The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductees were announced Sunday, during a live, coast-to-coast, Rock Hall-themed American Idol episode mentored by Gene Simmons of Hall of Famers KISS. Simmons didn't participate in the announcement, as fun and unpredictable as that might have been, with the news instead simply delivered by Idol host Ryan Seacrest and another past Hall inductee, Idol judge Lionel Richie, while the studio audience whooped and cheered. (Interestingly, a past Idol judge who was on the ballot this year, Mariah Carey, did not get in.)
Eight artists made it into the Performer category — a higher than usual number due a close vote, according to Music Times' source — and among this year's class are multihyphenate goddess (and Gene Simmons's ex-girlfriend!) Cher, AOR rockers Foreigner, guitar great Peter Frampton, jazz/funk combo Kool & the Gang, and prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne, who, incredibly, are all first-time nominees (although Osbourne is in the Hall already as a member of pioneering sludge-rockers Black Sabbath).
Three previous nominees, alternative rap trio A Tribe Called Quest, jam band fan faves the Dave Matthews Band (who topped the fan vote for the second time this year), and queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige, round out the Performer category, which recognizes "artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock 'n' roll." The live Idol audience seemed to cheer loudest for Cher's name, and when the cameras cut to judge Katy Perry for a reaction shot, she seemed very pleased.
Along with Carey, the other 2024 Performer nominees who were passed over were golden-age hip-hop duo Eric B & Rakim, crossover rock star Lenny Kravitz, Britpop brothers Oasis, Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor, reclusive sophisti-pop chanteuse Sade, and college-rock trailblazers Jane's Addiction. The most surprising snubs are arguably Carey, who while not a rock artist per se is one of biggest hitmakers of all time (only the Beatles have charted more No. 1 Billboard singles than her) and is a peer of Class of 2020 inductee Whitney Houston, and O'Connor, a presumed sentimental favorite after her tragic July 2023 death. (Female artists got short shrift in this category overall, comprising only one-third of the 15 nominiees and only two of the eight inductees.)
The three acts receiving this year's Musical Excellence Award, which goes to "artists, musicians, songwriters, and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music," are trop-rocker Jimmy Buffett, political proto-punks MC5, soul/pop diva Dionne Warwick, and Motown songwriter/producer Norman Whitfield. Warwick was previously nominated in the Performer category in 2022. MC5 were nominated a whopping six times; all original members of the group except for Dennis Thompson are now dead, with lead guitarist Wayne Kramer passing away just two months ago. The late Buffett and Whitfield were never nominated during their lifetimes.
And finally, this year's Musical Influence Award, which honors "artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired, and evolved rock 'n' roll and music impacting youth culture," will go to R&B pioneer Big Mama Thornton (the first artist to have a hit with Leiber & Stoller's "Hound Dog") and British blues-rock legends Alexis Korner and John Mayall. The Ahmet Ertegun Award, which recognizes industry professionals, will go to businesswoman and music/film/TV producer Suzanne de Passe.
For any rockist snobs wondering exactly why the Class of 2024 was revealed in this somewhat non-rockin' way, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is now part of the Disney-verse, and American Idol airs on the Disney-owned ABC network. (Synergy!) On Oct. 19, the Class of 2024 induction ceremony will stream live from Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Disney+, with an edited TV special airing at a later date on ABC.
And, side note: An artist is eligible for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording... which means the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, could be on the ballot in just three years.
