Cher clarified that she will accept her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction despite despite her earlier statement suggesting otherwise.
The reversal came after she was announced as an inductee for the year 2024 with other giants like Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Mary J. Blige, Foreigner, Dave Matthews Band, Kool & The Gang, and A Tribe Called Quest, among many others.
"I can thank David Geffen, my friend and most wonderful person ever, and John Sykes," she told Entertainment Tonight. "I'm going to have some words to say. I'm going to accept it as me."
In the past, Cher has voiced her strong opinions against the Rock Hall.
In a 2023 interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Cher compared herself to the already inducted Rolling Stones, noting she's the only artist to have No. 1 hits in seven decades. "It took four of them to be one of me," Cher quipped. "And I'm not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
A surprised Kelly Clarkson was confused by the fact that Cher had not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"I'm not kidding you," Cher answered back. "I was about to say sh---ing you! You know what, I wouldn't be in it now if they gave me a million dollars ... I'm never going to change my mind. They can just go you-know-what themselves."
.@Cher tells Entertainment Tonight that despite last year’s public proclamation to the contrary, she will accept her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and will attend the ceremony. She credits Rock Hall board members David Geffen and John Sykes for getting her in. pic.twitter.com/2nKlcRR1Za
— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) May 14, 2024
Cher has been eligible for induction at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1991, as her first No. 1 hit -- "I Got You Babe" -- was released in 1965 with her late husband and musical partner, Sonny Bono.
Conversations about other genre-crossing artists being nominated and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have gone on over the past few years.
Country superstar Dolly Parton's nomination and eventual induction sparked a debate about whether she should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Likewise, Eminem, Jay-Z, and other hip-hop artists' induction has raised eyebrows among rock fans.
In 2022, Parton initially said that she would decline the nomination, but she eventually was inducted and graciously accepted the honor. She then released a rock album, Rockstar, on which she collaborated with a bevy of rock artists, including Rob Halford, Nikki Sixx, Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Sting, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and more.
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