Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
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Before the band he fronted for nearly 25 years was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2024, Lou Gramm says he “had given up” on the idea of Foreigner ever getting in. Even now he’s trying hard to temper his expectations as public and professional voting for this year’s inductees goes on through April 26.
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“I was not feeling good that our peers were in years ago and we were completely neglected,” Gramm tells Billboard from home in his native Rochester, N.Y. “I personally had given up that we would ever be considered. I didn’t even think about it anymore, to be honest with you. So (the nomination) was a big surprise to me, and I didn’t want to be too excited about it when I heard. I didn’t want to be amped up or get my hopes up because of the way things have gone down in the past. I was, ‘OK, that’s good. Let’s see what happens. I hope we get in.’ I’m patiently waiting to see what happens.”
Gramm does feel that “things look pretty good,” and he’s been particularly appreciative of the campaign efforts by Mark Ronson, son-in-law of Foreigner founder Mick Jones, who’s enlisted artists such as Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Slash, Jack Black, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and others to publicly express disbelief that the veteran act isn’t in the Rock Hall already.
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“I think he’s a pretty creative guy, and there hasn’t been anything too boisterous or outlandish,” Gramm says of Ronson’s efforts. “It’s telling the story the way he sees it, from his vantage point with his stepdad. It makes sense.” McCartney’s participation, Gramm adds, “was awesome. That one I certainly didn’t expect, and if you just see it once you know it was completely off the cuff for him. He said what needed to be said [‘Foreigner? Not in the Hall of Fame? What the f–k?!’] and that was it. I was very impressed and very thankful.”
Gramm was Foreigner’s original frontman and was with the band from 1976-1989 and 1992-1993, serving as Jones’ principal songwriting partner; the two were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, the same year Gramm published his memoir Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades in Rock ‘n’ Roll. Gramm was part of Foreigner reunion shows during 2017 and 2018 and currently performs with his Lou Gramm All Stars. He’ll be part of Poison frontman Bret Michael’s Parti-Gras 2.0 tour this summer as well.
Gramm says he hasn’t been in contact with any of his bandmates, but he’s been told that if inducted, Foreigner — which has remained in the top 5 of the fan vote since it opened in February — will perform two songs at the ceremony in Cleveland. “One I’m sure is gonna be ‘I Want to Know What Love Is,’” Gramm notes. “I don’t know what the other one is gonna be.” He’s up for most of them, however. “I think they were very well-written songs, you know? At that time of our careers Mick and I had a blossoming chemistry and were having a lot of fun writing the songs, and we knew what it would mean if these songs were recorded and produced correctly and became very popular.”
Gramm does feel like there’s some unfinished business for Foreigner, however. He says that “there’s a whole albums worth of songs” from the early 2000s that he and Jones wrote and only recorded in rough form. Several years ago he was contacted by Foreigner management saying Jones could not find his recordings of the material; Gramm sent what he thought was a spare copy only to find it was, in fact, his only copy. He says that despite requests the band has not returned his CD or copied the songs for him.
“They’re great songs…some of our very best songs,” Gramm says. “There were about eight or nine of them. We didn’t have a record company then, so we were waiting to see what happened. Then Mick and I had a huge falling out, and I left the band…So now Mick’s got the copy and I don’t have one and I don’t know if he’s ever gonna do anything with them. I kind of doubt it, but I would like to at least listen to those roughs that we did. Those were great ideas.”
Bassist Jeff Pilson, who along with singer Kelly Hansen leads the current incarnation of Foreigner, has said that Jones has been working on some new songs with Marti Frederiksen and even predicted they would come out at some point, though no concrete plans have been announced. Last month Jones disclosed he has Parkinson’s disease, which has kept him from performing with Foreigner since 2022.
The current Foreigner lineup is in the midst of a farewell tour that will likely go into 2025. Gramm, meanwhile, is also planning to retire after his 2024 run. “I’ve been doing it for years now, and I’ve thought about (retiring) a few years ago, and a few years before that. I still enjoy playing but I can’t stand the travel anymore. I’m sure I’m gonna miss it initially, but I have a lot of memories, fantastic shows performed all over the world. I’m not becoming a reclusive person, but I value my time on my own, and when I’m out there, I don’t have that, and I don’t like that anymore.”
Dear Industry Leaders,
Last year, the Black Music Action Coalition and the Academy of Country Music joined together to launch OnRamp, a new initiative designed to create economic empowerment and access to the music industry for young Black creatives and industry executives, giving them a year of guaranteed income and a menu of mentorship services from music industry leaders.
Following the success of the OnRamp program, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has united with the BMAC to continue this important work and support both young female and Black creatives and industry professionals in search of careers as musicians, songwriters, producers and executives.The program assists young creatives with basic needs such as rent, utilities and food, as well as opens the door for previously challenging activities such as studio time, travel for shows or networking opportunities, marketing and even legal services. It also provides mentorship focused on improving inclusivity and equity within music and empowering the next generation of leaders in the early stages of their careers by granting access to professional development opportunities, mentorship and industry exposure. The BMAC will facilitate the program as well as document and track the artists’ and young professionals’ journeys as they share their stories of success and triumph from the year of empowerment.
After reviewing applications in 2023, the BMAC has selected 20 female and Black emerging creatives for the program. We are currently fundraising in order to begin the program during Black Music Month in June.
As we are all very aware of the incredible contributions female and Black creatives continue to make to the growth of our industry, we see the BMAC Music Maker Guaranteed Income and Mentorship Program as a valuable long-term partner that will provide a structured system that will open doors and train the next generation of creatives and executives in the music industry. We ask that you become an inaugural partner with us on this important initiative so that we can create the true scale needed to open the doors to the future creators and leaders in our industry.
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As part of Grammy Week 2024, BMAC co-founder and president/CEO Willie “Prophet” Stiggers hosted John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation; Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income; Maura Cuffie-Peterson, director of strategic initiatives for guaranteed income for Creatives Rebuild New York; and Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp for an economic justice summit at UTA to galvanize the music industry to take action.
We now look to our industry and partners to donate to this initiative. We would be so grateful for your support.
WILLIE “PROPHET” STIGGERS, Co-founder and president/CEO Black Music Action Coalition
HANNAH KARP, Editorial director Billboard
JOHN SYKES, Chairman Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
IRVING AZOFF, Chairman/CEO The Azoff Company
ROB LIGHT, Managing partner/ head of worldwide music CAA
To support this program, please visit bmacoalition.org/halloffame.
This story originally appeared in the March 9, 2024, issue of Billboard.
The inimitable Cher is set to receive the 2024 iHeartRadio Icon Award at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday April 1. Cher was not announced as a performer on the show, but will be the subject of a musical tribute. The show will feature performances by Justin Timberlake, Green Day, TLC, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Tate McRae and more.
Bon Jovi, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Pink are previous recipients of the Icon Award.
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Cher is among this year’s nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nominations were announced on Feb. 10. This year’s choices will be revealed in late April. Those looking to read the tea leaves concerning her chances of being inducted might find this of interest: John Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises for iHeartMedia and one of the executive producers of the iHearts, is also the chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. That doesn’t mean Cher is a sure thing to be inducted, but it seems like a good sign. Cher fans have reason to feel encouraged.
Cher is an Oscar, Grammy and Primetime Emmy winner, which means she just needs a Tony to become an EGOT. (C’mon Broadway scribes, get cracking!) In 2023, Cher released her first holiday album, Christmas, which topped Billboard’s Top Holiday Albums chart in November. She received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.
Timberlake has won big at past iHeartRadio Music Awards. In 2015, he received the iHeartRadio Innovator Award. Two years later, he won song of the year for “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” his Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated smash which entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1.
The 12th annual iHeartRadio Music Awards will celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2023. The event will air live from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles – home of the Oscars – on Monday, April 1 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET live / PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The show also will be heard on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.
iHeartRadio listeners will have the opportunity to decide winners in several categories. Fan voting will determine this year’s best lyrics, best music video, best fan army, social star award, favorite tour photographer, TikTok bop of the year, favorite on screen, favorite tour style and favorite debut album. Social voting will close on March 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT for all categories. Fans can vote by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.
Additional categories include label of the year and individual winners for album of the year in various genres, including pop, country, alternative, rock, dance, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and regional Mexican.
Executive producers for the iHeartRadio Music Awards are Joel Gallen, for Tenth Planet; and Sykes, Tom Poleman and Bart Peters, for iHeartMedia.
Perry Farrell is of two minds regarding the second Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination for Jane’s Addiction.
“I would like the world to view Jane’s in the same light as the greats, but that’s as far as it goes,” he tells Billboard in the midst of the Horns, Thorns en Halos Farewell Tour by Porno For Pyros, his other band with Jane’s drummer Stephen Perkins. “I don’t really get off on trophies. I’ve always kind of felt like I’m on my own island. It’s nice of them to consider me, (but) I’m not so sure I belong there.”
A vanguard of the alternative rock scene, Jane’s Addiction was previously nominated for the Rock Hall in 2017. The on-and-off group’s fourth and most recent studio album, The Great Escape Artist, was released during 2011, and it’s released two live albums since, in 2013 and 2017. A non-album single, “Another Soulmate,” came out in 2013. The group toured during 2022 and 2023 with original bassist Eric Avery back in the lineup but not guitarist Dave Navarro, who was struggling with effects from long COVID. The group has reportedly been in the studio working on new material as well.
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Asked if he wants people to vote for him, Farrell, a co-creator of Lollapalooza, responded, “That’s up to you. If you’re gonna do it, check off Cher’s box, too.” He also voiced support for an eventual induction for the MC5, which has been nominated six times. Jane’s currently ranks 12th in the fan voting for the Rock Hall. Public votes can be cast via vote.rockhall.com.
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Rock Hall concerns are currently taking a back seat while Farrell and Perkins criss-cross the country with Porno For Pyros — including original guitarist Peter DiStefano but with Mike Watt subbing for Martyn LeNoble.
“We are just playing elegant, gnarly, unpredictable punk-jazz,” Farrell says of the shows, which are mixing songs from the band’s two studio albums with the recently released “Agua” and “Little ME” and occasional covers. “We’re getting the job done by spreading a good message. I think we’re getting to spread a message that I think the world sorely needs right now — not tomorrow. When we go out and play Porno, I feel like we’re able to relate and inspire people through music. It’s the nicest experience that can happen to you.”
Farrell adds that despite the tour’s name this may not be the last we see of Porno For Pyros. “It really depends on what goes down,” he says. “If we all enjoy each other’s, not just company but each other’s musicianship, how we are playing on stage…. That’s the most important thing. I see Porno as a project. I have projects that I do in my life. Porno’s a very important one. I would never say never.”
This year’s nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame range such Grammy mainstays as Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey – who have tallied more than 70 nominations between them – to Eric B. & Rakim, who have never even been nominated.
The Rock Hall nominees were announced on Feb. 10. This year’s inductees will be announced in late April, with the ceremony set for this fall.
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Blige has received more nominations (37) and more awards (nine) than any of this year’s other Rock Hall contenders. Impressively, she has won in four different genres – R&B, gospel, pop and rap.
Carey may not exactly feel like Grammy royalty. At times, she has probably felt more like a Grammy piñata: She has been nominated in Big Four categories (album, record and song of the year plus best new artist) nine times – but has won in one of those marquee categories just once, when she won best new artist in 1991. Still, her five wins and 34 nominations constitute a formidable Grammy track record.
This year’s Rock Hall nominees include another Grammy winner for best new artist – Sade, which won in 1986 after Whitney Houston was ruled ineligible for having had prior releases – as well as two former nominees in that category: Cher (as part of Sonny & Cher, 1966) and Foreigner (1978).
Five of this year’s Rock Hall candidates have been nominated in the most prestigious Grammy category – album of the year. Kool & the Gang won as part of the multi-artist Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1979), which included their track “Open Sesame.”
Carey has been nominated for that award three times – for Mariah Carey (1991), Daydream (1996) and The Emancipation of Mimi (2006). Peter Frampton, Dave Matthews Band and Blige have each been nominated for it once – for Frampton Comes Alive! (1977), Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King (2010) and Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) (2023), respectively.
Two of this year’s Rock Hall candidates have been nominated for producer of the year, non-classical – Carey (in tandem with Walter Afanasieff, 1992) and Mick Jones of Foreigner (in tandem with Robert John “Mutt” Lange, 1982, and in tandem with Billy Joel, 1991).
Jones was also nominated for song of the year for writing Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. Several other Rock Hall contenders had additional Grammy nominations on their own. Two won on their own: Matthews won the best male rock vocal performance in 2004 for his solo hit “Gravedigger,” while Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest won best dance recording in 2006 as the featured artist on The Chemical Brothers’ “Galvanize.”
Carey and Sade have each won Grammys in both pop and R&B, a tribute to their versatility.
Carey and Lenny Kravitz were 2024 Recording Academy Global Impact Award honorees. The awards were held on Feb. 1 at the third annual Recording Academy Honors presented by the Black Music Collective at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (This year’s third recipient of that award, Jay-Z, managed to get his award on the Grammy telecast.)
The 2024 inductees will be decided by a voting body of 1,000+ “artists, historians and members of the music industry,” according to a press statement. This year’s induction ceremony returns to Cleveland, home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame headquarters, this fall. For the second year in a row, the induction ceremony will stream live on Disney+. It will air on ABC at a later date, and will be available on Hulu the following day.
Here are this year’s Rock Hall candidates, ranked by how well they have fared at the Grammys over the years.
Grammy Royalty
Mary J. Blige
Nominations: 37; Wins: 9
Big Four nominations: 4
Mariah Carey
Nominations: 34; Wins: 5
Big Four nominations: 9
Ozzy Osbourne
Nominations: 12; Wins: 5
Big Four nominations: 0
Lenny Kravitz
Nominations: 9; Wins: 4
Big Four nominations: 0
Sade
Nominations: 9; Wins: 4
Big Four nominations: 1
Other Grammy Winners
Dave Matthews Band
Nominations: 11; Wins: 1
Big Four nominations: 1
Sinead O’Connor
Nominations: 8; Wins: 1
Big Four nominations: 1
Cher
Nominations: 7; Wins: 1
Big Four nominations: 2
Peter Frampton
Nominations: 5; Wins: 1
Big Four nominations: 1
Kool & the Gang
Nominations: 3; Wins: 1
Big Four nominations: 0
Never Won a Grammy, but Nominated
Jane’s Addiction
5 nominations
Big Four nominations: 0
A Tribe Called Quest
4 nominations
Big Four nominations: 0
Foreigner
3 nominations
Big Four nominations: 1
Oasis
2 nominations
Big Four nominations: 0
Never Even Nominated
Eric B. & Rakim
With his first-ever Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination as a solo artist, Ozzy Osbourne is poised to become shrine’s the 27th multiple inductee.
Osbourne was inducted as a member of Black Sabbath back in 2006. If he’s voted in this year, he’ll join the likes of all four Beatles, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart and others with double honors. Only Eric Clapton has three inductions on his own and as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this news from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Osbourne said in a statement on Saturday (Feb. 10), after the nominations were announced. “To be one of the few musicians who’s being considered for a second entry, now as a solo artist, is something I could never have imagined. After 44 years as a solo artist the fact that I can continue to record music and receive this recognition is something I am incredibly proud of.”
Osbourne began his solo career with Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 and has released 13 albums on his own, most recently Patient Number 9 during 2022. Those have launched a number of iconic hard rock hits, including “Crazy Train,” “Flying High Again,” “Bark at the Moon” and “No More Tears,” as well as the ballad “Mama, I’m Coming Home.”
Some recent surgeries and a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis have rendered Osbourne unable to perform in recent years; he had to drop off the bill of the Power Trip festival last October in Indio, Calif. His wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, however, recently spoke of plans for a pair of farewell concerts in Osbourne’s home town of Birmingham, England.
During a November appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, Sharon lobbied for Ozzy to be considered for Rock Hall induction on his own as well.
“They know that Ozzy deserves to be there,” she said. “They know he’s been a solo artist. You’ve gotta be doing it for 24 years. He’s been 43 years as a solo artist. He sold nearly a hundred million albums as a solo artist. So where is he? Induct him!”
Sharon added that she and Ozzy attended a dinner for the 2023 inductees “and people were saying to Ozzy, ‘Oh, you’ve been inducted in,’ and we were like, ‘No, actually. We were just invited for the food, so we’re here.’ That’s as near as we’ve got, but no.”
Public voting has begun for this year’s inductees via rockhall.com, while ballots are being mailed to industry voters. Inductees are expected to be announced during early May, with the ceremony slated for the fall in Cleveland.
02/10/2024
Here’s how we handicap this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class and their chances of induction.
02/10/2024
Just over a week after Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt explained the band’s approach to addressing politics in their music, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is sharing his thoughts on the phenomenon. In a new interview on the Reinvented With Jen Eckhart podcast that Billboard has a first look at, Corgan opened up about making political music, being continually passed over by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and more.
“I can’t think of any political song I’ve ever written. That said, I’m a political junkie. I pay a ton of attention to politics. I’m not one of these people who thinks that politics doesn’t have a place in music,” Corgan mused. “I think that every artist should express their views however they deem fit. Whether or not those views are acceptable to people, I think is irrelevant … I’ve just never been that intrigued on putting that type of political messaging into my music.”
The Smashing Pumpkins — alongside fellow support acts Rancid and The Linda Lindas — are set to embark on Green Day’s upcoming global stadium tour in support of new album Saviors. While the jury is still out as to where the record will land on the Billboard 200, the set’s lead single, the fiery “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” has already seen success across several Billboard charts. Since its release in October, the track has reached the top of Rock Airplay and No. 22 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
“‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ was written by Billie [Joe Armstrong] almost four years ago. But we all knew it was just low-hanging fruit,” Dirnt previously said of the making of the hit single. “We’re not a parody of who we are, and songs like that need time to be fleshed out. If that means just sitting back and letting life happen, so be it. And it was one of the last things we recorded.”
Saviors marks Green Day’s 14th studio album, and the band’s third record since its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2015. The band made it into the Rock Hall in its first year of eligibility, while Smashing Pumpkins have still yet to receive such an honor. In his conversation on the podcast, Corgan also criticized the current state of the Rock Hall.
“A general criticism is, ‘Why have a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn’t only relegated to rock n’ roll?’ Personally, I think Willie Nelson belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Because there’s no real clear definition, it’s confusing to people,” he said. “Why don’t you just call it the Music Hall of Fame? I quantify rock n’ roll as more of a spirit thing … I think it’s hard for people to understand the definitive qualities, especially when you start putting in pop artists who are strictly pop artists. Now if the argument is that, over time, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has morphed into an institutional culture which is more the ‘Music Hall of Fame,’ then I think that would be easier for people to understand.”
The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees included Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners.
“I think the 20-year-old in me would be shocked, but I think the value of The Smashing Pumpkins has grown into something far more valuable than hit records or institutional approval,” said Corgan. “Our place in musical history has grown into something far more unique than even I would have imagined.”
Over the course of its storied career, The Smashing Pumpkins has sent seven titles to the top 10 of the Billboard 200, including its sole chart-topper, 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (one week). On the Billboard Hot 100, the band has landed eight career entries on the chart, including the band’s highest peaking single, 1996’s “1979” (No. 12). As a soloist, Corgan has a pair of Billboard 200 entries: 2005’s TheFutureEmbrace (No. 31) and 2017’s Ogilala (No. 183), which he released under his full name, William Patrick Corgan.
Watch an exclusive clip of his interview on the Reinvented With Jen Eckhart podcast above.
This year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was a roller coaster ride of emotions, surprise appearances, heartwarming speeches and, of course, good music. Plus, both the class of 2023 inductees and the night’s performers were more diverse than ever, thanks to the Hall’s ongoing efforts to recognize a broader range of genres as well as the women and people of color who have permanently changed the landscape of music for the better (in spite of what exiled co-founder Jann Wenner may have said earlier this year, something that made for a sizzling diss in Bernie Taupin’s acceptance speech).
And whether it was from the audience or behind the scenes, Billboard was there at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday night (Nov. 3) to capture it all. The evening’s inductees included Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Chaka Khan, and Bernie Taupin, while the performers list spanned Adam Levine, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Elton John, H.E.R., Ice-T, LL Cool J, Miguel, New Edition, Olivia Rodrigo, Queen Latifah, Sia, Stevie Nicks and St. Vincent — several of whom stopped backstage to answer one-on-one questions from Billboard, address the press room as a whole or simply take photos.
For the first time ever, the ceremony was live-streamed, meaning fans everywhere could tune in via Disney+ to watch in real time. But to find out what cameras didn’t catch, keep reading below to see what you missed backstage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, including exclusive Billboard interviews with Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood and more:
Carrie Underwood
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/WireImage
It looks like Kate Bush will stick to running up hills instead of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame stages. The “Wuthering Heights” singer is set to be honored at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday night (Nov. 3), but a new statement confirms that she will not attend the Barclays Center-hosted celebration.
Bush opened the statement — which was posted to her official artist website — with heartfelt appreciation. “I am completely blown away by this huge honour – an award that sits in the big beating heart of the American music industry,” she wrote. “Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. I never imagined I would be given this wonderful accolade.”
Alongside Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners will all be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.
“The RRHOF [Rock & Roll Hall of Fame] has welcomed me into the most extraordinary rostrum of overwhelming talent,” she mused. “When I was growing up my hero was Elton John. I pored over his music, longed to be able to play piano like him and longed to write songs that could move people in the way his work moved me.”
Last year, Bush earned a surprise runaway hit in 1985’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God).” The song climbed all the way to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 — becoming the most successful song of her career on the Billboard charts in the process — after it was used in a pivotal scene in season 4 of the Emmy-winning Netflix sci-fi drama Stranger Things. She referenced the phenomenon, writing, “Last year was such a surprisingly successful time for my track [‘Running Up That Hill’] and I’m sure that a lot of you who’ve voted me [into] the RRHOF also drove that track up the charts. Thank you!”
She continued, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the ceremony tonight, but for me the real honour is knowing that you felt I deserved it.”
Bush did not give any explanation for her absence. For all intents and purposes, Bush’s statement acts as a de facto acceptance speech. She made sure to thank her biggest inspirations and closest collaborators, as well as wax poetic about what music means to her.
“Music is at the core of who I am and, like all musicians, being on the journey of trying to create something musically interesting is rife with feelings of doubt and insecurity,” she wrote in closing. “I’m only five foot three, but today I feel a little taller.”
Click here to read Kate Bush’s full statement.