From JD Vance’s dinnertime Bieber to Sam Altman’s Shazaming of extremely widespread hit songs, a web site claiming to have revealed the Spotify listening habits of members of the Trump administration, tech leaders, and journalists is making the rounds.
“We’ve been scraping their accounts since summer time 2024. Playlists, reside listening feed, every thing. We all know what songs they performed, when, and what number of occasions,” the Panama Playlists web site reads, alleging, “With a bit of sleuthing, I may say with near-certainty: yep, that is them.”
Are the entire accounts actual? At this level, it’s laborious to inform. The accounts listed haven’t been independently verified by WIRED. Reporter Mike Isaac from the New York Instances, tells WIRED that the songs listed on the web site underneath his title matches his actual Spotify listening historical past. 5 of the Spotify listeners from the web site confirmed to The Verge the accuracy of their posted information. So, I’ve spent all morning obsessively listening to each music on the “Panama Playlists,” having fun with a voyeuristic look into the listening habits of highly effective folks.
Representatives of the general public figures whose playlists have been featured didn’t reply to rapid requests for remark.
Vance’s potential cooking playlist, which which had been reported on earlier than this drop, has Justin Bieber’s “One Time” and the Backstreet Boys’s “I Need It That Method” in rotation. The “Panama Playlists” additionally declare US Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi jams out to Nelly’s “Scorching in Herre” and Foreigner’s “Chilly as Ice,” (the latter feels like a mad lib for the administration’s present immigration coverage), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis allegedly streams Miley Cyrus’s “Social gathering within the USA”, and White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt seems to take pleasure in some Cyndi Lauper with “Women Simply Need to Have Enjoyable.” (I imply, a few of them additionally need reproductive rights, too).
Even homosexual Republicans couldn’t resist the gravitational pull of Brat summer time, it appears, with nominee for US Beneath Secretary of State for Financial Development, Vitality, and the Atmosphere Jacob Helberg listening to Charli XCX’s “Apple” over 50 occasions up to now 12 months. If the lists are correct, Helberg may quickly turn into the member of the Trump administration most on the gay-pop prepare. Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon” and Addison Rae’s “Weight loss program Pepsi” clock in as his subsequent high two most listened songs, in line with the “Panama Playlists.” I ponder how Helberg’s potential boss would really feel about him being a Chappell-head, particularly contemplating the artist stated “fuck Trump” final 12 months.
The songs Silicon Valley tech leaders allegedly have on repeat are particularly unhinged. The general public Spotify account seemingly linked to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, which seems to comply with playlists from one in every of Altman’s longtime buddies, accommodates a number of Shazam playlists of recognized tracks, from Dixon Dallas’s “Good Lookin’,” a homosexual parody of nation music, to Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On.” Elliott’s ubiquitous hit is principally simply the lyrics “get ur freak on” repeated again and again, making it notably ironic to Shazam. Extra songs that Altman seems to have Shazamed embody: “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the Folks, “Legal responsibility” by Lorde, “The A Workforce” by Ed Sheeran, “Fly” by Nicki Minaj, and “Make You Really feel My Love” by Adele.
