for months prior. The band also appeared on a number of Billboard charts for the first time with the tune—more than a decade after they split—thanks to the feature.
As if one viral moment wasn’t enough for the series, another more recent track has also been picking up steam rather quickly after fans watched its inventive use in Wednesday. Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary”—initially a non-single from her 2011 album Born This Way—has become a must-copy dance craze on TikTok. In fact, even Gaga herself got in on the fun, making even more of this moment.
The team behind these syncs—led by music supervisor Jen Malone—is just as shocked as the rest of the world seems to be by the incredible reception the soundtrack has received. In a conversation about the success of Wednesday and the music featured in the show, Malone promises vitality was not a goal, but merely “icing on the cake”—only, make that two servings.
Hugh McIntyre: Tell me about how you began this process of finding the right music for Wednesday and how long ago it began.
Jen Malone: MGM,…