In what has become an annual tradition for millions of Spotify users, Representative Josh Gottheimer, who is running for governor in New Jersey, recently shared his list of top songs for the year.
It was a straight-up anthology of Bruce Springsteen’s greatest hits. But there was one problem, as online sleuths who follow him on social media soon pointed out: It was a fake.
“Thunder Road” was the top song. And no concert set list for the Boss, the New Jersey rock icon, would be complete without “Badlands” and “The Rising,” which rounded out his top five.
A believable collection? Sure. But the font, numerals and spacing were off.
Mr. Gottheimer acknowledged he had created the list after The New Jersey Monitor called attention to the differences with the Wrapped images that are automatically generated by Spotify, a streaming service that reliably generates a cycle of online sharing (and memes) with its year-in-review feature.
But the politician, a Democrat who is part of a crowded field of candidates running to replace the term-limited Gov. Philip D. Murphy, insisted that his Springsteen bona fides were quite legitimate, quoting the lyrics from the musician’s song “Rosalita.”
“To paraphrase the Boss: I wasn’t here for business baby, I was only here for fun,” Mr. Gottheimer wrote Wednesday on X. “So just relax.”
He also pointed to his dog.
“It’s a joke to question my Springsteen creds, just asked my dog named Rosalita,” he said.
Mr. Gottheimer, who was re-elected to the House last month, said his original social media post with his song list, shared on Dec. 6, was intended to be a fun one for the holidays. He also pointed to his children.
In a statement to NJ Advance Media, Mr. Gottheimer said that he shares a Spotify account with his two children, who are 12 and 15, and that the playlist he posted was a reflection of what his would look like if he had an individual account.
But what does his actual Spotify Wrapped look like? According to an image shared by his campaign, the Boss is in the top spot, followed by Billy Joel, Drake, Travis Scott and Taylor Swift.
And “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are),” a song by Pras, made his list of top songs, at No. 3. (It’s unclear who in the family is the super fan of that song, but his campaign manager said it was almost certainly one of the children.)
At his campaign kickoff last month, Mr. Gottheimer stepped to the podium as “Glory Days” played. The Springsteen hit was No. 3 on his self-curated list of most-listened-to songs.
“Fun fact: My first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see The Boss!” Mr. Gottheimer wrote on X as he shared the fake list.
Mr. Springsteen has vigorously campaigned for top Democrats, performing at presidential campaign rallies in multiple election cycles, but his popularity in New Jersey politics has transcended party lines.
Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, declared that Sept. 23, Mr. Springsteen’s birthday, would be Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey. And former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, has also long professed his fandom to the Boss and been a fixture at his concerts. In 2018, Mr. Christie spent his first night after leaving the governor’s office watching Mr. Springsteen perform at his Broadway show from a second-row seat.
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