When the nominees for the 2024 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were announced in February, I immediately zeroed in on the battle of the two ’90s R&B-pop divas straight outta New York.
In one corner, there was Mary J. Blige, the undisputed Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, who was previously nominated for enshrinement in music’s most exclusive club in 2021 — 29 years after her groundbreaking debut, 1992’s “What’s the 411?”
In the other corner, there was Mariah Carey — the Queen of Christmas, Melisma and Whistle Notes — who got her first nomination 34 years after her smash self-titled debut turned octave-leaping vocals into an Olympic sport in 1990.
There were other legendary divas from other generations and genres who were nominated — from Cher to Sade to Sinéad O’Connor — but Blige vs. Carey was the heavyweight belter bout that was the Thrilla in Manolos for me.
No way they would both get in the same year — and my money was all on Mimi. After all, with 19 No. 1 singles to her credit, the “All I Want for Christmas” princess trails only the Beatles for the most chart-topping tunes in history.
Surely, that gets you a walk-in-closet-sized spot in the rock hall.
But to the dismay of legions of Lambs — as Carey’s faith fans are called — it was Blige who was shown “Real Love” when this year’s RRHOF class was announced by Ryan Seacrest and 2022 inductee Lionel Richie on “American Idol” Sunday night.
Don’t get me wrong — Blige, 53, is fully deserving of eternal divahood. And while she may not be traditionally “rock” — as fewer and fewer inductees will be going forward — she represents the rule-breaking, trend-setting spirit of the youth rebellion that is at the core of the genre.
On the other hand, Carey, 55, is ultimately from the old school of begowned — and often balladeering — pop divas for many rock hall voters. It’s the same reason why Diana Ross has never been nominated as a solo artist, why Celine Dion has never been nominated at all and why Whitney Houston, although eligible since 2010, didn’t get inducted until 2020 — eight years after her death, at 48, in 2012.
But don’t fret, Lambily, Carey will get in — eventually.
Perhaps even more surprising was the snub of O’Connor nine months after her death in July 2023. There are very few women — very few artists period — who represented the alt-rock movement in the late ’80s and early ’90s more than the late Irish icon.
But the rock hall did get it right by finally inducting Cher — as if that would ever be a question — who has been eligible ever since 1990, but only just got her first nomination.
Let that sink in. (We’ll give you a minute.)
It got to the point that Cher — as only Cher could — told the rock hall exactly where they could go last year.
“I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars,” she said on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” last year.
“I’m never going to change my mind. They can just go you-know-what themselves.”
If anyone would stick to her hall-bashing balls, it would be Cher.
But here’s hoping that when the induction ceremony takes place on Oct. 19 at Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, we’ll get her babe.
As for the other 2024 RRHOF inductees in the Performer Category, there were — surprise, surprise — some men in the mix too.
It’s about time for A Tribe Called Quest — the New York jazz-rap pioneers who had been nominated twice before this year. But the “Scenario” was finally perfect for them in 2024.
And I also have to “celebrate good times” for two classic ’70s acts: Kool & the Gang, who will probably be one of the last R&B bands from that era to make the all-star all-timers; and Peter Frampton, who no doubt got a boost from performing — and getting endorsed by — Sheryl Crow at last year’s induction ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Ditto for Dave Matthews Band. After getting their first nomination in 2020, their leader sealed the deal when he memorably inducted Willie Nelson and performed with the O.G. country outlaw last year.
And there was probably some sympathy vote involved with an ailing Ozzy Osbourne, 75, getting in as a solo artist 18 years after he first did with Black Sabbath.
Just as a 79-year-old Mick Jones announcing that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease in February surely contributed to Foreigner finally finding out what that rock-hall love is in 2024.
