Marvin Gaye vs. Stevie Wonder: Final Showdown in WDET’s Michigan Music Madness Bracket
Stevie Wonder beat Jack White and the entire White Stripes catalog. Marvin Gaye defeated George Clinton. Now your votes decide who wins the 2020 WDET Michigan Music Madness bracket.
Thanks to your nominations and votes, we’ve gone from 64 artists from different decades of Michigan music.
Now, we’ve arrived in the championship round with two of the biggest heavyweights of all-time — #1 seed Marvin Gaye versus #1 seed Stevie Wonder.
Now’s the time to cast your vote in the championship round of WDET’s Michigan Music Madness bracket — a decade-by-decade look at the musicians and bands that have made their name in the state or were born here.
Vote now for your favorite Michigan band or musician »
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How did we select and seed the musicians?
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Your nominations were the biggest influence on our decision making. We received over 170 nominations from listeners like you. The more nominations a musician received, the higher their seeding on the bracket.
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The bracket is broken down by decades — not genre. The decades are broken down into regions — the 1950’s & 1960’s (region one); the 1970’s (region two); the 1980’s & 1990’s (region three) and the 2000’s to today (region four).
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Musicians were slotted into the decade that they made the biggest impact — not necessarily when they released their debut work. For example, Stevie Wonder is slotted into the 1970’s because his “genius” period happened during this time. Kid Rock is slotted into the 2000’s to today because of his impact during this era even though his first album came out in the early 1990’s.
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You might notice some musicians weren’t actually born here but still made it onto the list. While Patti Smith is not from Michigan, she spent a large chunk of her career living here so we’re claiming her as one of our own. That’s the same thought with Marvin Gaye, who was born in Washington D.C. but became one of Motown’s biggest stars while living in Detroit.
How does voting work?
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You can vote for your favorite musician as many times as you’d like. Have at it, folks!
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Can’t pick a favorite? Think about the impact of the musician both through their music and their cultural impact on a genre.
- The musician who receives the most votes will advance to the next round. It’s completely up to you to crown a champion in WDET’s Michigan Music Madness bracket!
