Last week a Buzzfeed map caused mass-music confusion for readers who failed to understand what it was showing them. Many assumed they were seeing a chart revealing every state's favorite band, when in fact the map was showing them what performer was listened to in larger amounts in that state versus in other states. The difference between the two options is important. A new map has now emerged that actually reveals every state's "favorite" performer based on the listening habits of 250,000 individuals (which admittedly is not a very large sample).
The reality of the matter actually turns out much like an East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battle. Jay Z took every state east of the Mississippi River except for six, plus Missouri, giving him control of 21 states and country as a whole (albeit not with a majority vote). Macklemore & Ryan Lewis control ten total states, including eight west of the Mississippi. Drake, despite coming from Canada, seems to have the most sway down South, as he rules from Nevada, down to Arizona and across to Louisiana, a total of eight states when the outlier Rhode Island is thrown in.
Apologies to small-timers such as Hillsong United (a youth ministry choir that was ranked no. 1 in South Carolina on the previous map), but there weren't many minor victories on this map. Lorde (Wyoming) and Imagine Dragons (South Dakota) both got one state, and Daft Punk and Eminem earned a respective few.
The only true surprise on this list was Alt-J, who came away with Vermont. The band's sole full-length release peaked at no. 80 on the Billboard 200 during 2012. A hometown advantage has to be ruled out, as Alt-J hails from England. The only explanation is that Vermont has the most interesting population in the United States. Sorry everyone else.
