Cher, left, and Dua Lipa perform during the 39th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

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CLEVELAND – Pure pop kicked off Saturday’s Rock & Roll Hall Fame induction ceremony as Dua Lipa and Cher sang “Believe” before turning the stage over to a medley of rump shakers from funk masters Kool & the Gang, rock classics from Foreigner and Peter Frampton, and a powerful performance from gospel icon Dionne Warwick, bringing the crowd to 83.

This year’s nominees in a ceremony that lasted more than five hours also included: Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band and posthumous recognition for Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, Norman Whitfield and Big Mama Thornton.

“Where do I even start? Cher is not one person,” Zendaya said as she introduced Cher. “Her name is as legendary as her legacy.” Zendaya noted that Cher, 78, is the only woman to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard chart in the past seven decades. “Cher got the goods,” Zendaya said before the singer performed a rocking version of “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

In her speech, Cher said she was inspired by Cinderella and thanked her mother for teaching her to always get back up after defeat. “The one thing my mother taught me was never to give up,” she said. “I never give up. I talk to the women – up and down, we keep going.”

Julia Roberts helped introduce the Dave Matthews Band. She is a self-confessed superfan and appeared in the band’s video for the 2005 single ‘Dreamgirl’. Roberts, wearing a band T-shirt, said the group’s appeal is “spontaneous abandon” and added that the first time she danced with her husband was to a Dave Matthews Band song.

The jam band, with their mix of funk, folk rock, jazz, blues and pop, then played “Ants Marching” – asking the crowd to sing the chorus – “Crash” and “So Much to Say.” The arena was still packed when they took the stage after midnight, with the crowd singing and swaying along.

Matthews hugged Roberts, handed out the trophies to his bandmates and called the class of 2024 impressive. “We are swimming in very deep water here,” he said. He thanked the band’s current and former members and the bar owner who gave them a home in Charlottesville, Virginia. When he thanked the fans, they roared back.

Mary J. Blige speaks during the 39th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

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Dr. Dre introduced Blige, who is credited with creating a completely new music category: hip-hop soul. The nine-time Grammy winner’s best-known song is “Family Affair” from her 2001 triple-platinum album “No More Drama.” “When you listen to Mary, you understand that you’re not the only one with heartbreak,” Dre said.

Blige, wearing a shiny black hat, sparkly dress and long black gloves and boots, sang a mix of her hits, including “Love No Limit,” “Be Happy” and “Family Affair.” At the end of her set, a dancer raised a cloak and wrapped it around her, in an echo of James Brown. She thanked her fans, her mother – a single mother raising children in the projects – and Method Man and Dr. Dre, who helped her earn a Grammy and an Emmy. ‘Move with grace. Trust the journey,” she advised. “You are worth it.”

Chuck D introduced Kool & the Gang and said, “This is a long overdue celebration.” The band had twelve Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the 1980 chart-topper “Celebration,” as well as “Cherish,” “Get Down On It,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Ladies Night” and “Joanna.” They have been eligible for the hall since 1994.

The Roots helped the band create a medley of hits that got the crowd dancing under the leadership of Robert “Kool” Bell – bass guitarist, co-founder and last original member – and longtime singer James “JT” Taylor. Confetti shot into the arena and Taylor asked the audience to use their cell phone lights as he read out the names of ten members who were crucial to the band’s success.

Robert “Kool” Bell of Kool & the Gang performs at the 39th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

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Warwick arrived at the ceremony just a few days after attending a memorial for her longtime friend and collaborator, Cissy Houston, in Newark, New Jersey. Teyana Taylor called her “truly unique” and told the teleprompter operator he didn’t put “ma’am.” before her name. Jennifer Hudson sang “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” and was joined by Warwick, who also sang “Walk On By.”

Warwick said this year marked the third time she has been nominated for the Hall. “I’m so happy to be here,” she said. “I’m just going to say this and get off stage: Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Dave Chappelle helped introduce A Tribe Called Quest – Q-Tip, Jarobi, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and the late Phife Dawg – the only hip-hop group to make the cut this year. Chappelle said the group “integrated jazz and soul in a way that hip-hop had never seen” and that they also proved that you could be “cool and not necessarily gangster.” Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, Common, The Roots and De La Soul were on hand to perform a medley of Tribe hits including “Bonita Applebum,” “Scenario” and “Can I Kick It?”

Sammy Hagar introduced Foreigner and thanked their fans for their persistence in demanding inclusion. The English-American rockers – with hits like ‘Cold as Ice’ and ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’ – topped the charts in the 1970s and 1980s, but never made it into the Hall – let alone a vote – until last year . , despite having been eligible for more than twenty years.

Hagar noted that Foreigner is currently touring without any original members. “The songs are that good,” he said. “Who deserves this more than the foreigner?” Demi Lovato and Slash joined the touring Foreigner for “Feels Like the First Time,” and Hagar then took the lead for “Hot Blooded.” Kelly Clarkson thrilled with a powerful “I Want to Know What Love Is,” but the arena erupted when original singer Lou Gramm joined her. Gramm thanked guitarist Mick Jones, who was sidelined in New York by Parkinson’s disease.

Saturday’s induction ceremony took place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, where the Hall has promised to return every few years. A TV special featuring performance highlights will air on ABC on January 1.

Jack Black, left, and Ozzy Osbourne appear during the 39th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Saturday.

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Roger Daltrey of The Who introduced Frampton. “About damn time!” he said. “Peter has had the greatest career of all time. It’s probably easier to name the people he didn’t work with than the people he did work with,” Daltrey said.

Frampton earned his way into the Hall largely thanks to his 1976 live double album, “Frampton Comes Alive!”, backed by the hits “Show Me the Way” and “Baby, I Love Your Way.” Daltrey noted that Frampton has always played with a big smile.

An appropriately grinning Frampton — who played at last year’s ceremony honoring Sheryl Crow — invited Keith Urban to trade licks on “Do You Feel Like I Do” and showed why he’s considered one of rock’s greatest guitarists. He turned on his famous talkbox effect and the crowd roared. “I’m really lucky to have this great career,” he said, thanking David Bowie for resurrecting his professional life after it ended.

Dave Matthews — before his band’s encouragement — helped honor Buffett with an acoustic version of the late singer-songwriter’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” James Taylor went on to call Buffett – who popularized soft rock on the beach with the escapist song “Margaritaville” – “larger than life, yet right-sized and always authentic.” Taylor, Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally then performed Buffett’s “Come Monday.”

Musician-actor Jack Black toasted Osbourne, saying “the heavens opened up above me” when he first listened to the “Blizzard of Ozz” album. Black called Osbourne “the Jack Nicholson of rock” and joked that his reality TV show “The Osbournes” was possibly “the worst thing he’s ever done.”

Osbourne, seated on a throne, credited late guitarist Randy Rhodes and his wife Sharon with their careers and lives. This is the second time Ozzy has entered the Hall, the first time being in 2006 with the seminal metal band Black Sabbath, a tribute band to the Prince of Darkness – including Jelly Roll, Billy Idol, Maynard James Keenan, Wolfgang Van Halen, Steve Stevens, Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith — performed “Crazy Train,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home” and “No More Tears.”

The In Memoriam section included tributes to Kris Kristofferson, Cissy Houston, David Sanborn and Liam Payne. Dave Matthews Band played “Burning Down the House” as the fans filed out.