# I just Shazamed a song that has only been Shazamed once **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958 "2018-10-15T03:03:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/1 "2018-10-15T03:03:21Z")
So I just Shazamed a song that came up in my shuffle play because I couldn’t remember what it was. It turned out that it was “Only Your Heart” by Keedy. What was remarkable is that this song came out in 1991, yet it had been Shazamed only once. Yes, mine was the first time in all those years. (By comparison any big hit will have been Shazamed millions of times, and any kind of known song many thousands of times.) Guess I really like some obscure songs! ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/2 "2018-10-15T03:25:47Z")
[Shazam!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxQ-Ltfs9ds) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/3 "2018-10-15T03:48:22Z")
Maybe nobody but you liked it… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/4 "2018-10-15T06:10:31Z")
Does the app tell you when a song it’s identified was added to its database? Perhaps this song was added recently and Shazam attempts to identify this song prior to that were recorded as misses. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/5 "2018-10-15T12:31:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Does the app tell you when a song it’s identified was added to its database? Perhaps this song was added recently and Shazam attempts to identify this song prior to that were recorded as misses. Very good question. I can only say that nowadays it seems to add songs immediately upon release, even quite obscure ones. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/6 "2018-10-15T12:37:09Z")
Am I the only one who doesn’t know what “Shazam” means in this context? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/7 "2018-10-15T12:52:15Z")
It’s an app that listens to a sample from a song that is say playing on the radio and matches it to its database and ID’S the song for you, I think there are other similar apps. People usually have the app on their smartphone, I had it when I had an android phone. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/8 "2018-10-15T13:16:01Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/9 "2018-10-15T13:31:19Z")
You can use it in all kinds of other contexts, e.g. you’re shopping and the the P.A. is playing a song you actually like and would like to know what it is. You use Shazam to find that out. Once in a while it doesn’t know or is wrong but very rarely. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/10 "2018-10-15T14:23:18Z")
Wow, I never realized Shazam told you how many Shazams a song has. I’ve had the app forever, but only Shazamed a handful of songs. And looking at my lowest Shazam number, it’s pretty ironic because it’s not that obscure and it’s one I definitely knew. I think I just Shazamed it to show my wife how the app works. “I’ve Seen All Good People” by Yes clocks in at only 77k. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/11 "2018-10-15T18:22:16Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Wow, I never realized Shazam told you how many Shazams a song has. I’ve had the app forever, but only Shazamed a handful of songs. And looking at my lowest Shazam number, it’s pretty ironic because it’s not that obscure and it’s one I definitely knew. I think I just Shazamed it to show my wife how the app works. “I’ve Seen All Good People” by Yes clocks in at only 77k. It might be a factor of the connection between the lyrics and the title. Anyone listened to “I’ve Seen All Good People” would be able to make a solid guess at the title of the song because that line is prominently featured in the lyrics. A song is more likely to get Shazamed if the title isn’t connected to the lyrics (like “Baba O’Riley” or “Creeque Alley”), if the title is in the song but isn’t prominent (like “Baker Street” or “Escape”), or if people know the song through some of its music rather than its lyrics (like “La Grange” or “Purple Haze”). ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/12 "2018-10-15T23:52:31Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > You can use it in all kinds of other contexts, e.g. you’re shopping and the the P.A. is playing a song you actually like and would like to know what it is. You use Shazam to find that out. Once in a while it doesn’t know or is wrong but very rarely. I’ve only gotten one wrong result, when I was showing a friend how it worked and had the app listen to a song we both knew. But I see LOTS of times it can’t identify a song. At least a third of the songs I’ve wanted identified. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/13 "2018-10-16T01:01:27Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I think there are other similar apps. In an ideal world, those similar apps would also have “magical transformation phrase” names. The main competitor would be By The Power Of Greyskull. ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/14 "2018-10-16T04:46:52Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > What was remarkable is that this song came out in 1991, yet it had been Shazamed only once. Yes, mine was the first time in all those years. I don’t think it’s fair to start counting from 1991. Shazam hasn’t existed for as long as the song. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/15 "2018-10-16T12:43:09Z")
What if you know what song it is, but don’t know the artist? Can it distinguish between different performances of the same song? This becomes especially relevant at Christmas time, when you can hear one of the old standards on the radio or store PA, and it could be almost anyone singing it. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/16 "2018-10-16T13:39:49Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I think there are other similar apps. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In an ideal world, those similar apps would also have “magical transformation phrase” names. The main competitor would be By The Power Of Greyskull. There’s also SoundHound. I used to have both on my phone, but if one app doesn’t recognize a song, chances are the other one won’t, either. Makes me wonder if they both use the same shared database. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-shazamed-a-song-that-has-only-been-shazamed-once/822958/17 "2018-10-16T23:27:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What if you know what song it is, but don’t know the artist? Can it distinguish between different performances of the same song? This becomes especially relevant at Christmas time, when you can hear one of the old standards on the radio or store PA, and it could be almost anyone singing it. It can.