New Jersey Congressman Fakes Bruce Springsteen-Only Spotify Wrapped Results │ Exclaim!
US politics haven’t been particularly funny lately, especially not since — oh, I don’t know, 2016? So it’s important to savour the lighthearted giggles politicians prompt when we can. This week, we’ve been gifted a Spotify Wrapped present far greater than anything our own listening habits could crop up: a New Jersey congressman being called out for faking his results to look like a bigger Bruce Springsteen fan.
As many of us either did or complained about others doing, Josh Gottheimer — who has been the US representative for New Jersey’s fifth congressional district since 2017 — posted his Spotify Wrapped results on social media, writing, “No surprises here… Fun fact: my first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see the Boss!” Obviously, his top five songs for 2024 were “Thunder Road,” “Because the Night,” “Glory Days,” “Badlands” and “The Rising,” all by Springsteen.
As New Jersey Monitor reporter Matt Arco pointed out with a quick side-by-side comparative analysis of some Wrapped results he knew to be real, Gottheimer’s screenshot was suspicious for more reasons than its overarching Springsteen supremacy (come on, does anyone actually love New Jersey that much?); whatever intern whipped it up for the congressman made some wonky font, spacing and numeral decisions.
Today, Gottheimer was forced to face the music when njdotcom published an opinion piece about the ordeal. The publication was able to get a quote from the politician, who admitted that he had faked his results. “This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn’t share my account with my 12 and 15-year-old kids,” Gottheimer told NJ Advance Media in a statement. “While it’s Springsteen all day for me — don’t get me wrong, I still love listening to Taylor Swift!”
He added on Twitter, “To paraphrase the Boss: I wasn’t here for business baby, I Was only here for fun. So just relax. This was a fun holiday tweet. It’s a joke to question my Springsteen credo, just ask my dog named Rosalita!”
Even with his purported shared account with his Swiftie progeny, Springsteen did still manage to be Gottheimer’s top artist on his actual results. At least that much was true!
