The other 2 were nominated once and passed on. I wouldn't close the door on them. Mariah has been chosen year after year and keeps getting snubbed. Thar one is an insult
Mariah Carey's constant failures make me want to pause before predicting that artists like Usher will get into the Rock Hall easily.
Mariah Carey's failures may be because some voters think she makes bubblegum music, and because Tommy Mottola has had a negative influence. I don't know which reason plays the bigger part.
Artists like Usher may not have that kind of huge enemy, but I'm still not sure whether the "bubblegum music" label will hurt Usher as well.
And "bubblegum music" or "boring music" seems to hurt only younger generations of musicians
Boomers seem to be exempt from this. AOR/arena rock acts mostly got voted in quite easily, and Boomers would say, "Cool, that's rock and roll." Similarly, Lionel Richie's solo career, which was also widely accepted by Boomers, made "cheesy" music but was still respected and easily voted in.
But Mariah Carey, Pink, and Shakira have all been rejected partly because people see their music as "uninteresting." I'd add LL Cool J as another obvious victim of this as well (his music is averagely acclaimed, and I don't think people see it as particularly innovative, high-quality, or cool rap music).
We'll see how artists like Snoop Dogg and Usher do. The recent failures of similar types of artists have made me pause before predicting that they'll be voted in easily, despite how big they are. Then we will know the fates of Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Ed Sheeran that kind of candidates.
Sting's solo career is overshadowed by The Police a bit. Most people think of "Every Breath You Take" when they think of Sting (which hurts people'd impression on his solo career), which is different from Ozzy or Phil Collins.
Bryan Adams appeared on the "leaked list" of candidates discussed in the Gold Derby post, while Sting wasn't mentioned, so we don't know whether his name was brought up in the 2026 round. Also, Bryan Adams has a "bigger" solo career than Sting, and Sting was inducted before (which may make people in the room lean toward fresher faces).
Sting has been hugely respected by the hip-hop camp, though. I remember Questlove mentioned Sting as one of his potential picks several years ago. Also, I think Nas sampled a Sting hit.
I wouldn't be surprised if either of them gets nominated next round, but I guess it will be Bryan. I could be wrong.
I was shocked that Sting lost to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. But the Paul Butterfield Blues Band sold very poorly. Commercially, they were on a similar level to acts like MC5 and the New York Dolls, yet they got voted in while those two never did. Probably because MC5 and the New York Dolls were more respected and championed by Gen X, whereas the Paul Butterfield Blues Band had a bigger influence on Boomers.
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