Tuned In All-Star 2016: Kaleo’s “Way Down We Go” 

Something funny happened while watching some of my favorite shows the last few months of 2016. I kept hearing the same song played over and over again.

What’s even funnier is that I would never have realized this if it hadn’t been for the #SPNFamily. Yes, with me, everything goes back to Supernatural. I’m clearly a huge fan.

But, seriously, until about four months ago, I had never heard of an Icelandic band known as Kaleo. And then actor Jensen Ackles tweeted about them a couple of times including this second one:

Been several months and I still can’t stop listening to @officialkaleo album #A/B. Best I’ve heard in a long time. Well done boys!

— Jensen Ackles (@JensenAckles) September 21, 2016

Based on that tweet, I decided to look Kaleo up on YouTube to see what all the fuss was about. Two hours later I was still listening to their music and watching their videos. I hit favorite on songs like “All the Pretty Girls,” “No Good” and “Way Down We Go.” I downloaded them on iTunes, too.

A month later, I’m tuning into the ABC series Notorious (don’t judge). That’s when I heard “Way Down We Go.” Four days later, it was used as a music cue during a particularly angsty episode of Lucifer. I meant to write an article about it back then, but life happened and I went about my business.

Then on Dec. 2, I heard it on The Vampire Diaries and I kind of freaked. I mean, is every single show on the planet using this song? Don’t get me wrong. It’s an awesome tune, but to hear it on three shows within the span of a little over a month? That’s a lot. So I did some research.

Thanks to Tunefind.com, I found that the song wasn’t just utilized in those three shows. Since last summer, it’s been cued up several times. Take a look:

Orange is the New Black, June 17, 2016
Season 4 Episode 1 “Work that Body for Me”

The Night Shift, June 22, 2016
Season 3 Episode 2 “Three-two-one”

Eyewitness, October 23, 2016
Season 1 Episode 2 “Bless the Beast and the Children”

Notorious, October 27, 2016
Season 1 Episode 6 “Kept and Broken”

Lucifer, October 31, 2016
Season 2 Episode 6 “Monster”

Supergirl, November 7, 2016
Season 2 Episode 5 “Crossfire”

Frequency, November 9, 2016
Season 1 Episode 6 “Deviation”

The Vampire Diaries, December 2, 2016
Season 8 Episode 6 “Detoured on some Random Backwoods Path to Hell”

I didn’t realize it when I originally watched this episode, but “Way Down We Go” was the song of choice during a pivotal scene in an episode of Supergirl called “Crossfire.”

A stripped down version was the soundtrack to Alex opening up to Maggie about her life being perfect and addressing something she felt wasn’t so perfect: her dating life. She felt that there may be truth to something Maggie said to her previously about her sexuality. Alex admitting she might be gay was a huge moment for the show. I think this was my favorite use of the song.

I completely understand why music supervisors had a hive mind mentality when it came to “Way Down We Go.” It immediately sets a darker, angstier tone that complements the action that is going on on screen.

In Lucifer, the song was used when the devil himself thinks he sees his brother Uriel (who’s supposed to be dead) in his bar at the same time Amenadiel and Lucifer’s mom tells Amenadiel his Father would be proud of him. Both Amenadiel and Lucifer are emotional messes, which makes it a perfect time for “Way Down We Go” to enter the mix.

And in at least three of the shows — Supergirl, Lucifer and The Vampire Diaries — some of the action takes place in a bar/club. It’s almost a requirement that the song is used in this sort of environment. On TVD, it comes in as the two humans of the series — Matt and Alaric — bond over their shared pain and sane-ness. Then it trails out as they team up to kill Damon (boo! boo!).

To me, “Way Down We Go” was the go-to-song for TV shows everywhere. And I feel like it should get some mad respect as we call it quits on 2016. Kaleo wrote and performed a great tune, one that the behind-the-scenes players recognized. It was even used in trailers for two more of my favorite shows: Empire and Suits.

I instantly fell in love with “Way Down We Go,” so it was good to hear it used in as many places as possible. Kaleo’s music seems tailor made for TV. In fact, in that same Lucifer episode — “Monster” — their song “No Good” is played in the beginning as we find Lucifer acting out and up to no good after killing his brother.

Here’s to a Happy New Year for Kaleo. The band certainly had an amazing 2016.

I’ll leave you with their official video for “Way Down We Go.” The song can be found on their album titled A/B.

Official Video

Stripped down version