You can probably guess what the most Shazamed songs and who the most Shazamed artists of 2017 are – yes, it’s everybody’s favourite Ginger Brit Ed Sheeran and his single Shape of You, which has gone five times platinum. Shazam just released the name of the songs which most people use Shazam for, and the list is pretty interesting – if you’re a pop culture rookie. Which, of course you are. 😉
The British-founded Shazam app which was recently purchased by Apple for hundreds of millions of dollars, literally tells you what song is playing around you based on a short sample. Shazam is available on smartphones and desktops. If you’re ever in an Uber and don’t know what’s playing, Shazam is the app you need. Last year, Sia was the most Shazamed artiste with her club sensation Cheap Thrills. This year, it’s Shape of You, which is followed by Despacito (obviously). So, let’s talk about what everyone is Shazam-ing and why:
Shape of You
Shape of You was everywhere this year – from pubs to cab radios to YouTube. It’s also the most streamed song on Spotify, and has been listened to 1.4 billion times and has raked up almost 3 billion views on YouTube – which is astonishing. The song earned Sheeran two Grammy nominations, and he also gets out of his comfort zone for the video. We never thought we’d see Sheeran boxing – but hey, it’s working.
Despacito
Nobody quite knows why Despacito is winning everything – but it just is. The ridiculously catchy song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring rapper Daddy Yankee also won three Grammy nominations, and is the second most Shazamed song this year. The song has also been viewed almost five billion times on YouTube, and also curiously brought back the Spanish wave into mainstream music (after Ricky Martin and JLo just stopped trying).
Rockabye
The third most Shazamed song owes much of its credit to the EDM wave. Nobody really listens to the original track sung by the British electronic duo Clean Bandit but the re-worked versions of it, with double the EDM. It is one of the few songs which makes one say, ‘the more EDM the better,’ and the quirky music video only helps.
Attention
2017 has been YouTuber-turned-teen-headliner Charlie Puth’s year. Not only is he on almost every post-millennial’s playlist, but generation Z is quite obsessed with him. His Attention found an incredible connect with the young crowd over the world, for obvious reasons (just check out the lyrics), and is the fourth most Shazamed song this year.
I Feel It Coming
R&B’s newest poster boy The Weeknd got together with the Grammy winning French robots aka Daft Punk to create a marvellous couple of songs. While, Starboy is the bigger hit, I Feel It Coming is the bigger sensation on the dance floors. It is the fifth most Shazamed song, and has been streamed almost 300 million times on YouTube.
Mi Gente
Colombian singer J Balvin stormed through mainstream charts with his single Mi Gente. The song is originally a remix of Voodoo Song, by the French music producer Willy Williams, who is also a part of the collaboration. The song features Beyonce, and is the sixth most Shazamed song of 2017. Balvin also released a number of EDM covers with names like Steve Aoki, Alesso and Dillon Francis, which helped the singer reach American audiences.