The august institution known as the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has unveiled the nominees eligible for induction in 2026. This year the Hall has recognized 17 acts, and 10 of those names are being put forward for the first time. Jeff Buckley, the Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross, Pink, Shakira, INXS, New Edition, Melissa Etheridge, and solo Phil Collins will all get their first crack at Hall Of Fame status.
Those artists join seven acts who have been nominated and passed over in previous years: Oasis, Iron Maiden, Mariah Carey, Sade, Billy Idol, the Black Crowes, and the combination of Joy Division and New Order. It's the third nomination for Oasis, Iron Maiden, Carey, and Joy Division/New Order. The Black Crowes and Idol were first-time nominees last year, and Sade the year before.
The Hall Of Fame has a long-established habit of nominating acts who are in the middle of resurgences — the Kate Bush/Stranger Things effect — and Jeff Buckley certainly qualifies this year, as the late wunderkind is currently all over TikTok. The Oasis boom is still happening. The late Luther Vandross, prominently sampled on Kendrick Lamar and SZA's gigantic 2025 hit "Luther," probably also qualifies on that level. Maybe the same is true of Iron Maiden after the great needledrop in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, but that's probably a reach. Perhaps it's more relevant that the metal icons are on a big 50th anniversary world tour.
Phil Collins is already in the Hall Of Fame as a member of Genesis, so he could become a two-timer. At 75, he's this year's oldest nominee. Lauryn Hill is not in the Hall Of Fame as a member of the Fugees; they've never been nominated. It's great to consider the prospect of the entire Wu-Tang Clan getting in there, especially if they add in all the offshoots like Sunz Of Man and Wu-Tang Killa Beez. At the very least, Cappadonna better get his name on the plaque.
One might argue that New Edition are the first straight-up boy band ever to be nominated, though they really serve more as a bridge between classic R&B vocal groups and the teen sensations who followed them. You could argue that Pink and Shakira are the first true nominated representatives of the TRL generation, though I guess 2022 inductee Eminem really holds that distinction.
Artists are eligible for nomination 25 years after releasing their first recordings, so the Hall Of Fame is theoretically open for business to anyone who released a debut album in 2001. That means there are no first-eligibility-year inductees here, though Pink and Shakira come the closest. Shakira's first English-language album Laundry Service came out in 2001, while Pink's debut Can't Take Me Home came out in 2000.
Ready to talk about some snubs? The Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gorillaz, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, and technically solo J Dilla all released debuts in 2001. (Lots of other people did, too, but Scott didn't want me talking about Liars and Cannibal Ox as HOF contenders.) Those folks will have to wait longer for official recognition, but they're in good company: Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Smashing Pumpkins are some of the many influential bands who've still never been nominated. Phish and Maná were nominated last year but not this year. Phish even won the online Fan Vote by a wide margin, but that wasn't enough to get them into the Hall Of Fame since that vote counts as only one ballot among more than a thousand.
Here's this year's full bullet-pointed list of nominees:
• The Black Crowes
• Jeff Buckley
• Mariah Carey
• Phil Collins
• Melissa Etheridge
• Lauryn Hill
• Billy Idol
• INXS
• Iron Maiden
• Joy Division/New Order
• New Edition
• Oasis
• Pink
• Sade
• Shakira
• Luther Vandross
• Wu-Tang Clan
Liam Gallagher famously responded to Oasis' 2024 nomination by tweeting, "Fuck the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS," but Oasis would be far from the only band to diss the institution and then get in. Likewise, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson has called the Hall "an utter and complete load of bollocks" and in 2023 said he didn't want to be inducted. Two years ago Mariah Carey lamented, "My lawyer got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before me," referring to Allen Grubman, who received the Ahmet Ertegun Award. (Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner protested that induction in 2022, then was removed from the board himself the following year.)
This year's inductees will be announced in April, with the induction ceremony following in the fall. Fan voting is now open at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's site.
