If Michael Stipe was born within your state, then you're never going to have any realistic chance of being a bigger musical legend than he is. Stipe and his quirky band R.E.M. should, by rights, never have been a commercial success. Their subject matter was odd, their sound was unusual, and their image was unusual, to say the least. Stipe overcame all of that to connect with his audience on a deep emotional level. 'Everybody Hurts' and 'Losing My Religion' are songs that everyone can relate to, and very few dislike.
It wasn't just Stipe representing Georgia within the band; he met all three of his future bandmates when they were studying together at the University of Georgia. This is one college band that stayed together for the long term! Stipe - along with the rest of REM - retired from music in 2011. More recently though, he appears to have got the itch to make music back. He released his first-ever solo single in 2018, and hasn't ruled out making more.