Ghost Land First Song On ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 Chart With ‘Mary On A Cross’
The track has become a TikTok smash.
Ghost can now add viral sensations to their extensive resume. The band has landed their first-ever song on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs chart with “Mary on a Cross,” which has entered at No.90.
Originally released in 2019 as a B-side, “Mary On A Cross” has been experiencing a resurgence online, going viral on TikTok after being used in a fan-made video in July.
To celebrate the revived success of the original, the Swedish rock icons released a “slowed + reverb” version of their surprise smash. The new version lends theatrics and a sense of ominous doom to the sneering, sardonic hit.The “slowed + reverb” version is also now available for creators to use on TikTok.
The track appeared in a clip on the platform that featured an edit of scenes from Stranger Things centered around characters Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) and Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard).
The video has since been viewed millions of times on TikTok and inspired many other users to soundtrack their videos with the song. Although there is no one trend associated with the track, creators have been setting it to videos of them transitioning between looks, celebrating Ghost’s unexpected popularity on TikTok, live clips of the band, and more.
“Mary On A Cross” was released in 2019 as part of the Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic EP, and served as the B-side to “Kiss The Go-Goat.”
“You go down just like Holy Mary, Mary on a, Mary on a cross,” Tobias Forge sings in the chorus. “Not just another Bloody Mary, Mary on a, Mary on a cross/If you choose to run away with me, I will tickle you internally/And I see nothing wrong with that.”
During the Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic era of Ghost, Forge adopted the character of Papa Nihil. In “Mary On A Cross,” the frontman’s alter ego is said to be singing to Sister Imperator, the head of the clergy in the band’s extended universe.
