Leaked Spotify Playlists Reveal Music Tastes of US Political Figures

An anonymous website called Panama Playlists has leaked the Spotify playlists of several U.S. political figures, revealing unexpected music tastes that contrast with their public personas. Vice President JD Vance's playlists include queer anthems like Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," as well as boy band hits from One Direction and the Backstreet Boys, surprising many given his conservative image. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' playlist features a diverse mix of songs, including LGBTQ+ icons such as Elton John and Queen, alongside mainstream rock and pop hits like Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" and Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.", despite his association with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Other officials reportedly exposed include Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, whose playlists similarly blend popular mainstream and queer cultural music. The Panama Playlists site claims to have used public Spotify data over a year to identify real accounts, scraping last played songs and repeated listens to confirm identities. This leak highlights a juxtaposition between the private cultural tastes of these political figures and their public political stances on LGBTQ+ issues.