YEAR
2023
INDUCTED BY
Andrew Ridgeley
CATEGORY
Performers
A powerful force with singular talent, George Michael fought for creative freedom and penned enduring hits that lived up to his ambitions.
HALL OF FAME
ESSAY
By Annie Zaleski
In April 1992, George Michael performed several songs with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, a sold-out event that drew 72,000 people to Wembley Stadium. Michael was no stranger to the massive venue: Six years before, his eighties pop group Wham! had performed their emotional final concert at the same place. This time, however, Michael was honoring Mercury by commanding the stage with the yearning rocker “Somebody to Love.” Rehearsal footage of his performance is stunning. Michael sings full-tilt like he’s already in front of the Wembley crowd: nailing every syllable with graceful aplomb; landing the soaring high notes without breaking a sweat; and air-drumming along with every punchy beat from Queen’s Roger Taylor.