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Guess Mariah Carey and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame don’t belong together.
For her second nomination in a row, the superstar pop diva was denied enshrinement into music’s most exclusive club when the 2025 rock hall inductees were announced on “American Idol” Sunday night.
This latest snub of one of the biggest artists of all time comes 20 years after her smash comeback album “The Emancipation of Mimi” and its long-running chart-topper “We Belong Together.”
Instead, the RRHOF went with a more traditional class of 2025 after expanding the idea of what “rock” was in recent years.
That includes British supergroup Bad Company and “With a Little Help from My Friends” belter Joe Cocker, who were both nominated for the first time after years of eligibility; grunge gods Soundgarden, led by the late Chris Cornell, in on their third nomination; and garage-rock duo the White Stripes, getting the nod on their second.
And how in the hell was Chubby Checker never even nominated before — 65 years after making us all do “The Twist”? That egregious omission is finally corrected with his induction at 83. Thankfully, they did the right thing before it became a posthumous honor.
But after last year saw Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & the Gang and Cher get inducted in the performer category, this year’s class was short on women and artists of color.
Aside from Meg White — one half of the White Stripes — Lauper was the only other woman to be inducted this year, on her second nomination, in the performer category. Surely, her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” Farewell Tour has helped the 71-year-old singer get the recognition that she deserves.
And other than Checker, the only other act of color making the cut in the performer category this year is OutKast, who join Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, N.W.A, Tupac Shakur, the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Eminem and Missy Elliott as the only hip-hop artists to get that distinction.
Meanwhile, female rap pioneers Salt-N-Pepa — who should’ve already been inducted in the performer category — and ‘70s singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will receive the Musical Excellence Award when the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction takes place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 8.
Although other nominees, including the Black Crowes, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Maná, Billy Idol, Oasis and Phish, were also passed over this year, Carey, 56, feels like the biggest snub. (Although the weird Joy Division/New Order mash-up also feels like an oversight, and Phish was denied despite winning the fan vote.)
It’s been a while now that the rock hall started inducting more pop and R&B acts, from Donna Summer and Janet Jackson to Lionel Richie and George Michael to Cher and Blige last year. And certainly Whitney Houston’s posthumous induction in 2020 set a precedent that would inevitably pave the way for Carey — who, unlike Houston, was a songwriter on all of her albums.
Says here that Carey will ultimately get in. They’re just making a diva cool her high heels.
English (US)