Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Sade, Ozzy among Rock Hall nominees
MARY J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor, Kool and the Gang, and heavy metal’s so-called Prince of Darkness are some the 2024 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a wide musical net that also includes the pop-soul of Sade and Britpoppers Oasis.
Ozzy Osbourne, who led many parents in the 1980s to clutch their pearls with his devil imagery and sludgy music, gets the nod as a solo artiste, having already gone into the hall with Black Sabbath. Nominations also were handed to hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, soft rockers Foreigner, singer-guitarist Peter Frampton, alt-rockers Jane’s Addiction and Dave Matthews Band, and dance icons Kool & the Gang.
Ten of the 15 nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Carey, Cher, Foreigner, Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Kravitz, Oasis, O’Connor, Osbourne and Sade. Sade, whose 1980s soft rock hits include Smooth Operator and The Sweetest Taboo, is having a moment, having last year been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Carey, with 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Blige with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, and Cher – the only artiste to have a No. 1 song in each of the past six decades – would help boost the number of women in the hall.
Artistes must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. The induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland this fall.
Nominees will be voted on by more than 1,000 artistes, historians and music industry professionals. Fans can vote online or in person at the museum, with the top five artistes picked by the public making up a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied with the other professional ballots.
Honourees will be announced in April, and the ceremony will be staged in the autumn of 2024.