Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2024: Highlights from the induction ceremony

What better way to kick off the 2024 Rock Hall ceremony than with one of the world's biggest pop stars performing a cover of another of the world's biggest pop stars' biggest hits? Dressed in a skin-tight black dress, Dua Lipa rocked the crowd with a rendition of Cher's “Believe.” By the time the bridge came, Cher herself showed up in a leather bustier and black pumps, helping Dua finish the song in great fashion. For those who wanted to see the 78-year-old perform solo, Cher made sure to give them an encore before accepting her Rock Hall induction, performing a rousing rendition of “If I Could Turn Back Time” to a screaming crowd.

Known for her wit, Cher spared no one during her induction speech — including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself. When she noticed her long-awaited induction into the Hall, Cher said it felt harder than it should have. “It was easier to break up with two men than to get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” she joked. “I want to thank David Geffen, because he wrote a letter and sent it to the directors, and now, ha ha, here I am!”

When two of the original members of Kool & the Gang finally reunited on stage at Saturday's ceremony, you could feel the electricity. James JT Taylor and Robert “Kool” Bell made the most of their Hall induction, jumping into an absolutely thrilling medley of their greatest hits. Taking to the stage dressed in a set of shirts and collars, the band belted out 'Hollywood Swinging', 'Get Down on It', 'Ladies Night' and 'Jungle Boogie', before closing their star-studded set with a banging set. of the “Holiday”.

During an extended performance of some of her biggest hits, legendary singer-songwriter Dionne Warwick brought out none other than Jennifer Hudson to back her on her classic “I'll Never Love This Way Again.” Riffing and belting back and forth over the lyrics of the iconic closing track, there the pair brought the audience to a standing ovation until they finished.

We could have just had Rick Wills, Lou Gramm and Al Greenwood on stage and this would have been an amazing performance of Foreigner. But instead, along with members of the legendary rock band, we had a host of rock and pop superstars coming to perform some of their biggest hits. Chad Smith smashed the drums, Slash screamed on the guitar and a rotating roster of pop stars came to lend voice to the iconic songs. Demi Lovato joined in to sing the chorus of “Feels Like the First Time,” Sammy Hagar showed up for an extreme rendition of “Hot Blooded,” and Kelly Clarkson closed the set with a stunning rendition of “I Want to Know What Love It is.

After Pearl Jam's Michael McCready declared that he belonged in the “pantheon of guitarists” alongside Clapton and Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton triumphantly took the stage to perform some of his biggest hits, starting with “Baby ( Something's Event).”

But the best moment of the performance came when Keith Urban joined the legendary guitarist on stage for a guitar duet on “Do You Feel Like We Do.” Trading licks back and forth (and even pulling out a chat box for the song's iconic breakdown), the pair made for one of the best rock performances of the night.

Dave Matthews served double duty at Saturday's ceremony, attending both as an usher and as a tribute artist to one of the greats: Jimmy Buffett. Taking to the stage armed with his acoustic guitar, Matthews bid a tearful farewell to the iconic tropical rock singer. “I'm so happy to be here to honor Jimmy,” she said, fighting back tears. “He made everyone feel special. it made me feel very special. I wish he could be here, but it's too late.”

Launching into “a song he wrote that was too late,” Matthews delivered a sweet, somber rendition of Buffett's “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” With an image of billowing waves behind him, Matthews delivered on the show's promise, visibly bringing tears to more than a few of the stars in the audience.

In his opening remarks to introduce the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, comedian Dave Chappell made himself clear when it came to the group's impact on music: “I know this is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this the movement in hip-hop was the birth of so many great artists,” he said, before gesturing to the group. “And it began with these men sitting at this table.”

Throughout his impassioned speech, Chapelle laid out the foundation and creation of the band, highlighting the creation of Native Tongues as a cultural touchstone for modern hip-hop. But he saved his most emotional remarks for last, when he thanked the band for everything they had done for him personally, especially after the death of founding member Phife Dawg. “Tribe, I want to thank you for your service. What you did for our culture means the world to me, but what you did for me changed my life,” he said. “You shared your platform with me and invited me to be with you on Saturday Night Live and that brought me back to television after 12 years in the cold. And I will always be grateful to you.”

Even after Chappelle's emotional comments and the band's emotional speech, the fun wasn't over for A Tribe Called Quest. Real life hip hop royalty hit the stage to celebrate the incredible reach of the hip hop crew. Kicking things off, De La Soul's DJ Maseo and Queen Latifah — joined by The Roots — delivered a high-energy performance of “Can I Kick It?”, with Latifah taking the high energy of Q-Tip's lyrics .

Soon after, Black Thought and De La Soul's Kelvin Mercer turned up the heat with a tribute to “Check the Rhime,” trading Q and Phife's verses back and forth, before Common crushed their performance with one of his own of in “Bonita Applebum.” And in a fiery closing moment, Busta Rhymes appeared on stage to help the group deliver a stunning rendition of the group's iconic posse cut 'Scenario', bringing the entire crowd to their feet.

Mary J. Blige, billed as an artist who “single-handedly created a whole new genre of music” by Drs. Dre & Method Man, she proved them right throughout her outstanding performance. Wearing a diamond bodysuit, Blige and an ensemble of dancers grooved across the stage to her hit 'My Life' before being joined on stage by Ella Mai for a duet of her jamming 'Love No Limit'. But it was with her latest tracks – “Be Happy” and “Family Affair” – that Mary J. Blige earned the praise of Method Man who openly shouted “you killed this st” as she exited the stage.

After refusing to “bored you with a f-king long, drawn-out monologue”, Ozzy Osbourne watched his legacy as the “greatest frontman in history” (as Jack Black put it) from a parade of some of rock's biggest names music. Opening with Maynard James Keenan and Wolfgang Van Halen performing their iconic hit “Crazy Train,” the show saw artists such as Jelly Roll and Robert Trujillo (“Mama, I'm Coming Home”), Billy Idol and Zakk Wylde ( “No More Tears” ”) and others arrive to greet the induction of the Prince of Darkness himself.

After a hilarious introduction by Julia Roberts — which included the story of her mishaps Googling the band she was honoring — the Dave Matthews Band closed out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony with a glorious jam. No special guests or surprise moments. they were just the band doing exactly what their fans love to see them do. Running through a set of their best-loved tracks (“Ants Marching,” “Crash Into Me,” “So Much to Say” and “Too Much”), the band treated the stage at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse like just another stage for them. to conquer. And they did – at several points, Matthews stopped singing to let the cheering crowd happily sing his songs right back to them.

Even after Matthews gave his heartfelt speech thanking everyone involved for bringing the band in, the band still wasn't done. Dave said they'd be playing some “walking away music” — and offered a revamped rendition of Talking Head's “Burning Down the House” in his honor Stop making senseIts 40th anniversary.