The Living Tombstone’s ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Debuts in Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart Top 5

The Living Tombstone’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s” rides the release of the new film of the same name to a debut on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart dated Nov. 11, bowing at No. 4.

In the Oct. 27-Nov. 2 tracking week, the song earned 4.2 million official U.S. streams, a 439% surge from 770,000 the previous frame, and sold 1,000 downloads, according to Luminate.

The entry marks The Living Tombstone’s first appearance on a multimetric Billboard chart. Prior to 2023, the duo (Yoav Landau and Sam Haft) reached Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales with multiple titles, paced by “Five Night’s at Freddy’s,” which previously peaked at No. 12 in January 2015; it ranks at a new No. 2 best on the Nov. 11 survey.

The Living Tombstone’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s” was originally conceived in 2014 as a fan-made song written about the video game franchise of the same name that premiered that year. Despite the song’s unaffiliated beginnings, it enters nonetheless into the franchise’s official canon as it’s heard in the end credits of the film, which premiered in theaters and on Peacock Oct. 27.

In all Oct. 27-Nov. 2, official on-demand U.S. streams of The Living Tombstone’s catalog – much of which includes other songs written about various media properties, including cuts referencing the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise – totaled 13.3 million, a 109% jump from 6.4 million the previous week (Oct. 20-26). Next up after “Five Nights at Freddy’s”: “It’s Been So Long,” written after the 2014 release of the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 video game, with 2.6 million streams, up 162%.

The Living Tombstone also debuts at No. 15 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” isn’t the only song to garner a gain after being featured in the film, end credits or otherwise. The Romantics’ “Talking in Your Sleep,” a No. 3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1984, scored a 274% vault to 2.1 million streams; it’s heard in the movie multiple times.

Kevin Rutherford

Billboard