Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” Tops Charts Following Tawny Kitaen’s Death

Tawny Kitaen (born Julie), the actress and model best known for starring in Whitesnake’s iconic music video for “Here I Go Again,” died on May 7. She was 59 years old.

Since her death, the Whitesnake hit — which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987 — has experienced a spike in demand on streaming music platforms. Here are some quick highlights, provided to MetalSucks by the metal industry newsletter Stream N’ Destroy:

• “Here I Go Again” tops the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart this week. It’s their first appearance on the chart, which Billboard launched in June 2020. 
• “Here I Go Again” is #3 in Hard Rock Digital Song Sales, #20 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart, and No. 21 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, which launched in 2009.
• For the week ending May 13, it accumulated 2.5M U.S. streams (a 22% increase) and sold 1,000 digital downloads (178% increase). 
• “Is This Love,” the video for which also featured Kitaen, re-entered the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart at #24, up 173% with 1,000 sold.

Kitaen’s music video debut came in Ratt’s 1984 clip, “Back for More.” In addition to the aforementioned videos, she appeared in several of the band’s other clips as well, including “Still of the Night” and “The Deeper the Love.” She was also married to Whitesnake singer David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991.