The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a Mariah Carey problem

The big picture: The Rock Hall has inducted nearly 400 artists since its inception in 1986, including about 80 women as individual artists or members of female-fronted groups.

• The museum will add Cyndi Lauper, Meg White (of The White Stripes), Salt-N-Pepa and Carol Kaye to that list as part of the class of 2025.

How it works: To be eligible, an artist had to release their first official recording at least 25 years before induction.

• Each year, a committee of music industry bigwigs creates a ballot. Then a voting pool of more than 1,000 music historians, journalists and previous inductees selects the honorees.

💭 Troy's thought bubble: This is all, of course, subjective. However, I can't see how Carey isn't more deserving than 2025 inductees like Chubby Checker, The White Stripes or Bad Company.

• One argument against Carey would come from rock purists who think the Hall should exclusively honor guitar-driven music. But that didn't stop Outkast from earning induction this year.

What's next: Carey has been eligible since 2016. History suggests she will be inducted, but will likely wait longer than her male counterparts.

By the numbers: Of the 56 acts that have been first-ballot Hall of Famers only six have included women.

• Believe it or not, acts like Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Ruth Brown, The Supremes, Fleetwood Mac, Joan Jett and Janet Jackson needed multiple nominations to earn induction.

The bottom line: Even if you're not a fan of Carey, it's shocking to think her lawyer, Allen Grubman, was inducted in 2022 while she still waits.