Cher, Blige, A Tribe Called Quest to join Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

A mix of pop, rock and hip-hop artists make up the 2024 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The inductees, who were announced Sunday by Ryan Seacrest and 2022 honoree Lionel Richie during “American Idol,” include Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest in the performer category.

Rock Hall is also honoring the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield with the Musical Excellence Award. Alexis Korner, Big Mama Thornton and John Mayall were selected as the recipients for the Musical Influence Award. And longtime Motown executive Suzanne de Passe will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors the impact of nonperforming professionals on the business side of the industry.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement. “This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”

To be eligible for induction, a music act must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years before the year of nomination. This year, four out of the eight inductees in the performer category were on the ballot for the first time: Cher, Frampton, Foreigner and Kool & the Gang. It also marked Osbourne’s first induction as a solo act (he had previously joined the hall as part of Black Sabbath in 2006).

Nominees who were not selected for induction this year: Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Jane’s Addiction, Oasis, Sade, Eric B. & Rakim and Sinéad O’Connor, whose death last year prompted reflections about her legacy and contributions to the industry.

In recent years, Rock Hall has reckoned with increasing pressure to diversify its roster of inductees with more women and artists of color. According to a report in the New York Times last year, women accounted for less than 100 of the almost 1,000 honorees inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1986.

Cher, 77, alluded to this gender gap during an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” last year, slamming the Rock Hall for repeatedly overlooking her despite a chart-topping dominance over seven decades that she said is only rivaled by the Rolling Stones (who were inducted in 1989).

“It took four of them to be one of me. … And I’m not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” the Grammy-winning artist told Clarkson. “You know what, I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars. I’m not kidding you.”

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air live on Disney Plus on Oct. 19 from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.