Can’t remember a song title? Neither can most Americans, according to data shared by Amazon.
Last June, NPR and Edison Research published a study with some very interesting results. According to The Infinite Dial 2017 report, 7% of Americans aged 12 and older now own a smart speaker.
Building on this report, the Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research analyzed their listening habits. 70% of smart speaker owners said that they now listen to more audio after acquiring their devices.
So, as an artist, how can you make sure that people can easily find your songs? According to Amazon, the answer is actual very simple: use short, catchy lyrics that will remain in listeners’ minds.
Yesterday, Amazon published the Alexa lyric search charts.
Through data collected from Alexa-enabled devices, like the Echo and the Dot, Amazon found that most people can’t remember song titles.
So, to stream their favorite tracks on a smart speaker, people recite a song’s memorable lyrics.
For example, when people want to stream Fitz and the Tantrum’s ‘HandClap,’ they say “I can make your hands clap.” The method also worked to help people find and stream The Who’s ‘Baba O’Reilly.’ Alexa would stream the song after people said “teenage wasteland.”
Analyzing the data, Amazon also found that people often ask Alexa to find a song based on a chorus. The company believes that people enjoy reciting “fun choruses.” This method helped consumers quickly stream Ayo & Teo’s ‘Rolex’ as well as Adele’s ‘Hello.’
Breaking down the Top 50 Alexa lyric charts, Justin Timberlake appears three times on the list. To stream ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling,’ fans told Alexa “I got this feeling inside my bones.” When saying “I got sunshine in my pocket,” Alexa would stream ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling.’
The charts also shows that people still enjoy streaming older songs. The Spice Girls and Sir Mix-a-Lot made surprise entries with ‘Wannabe’ and ‘Baby Got Back,’ respectively. Fans also streamed Queen’s famous ‘We Will Rock You’ and Wild Cherry’s ‘Play that Funky Music.’
You can check out the top 50 Alexa lyrics at Amazon’s website here or read through the list below.
Top 50 Lyric Requests in the US:
1. “…I can make your hands clap”
Fitz and the Tantrums, “HandClap”
2. “…head out on the highway”
Steppenwolf, “Born To Be Wild”
3. “…I got this feeling inside my bones”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
4. “…I came in like a wrecking ball”
Miley Cyrus, “Wrecking Ball”
5. “…true love won’t desert you”
Journey, “Separate Ways”
6. “…once, I was seven years old”
Lukas Graham, “7 Years”
7. “…I’m a rebel just for kicks”
Portugal. The Man “Feel it Still”
8. “…swish swish bish”
Katy Perry, “Swish Swish”
9. “…I got sunshine in my pocket”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
10. “…standing in the hall of fame”
The Script feat. Will.i.am, “Hall of Fame”
11. “…tell me what you want what you really really want“
Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
12. “…the battle of Yorktown”
Hamilton Cast Recording, “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)”
13. “…we all live in a yellow submarine”
The Beatles, Yellow Submarine
14. “…hit me like a hurricane”
Luke Combs, “Hurricane”
15. “…I like big butts and I cannot lie”
Sir Mix-a-Lot, “Baby Got Back”
16. “…hello darkness, my old friend”
Disturbed, “The Sound of Silence”
17. “…I got the moves like Jagger”
Maroon 5, “Moves Like Jagger
18. “…I could use a love”
Maren Morris, “I Could Use a Love Song”
19. “…I wish I knew you when I was young”
The Revivalists, “Wish I Knew You”
20. “…teenage wasteland”
The Who, “Baba O’Reilly”
21. “…we will we will rock you”
Queen, “We Will Rock You”
22. “…this girl is on fire”
Alicia Keys, “Girl on Fire”
23. “…this is my heartbeat”
Kelly Clarkson, “Heartbeat Song”
24. “…call me on my cell phone”
Drake, “Hotline Bling”
25. “…work work work work work”
Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign, “Work From Home”
26. “…I feel better when I’m dancing…”
Meghan Trainor, “Better When I’m Dancing”
27. “…I’m in love with the shape of you”
Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You”
28. “…play that funky music white boy”
Wild Cherry, “Play that Funky Music”
29. “…I woke up in a new Bugatti”
Ace Hood, “Bugatti”
30. “…If I was you, I’d wanna be me too”
Meghan Trainor, “Me Too”
31. “…I just want a Roley, Roley, Roley”
Ayo & Teo, “Rolex”
32. “…push me to the edge, all my friends are dead”
Lil Uzi Vert, “XO TOUR Llif3”
33. “…hello from the other side”
Adele, “Hello”
34. “…look what you made me do”
Taylor Swift, “Look What You Made Me Do”
35. “…baby, you’re a firework”
Katy Perry, “Firework”
36. “…that’s the sound of the police.”
KRS-One, “Sound of Da Police”
37. “…chillin’ on a dirt road”
Jason Aldean, “Dirt Road Anthem”
38. “…put your hair in the air”
Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani and Ron Funches, “Hair Up” (Trolls)
39. “…all my friends are heathens take it slow”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”
40. “…hey now, you’re a rock star”
Smash Mouth, “All Star”
41. “…I got the eye of the tiger”
Katy Perry, “Roar”
42. “…I’m gonna come back like a boomerang”
Jojo Siwa, “Boomerang”
43. “…i wanna be a rockstar”
Nickelback, “Rockstar”
44. “…shine bright like a diamond”
Rihanna, “Diamonds”
45. “…like the ceiling can’t hold us”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, “Can’t Hold Us”
46. “…come on come on turn the radio on”
Sia, “Cheap Thrills”
47. “…it takes two to make a thing go right”
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, “It Takes Two”
48. “…love like there’s no such thing as a broken heart”
Old Dominion, “No Such Thing As A Broken Heart”
49. “…I love you for a thousand years”
Christina Perri, “A Thousand Years”
50. “…the greatest song in the world”
Tenacious D, “Tribute”
Image by Phillip Pessar (CC by 2.0)