LOS ANGELES − The girls weren’t just having fun at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction; they stole the stage.
Toward the end of the 4½-hour-long ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 8, inductee Cyndi Lauper skipped through a vibrant and touching set that included her LGBTQ+ anthem “True Colors” and, with the British singer Raye, the eternally beautiful “Time After Time.”
Then Lauper really started to romp in Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, hitting “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” with a lineup of women that included Avril Lavigne on vocals. As the crowd roared, fellow inductees Salt-N-Pepa rushed the stage to join the joyful anthem.
“See what happens when you let the riff-raff in?” Lauper said, accepting the honor after thanking her “badass band of women.”
Salt-N-Pepa get candid in speech: ‘The industry doesn’t want to play fair’
Cyndi Lauper (second from left) with Sandra Denton, DJ Spinderella and Cheryl James of Salt-N-Pepa perform “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2025.
It was, unequivocally, ladies’ night, with Chappell Roan presenting the award to Lauper (“My lifelong inspiration”) and Olivia Rodrigo singing along vociferously from the audience.
“I know that I stand on the shoulders of the women in the industry who came before me. And my shoulders are broad enough to have the women who come after me stand on mine,” Lauper said during her speech, adding, “The little kid in me still believes that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world.”
Lauper also proved her MVP status during the show’s finale, a gut-bellowing version of fellow inductee Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help From My Friends” with Susan Tedeschi, Bryan Adams, Chris Robinson, Nathaniel Rateliff and Teddy Swims.
See the best performance pics from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction
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The 2025 class also included The White Stripes (Meg White was absent, but Jack White shared her comments), Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Outkast, Soundgarden and Cocker in the performer category.
Salt-N-Pepa, along with the late Warren Zevon, were recognized with the musical influence award. Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye landed musical excellence honors. Producer and record executive Lenny Waronker received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Here are more highlights from the show, which aired live on Disney+. A streamlined version will air Jan. 1 on ABC and be available the next day on Hulu.
Sandra Denton (Pepa) and Cheryl James (Salt) of Salt-N-Pepa perform onstage during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Salt-N-Pepa is fighting for the rap group’s master recordings
Cheryl “Salt” James, along with Sandra “Pepa” Denton, celebrated being the first female rap group inducted into the Rock Hall, alongside formerly estranged member DJ Deidra “Spinderella” Roper, the first female DJ inducted.
In her speech, James said the group is fighting to reclaim its master recordings from Universal Music Group.
“As we celebrate this, kids can’t even stream our music. It’s been taken off every streaming platform because the industry still doesn’t want to play fair,” she said.
The comments came after the triumvirate blasted through a fizzy set of pioneering hip-hop. “Shoop” and “Let’s Talk About Sex” preceded an En Vogue cameo for “Whatta Man,” while Kid ‘N Play bounced through the women’s 1986 breakthrough hit, “Push It.”
Brandi Carlile rocks with Soundgarden
Brandi Carlile (left) and Soundgarden’s Hiro Yamamoto perform onstage during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Brandi Carlile performed “Black Hole Sun” with the surviving members of Soundgarden: Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Taylor Momsen performed “Rusty Cage” in the lead vocal spot famously held by founding force Chris Cornell, who died in 2017 at 52.
Cornell’s daughter, Toni, also performed “Fell on Black Days” with Nancy Wilson.
Superfan Jim Carrey introduced the band, noting that he insisted on Soundgarden as his musical guest when hosting “SNL” in 1996. After the show, Carrey was gifted with Cornell’s guitar, which was his “most prized possession.”
Outkast reunites for a Rock Hall speech, but only Big Boi performs
Big Boi (left) and Andre 3000 of Outkast share a fist bump onstage during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Donald Glover introduced Outkast, saying the famed Atlanta rap duo taught him how to deal with critics: “You don’t have to scream, you don’t have to yell, you just have to be undeniable.”
Outkast stood together onstage, but they did not perform together. Andre 3000 gave a rambling speech that ended on a raw note when talking about their humble start.
“We started in a little room,” he said, pausing with emotion. “Great things start in little rooms.”
Wearing a gray fur coat and shorts, Big Boi went through the duo’s hits onstage with support from Tyler, the Creator, JID, Doja Cat, Janelle Monae and Killer Mike.
David Letterman brings back Warren Zevon’s guitar
David Letterman holds Warren Zevon’s guitar during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Zevon, who died in 2003 at 56, was introduced by his TV champion David Letterman, who booked the singer as the guest musical host frequently on “The Late Show With David Letterman.”
“It was my own version of ’20 Feet from Stardom,’ “ said Letterman. “Warren Zevon is in my own Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He has his own wing.”
Letterman recalled the last time Zevon appeared on the show, following the singer’s lung cancer diagnosis. After the show, Zevon presented the “sobbing” Letterman with his guitar.
“For 22 years, I have taken care of the guitar,” said Letterman. “And by God, it’s going back to work.”
He handed the precious instrument to guitarist Dave Keuning before The Killers played Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money.”
Elton John pays tribute to Brian Wilson with ‘God Only Knows’
Elton John paid tribute to Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, who died in June at age 82, with a performance of “God Only Knows.”
“He was my idol,” John said of his first meeting with Wilson. “I can’t think of anyone I would rather pay tribute to than Brian Wilson and his family with his incredible song.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cyndi Lauper, Salt-N-Pepa shake Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony