Here’s what I do when this happens
I asked Alexa to “play ‘California Dreamin”” the other day, but she kept playing a different song by the Mamas and Papas (admittedly it was another good song, but I really just wanted to hear “California Dreamin’!”).
I tried saying the request a few different ways, and when I tried “Alexa, play the song ‘California Dreamin’ by the Mamas and the Papas” it worked!
When you’re trying to play a song and Alexa just won’t do it, try giving her a bit more info such as…
- Tell her the name of the artist along with the song: “Alexa, play ‘In the Name of Love’ by the band U2”
- Make sure you have the correct title: If you want the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” but keep asking for “Pleased to Meet You” (the line that’s repeated over and over in the song), you’ll be out of luck
- Choose your music provider: Let Alexa know which music provider (Amazon, Spotify, Pandora), so she knows just where to find the song