Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Iron Maiden, Luther Vandross and Shakira are some the 2026 nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a wide net that includes rap, metal, R&B, hip-hop, Britpop, blues rock and pop.
The hall revealed the list of 17 performer nominees Wednesday, a list that also includes Melissa Etheridge, Jeff Buckley, Pink, New Edition, Sade and the Wu-Tang Clan.
Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order return to the nominations after missing induction last year. The list this time also repeats two sets of musical brothers who have had public feuds and recent reunions – The Black Crowes and Oasis.
Collins, with such hits as In the Air Tonight and One More Night, has earned eight Grammys, including album of the year in 1985 for No Jacket Required. Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill made history as the first hip-hop album to win the Grammy for album of the year in 1999.
Carey, nominated in 2024 and 2025, has had 19 No 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, while soul-jazz vocalist Sade, also nominated in 2024, had soft-rock hits such as Smooth Operator and The Sweetest Taboo. The Wu-Tang Clan have been hailed as rap innovators since their gamechanging 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang.
INXS ruled the late 1980s charts with hits like Need You Tonight, Devil Inside and New Sensation. Two-time Grammy winner Etheridge is best known for her songs Come to My Window and I’m the Only One. Iron Maiden helped power the new wave of British heavy metal with iconic albums like The Number of the Beast.
New Edition had the hits Cool It Now and Candy Girl, while Shakira has been lauded for her ability to bridge Latin music with rock and pop. Pink has had four No 1 songs and three No 1 albums, including The Truth About Love.
Ten of the 17 nominees are on the ballot for the first time: Buckley, Collins, Etheridge, Hill, INXS, New Edition, Pink, Shakira, Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan.
Vandross, who sold more than 25m albums and had the hits Here and Now and Any Love, died in 2005. Buckley, whose 1994 debut album Grace is widely acclaimed, died in 1997.
“This diverse list of talented nominees recognizes the ever-evolving faces and sounds of Rock & Roll and its continued impact on youth culture,” John Sykes, chair of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement.
The 2026 inductees will be revealed in April, along with inductees entering the hall under three special committee categories: musical influence, musical excellence and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. Nominees will be voted on by more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals.
Last year, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Soundgarden, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Carol Kaye, Nicky Hopkins, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell and Warren Zevon all were inducted.