Cher among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2024 inductees despite saying institution can ‘go you-know-what themselves’

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2024 has been announced, with Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J Blige and A Tribe Called Quest among the honourees, while late Irish artist Sinead O’Connor was left out.

Several artists were inducted after receiving their first nomination, including Cher, funk and soul legends Kool & the Gang, guitarist and singer Peter Frampton, and British-American rock band Foreigner.

O’Connor was among the nominated artists who did not make the final cut. The revered musician, who died last year aged 56, was known for her fierce and poetic songwriting, as well as her famous 1990 cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”.

Other artists who missed out on the Class of 2024 included Sade, pop star Mariah Carey, and British rock band Oasis.

Oasis’s omission might come as less of a surprise, given former frontman Liam Gallagher’s bitter reaction to the news his band had been nominated earlier this year.

In February, the famously loudmouthed singer-songwriter responded to the honour by tweeting: “F*** the Rock n Roll hall of fame its [sic] full of BUMBACLARTS LG x.”

When asked by fans in the comments whether he really did not want Oasis to win, the rocker replied: “I honestly feel there’s something very fish about those awards.”

He later quipped: “I don’t need some w*** award by some geriatric in a cowboy hat.”

In another comment responding to a fan who asked if any other former Oasis members would attend should they be inducted, Gallagher wrote of his older brother, Noel: “The little fella loves hanging out with celebrities so he’d prob go,” Liam responded.

“As for me I’m washing my hair and having a pedicure and a manicure.”

Of the successful honourees, Osbourne was technically already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after Black Sabbath were inducted in 2006, but will now enter the Hall as a solo artist as well.

He told Billboard that his solo nomination felt “big... I’m more than honoured.”

This year’s Musical Influence Award goes to English blues guitarist and rock legend Johnny Mayall, 90, whose band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers has included some of the most renowned musicians of all time, such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor and Mark Almond.

The award is also being handed out as a posthumous honour to British blues musician and radio broadcaster Alexis Korner, and blues and R&B pioneer Big Mama Thornton.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield will all receive the Musical Excellence Award.

It is unclear if Cher will accept her invitation to join, as she hit out at the Rock Hall just four months ago for failing to induct her before. The “Believe” singer has been eligible for induction into the Cleveland-based Hall since 1991, but has been consistently overlooked.

“You know what, I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars,” she told singer and chat-show host Kelly Clarkson in December. “I’m not kidding you. I was about to say something else... I was about to say s***ting you! I’m never going to change my mind. They can just go you-know-what themselves.”

She continued: “Also could I just say one other thing? I changed music forever with ‘Believe’.”

Cher’s chart-topping 1999 single was significant for its pioneering use of autotune, which has since become prevalent across pop music and other genres. It sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and is the UK’s best-selling single by a female artist in history.

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will air as part of an ABC special on a to-be-announced date later this year, and stream on Hulu the following day.