Wait just a rootin-tootin minute—Shazam is 20 years old? How is this even possible? Apple has officially confirmed the birthday and is celebrating the milestone with a curated playlist focusing on the most Shazamed songs throughout the service’s history. If you’re still stuck on the notion of Shazam turning 20 when the iPhone and related modern smartphones are just 15, here’s how it shakes out. Shazam started as a text-message service in the UK, although the functionality was nearly unchanged. “Shazamming” in 2002 involved sending a text message, then holding your phone up until you received a reply with the artist and song. The service stayed relevant until the rise of modern smartphones, and Shazam was one of the first notable apps on Apple’s newly-launched App Store back in 2008. Eventually, Apple gobbled up the service and wrapped it up into Siri, which is where it gets most of its use today. Apple says Shazam recently passed 70 billion all-time queries, which is quite a feat. It also released some stats, including the very first Shazamed artist (T-Rex) and the most Shazamed song of all time, Tone and I’s “Dance Monkey.” The curated Shazam-centric playlist is only available on Apple Music and is comprised of 20 songs from artists like Adele, Gnarls Barkley, Gotye, and more. As for the next 20 years, Apple suggests this is just the beginning for the service, saying it “remains focused on the future of music discovery.”
