Stevie Wonder Is Your 2020 WDET Michigan Music Madness Champion
After weeks of nominations and voting, it came down to a battle between two Motown legends — Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye — in WDET’s bracket looking at the best Michigan musician of all-time.
Stevie Wonder mural, completed July 2019.
A huge thank you to everyone who nominated an artist and continued to vote round-by-round in the 2020 WDET Michigan Music Madness bracket!
Four regions. 64 artists. Only one champion — and that champion is none other than #1 seed Stevie Wonder.
See who Stevie Wonder beat to become champion in the 2020 WDET Michigan Music Madness bracket below!
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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 did the 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!
