Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) is a self-described Bruce Springsteen fan but the iconic New Jersey rocker isn’t the “boss” of his year-end, top songs list.
Gottheimer, who announced a campaign to become the Garden State’s governor last month, revealed that a graphic purportedly showing his most listened-to tracks on Spotify Wrapped didn’t mirror his actual listening habits.
The congressman, in a post to social media last week, wrote that there were “no surprises” on the list as he shared a graphic where his “top songs” appeared to be “Thunder Road,” “Because the Night,” “Glory Days,” “Badlands” and “The Rising” — all tracks by Springsteen.
“Fun fact: My first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see The Boss!” he added.
But Gottheimer, as the New Jersey Monitor spotted in its newsletter earlier this week, didn’t keep it “real” about his favorite tunes as the fonts and the spacing were off in the graphic.
“Did Gottheimer’s campaign fake a Spotify Wrapped to curry favor with fans of the Boss? The things you do to win an election in this state!” read the newsletter.
Gottheimer told NJ Advance Media on Monday that the graphic wasn’t accurate.
“This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn’t share my account with my 12 and 15-year-old kids,” he said of the doctored image in a statement.
“While it’s Springsteen all day for me — don’t get me wrong, I still love listening to Taylor Swift!”
The congressman, in a post to X on Wednesday, revealed that he wasn’t entirely faking his love for Springsteen.
“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 creds, just ask my dog named Rosalita!” wrote Gotteheimer along with a snap of his pet who shares a name with Springsteen’s 1973 song.
He proceeded to share a “real” Spotify Wrapped graphic that backs up his love for The Boss, who appears as his top artist ahead of Billy Joel, Drake, Travis Scott and Taylor Swift.
Some of his top songs, however, are a far cry from those by the rock god.
Scott’s “Fein” featuring Playboi Carti, Swift’s “Getaway Car” as well as Pras’ “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)” with Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Mýa are among the songs named on Gottheimer’s list.
“The biggest surprise here is I managed to listen to more music than my kids this year,” he wrote.