Apple"s song identification app Shazam has added a new Viral Chart section that many might be waiting for. The new leaderboard lets you listen to popular songs by pulling the "fastest-growing songs this week, as discovered on screens and socials."
Shazam"s Viral Chart populates songs trending on social platforms like TikTok, streaming services, and other places. The Global version of Viral Chart lists 50 songs at a time, and the country-specific lists are limited to 25 songs.
Apple uses the data it collects from millions of listeners who identify songs playing in their vicinity using the Shazam button. These popular songs are also available through a dedicated "Viral Chart" playlist on Apple Music, which is updated daily.
Explaining what the Viral Chart does, Apple said:
Forget everything you thought you knew about viral music. Shazam"s new Viral Chart playlist doesn"t just track TikTok hits—it captures the full spectrum of songs blowing up right now, whether through streaming, socials, TV placements, or that random 2004 banger suddenly resurfacing at bars and baseball games.
Here, you"ll find today"s fastest-growing sounds from around the world, identified by millions of curious listeners frantically hitting that Shazam button. Check back every day for updates.
For the uninitiated, Shazam was created by a British company in 2002 and later acquired by Apple. The Cupertino giant has since used it to fuel iPhone"s built-in music recognition feature and work with Apple Music and its classical music app. Apple also added support for iOS 18"s Music Haptics, which uses the iPhone"s Taptic Engine to play taps, textures, and refined vibrations in sync with the songs.
The service reached a major milestone in 2024, completing 100 billion song recognitions in its two decades of existence. Shazam also integrates with Meta"s Ray-Ban smart glasses, where you can say, “Hey Meta, Shazam this song” for hands-free music recognition.