Photo Credit: Mariah Carey by Raph PH / CC by 2.0
Mariah Carey has been eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for nearly a decade, but laments her lawyer got inducted before her.
Mariah Carey says her lawyer made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before her. The singer, who has been eligible for the Hall of Fame herself for nearly a decade, has only just received a nomination this year.
But her lawyer, Allen Grubman, was inducted in 2022 in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for his work representing stars like Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Elton John, and — until recently — Sean “Diddy” Combs. Notably, Grubman is also one of the Rock Hall’s founders.
Mariah Carey recently spoke about the situation in an interview with The Los Angeles Times, in which she was asked about her thoughts on being nominated for the first time. “My thoughts are, I didn’t get in,” she said. “Everybody was calling me, going, ‘I think you’re getting in!’ and so I was excited about it. But then it didn’t happen. My lawyer got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before me.”
She first became eligible for nomination in 2015, on the 25th anniversary of her debut album. But Grubman has been involved in the Rock Hall since its inception back in 1983. That said, his induction was not without its share of controversy. Fellow co-founder Jann Wenner criticized the decision, calling it “about money and bending to the ego of a music-business power broker.” Wenner was removed from his position after a disastrous interview about his book ‘The Masters,’ which only highlighted male rock star points of view.
Mariah Carey is getting ready to unleash Christmas this month with her 2024 Christmas Tour, followed by dates next year with her residency in Las Vegas. The star is also reportedly working on “nine or 10” new songs, “enough to have an album.” She’s also forged a partnership with Amazon Music to sell Christmas merch this year—embracing her title as Queen of Christmas.