17 December 2011
Newsdesk
Shazam has released its annual list of artists they predict will break big in the coming year as well as a review of those who led the tag charts in 2011. A new feature in this year’s announcement is an analysis of the combined role of television and discovery services like Shazam in driving digital music sales.
2012 Artists to Watch
Looking at the number of tags and other data indicating which acts are trending with fans, Shazam predicts that the artists expected to make headlines in 2012 are:
• Frank Ocean
• A$AP Rocky
• YG
• Kreayshawn
• Lana Del Rey
• Spector
• Azealia Banks
• Friends
• Michael Kiwanuka
• Excision
These acts will be releasing albums in the New Year.
Year in Review – Chart Toppers and Drivers
During 2011, Adele led Shazam’s list as the most-tagged artist of the year with a combined total of more than six million tags worldwide for her hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You.”
In addition to Adele, the ten most frequently tagged songs included:
1. “Rolling in the Deep”, Adele – 4.2 million tags
2. “Party Rock Anthem”, LMFAO – 3.4 million tags
3. “Give Me Everything”, Pitbull – 3.3 million tags
4. “Pumped Up Kicks”, Foster the People – 3.2 million tags
5. “Mr. Saxobeat”, Alexandra Stan – 2.7 million tags
6. “Someone Like You”, Adele – 2.7 million tags
7. “Just Can’t Get Enough”, The Black Eyed Peas – 2.4 million tags
8. “On the Floor”, Jennifer Lopez – 2.3 million tags
9. “Moves Like Jagger”, Maroon 5 – 2.0 million tags
10. “Hello”, Martin Solveig and Dragonette – 1.9 million tags
Outside of radio airplay, one of the biggest drivers of Shazam’s tag charts during 2011 was television programming, particularly in the US. For example:
• “Entourage” breathed new life into Led Zepplin’s classic, “Going to California,” which was rarely tagged until it was used in the final episode in September when it was tagged almost 25,000 times in the week it aired.
• “Parenthood” promoted UK artist James Blake’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.”
• Also, the Martin Solveig and Dragonette track called “Hello” was featured in a Trident Vitality gum commercial last February, climbed the Shazam weekly charts, then received increased radio airplay, and ultimately made Shazam’s 9th most popular artist of the year with 1.9 million tags of his songs.
