From Billy Idol to Wu-Tang Clan, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for the Class of 2026.
The Rock Hall announced 17 artists or groups who are vying for their place in the museum. Typically, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has 14 or 15 nominees, Billboard reported.
Of the group, 10 are first-time nominees, while seven have been nominated at least one time prior.
To be eligible for induction, artists can be nominated 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording.
A panel of more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals will select those who are eventually inducted. They will be announced in April, but the ceremony will be held in the fall, according to Billboard.
Fans can also cast their votes on who should be honored. Those votes will be aggregated and count as a single ballot in the final process.
Three other special committee categories will be announced in April, Variety reported.
Here are the nominees and the reason they’ve been nominated, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Billy Idol “brought the look and sound of punk rock to the masses, fusing rock’s raw energy with a crooner’s soul to create some of the most enduring hits of the 1980s and beyond,” the Hall of Fame wrote.
His biggest songs include: “Rebel Yell,” “Mony Mony,” “Dancing With Myself,” and “White Wedding.”
INXS combined rock, new wave and funk into an iconic 80s and 90s sound, “with Michael Hutchence’s magnetic presence elevating everything they touched.”
Their biggest hits include “Need You Tonight” and “New Sensation.”
Iron Maiden “built the template for how heavy metal should look, sound, and tour,” according to the Rock Hall.
Their hits include “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and “The Trooper.”
Jeff Buckley’s “four-octave vocal range, haunting melodies, and genre-defying artistry produced one of the most celebrated albums.” The Hall of Fame said his legacy continues through today.
His biggest songs are the cover of “Hallelujah” and “Last Goodbye.”
Joy Division/New Order “brought raw, literary urgency to Manchester’s post-punk underground — and when tragedy struck, the surviving members reinvented themselves as New Order and created the best-selling 12-inch single of all time," “Blue Monday.”
Lauryn Hill’s melded together hip-hop, R&B and neo-soul, showcasing her unique sound in her album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
Her biggest hits are “Doo Wop (That Thing)”, “Ex-Factor” and “Lost Ones.”
Luther Vandross “was the defining voice of his generation — a singer, songwriter, and producer whose gift for love songs and unparalleled vocal artistry made him one of the most beloved artists of all time," according to the Hall of Fame.
His biggest hits include “Never Too Much,” “Endless Love,” and “Stop to Love.”
Mariah Carey has 19 No. 1 hits. She can produce a five-octave range, with her signature voice and provides the soundtrack for the holiday season every year.
The Queen of Christmas is known for her songs “All I Want for Christmas is You” among other holiday songs, as well as “We Belong Together,” “Emotions,” and “Fantasy.”
Melissa Etheridge is a “raw, confessional songwriter and powerhouse guitarist” who “brought heartland rock’s emotional honesty to the mainstream,” according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Her hits include her breakthrough “Bring Me Some Water,” as well as “Come to My Window,” and “I’m the Only One.”
New Edition "took the Motown and Philly Soul blueprint, remixed it for a new generation," and inspired groups even now, the organization said.
Their biggest hits include “Cool It Now,” “Mr. Telephone Man” and “Can You Stand the Rain.”
Oasis “reclaimed big, anthemic rock & roll for a new generation, delivering songs so deeply felt they became the communal soundtrack of a nation,” the Hall of Fame said.
The band’s hits include “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”
P!NK‘s raw sound was a combination of rock and pop, while she puts on “a live show that remains unmatched.”
Her hits include “What About Us,” “Raise Your Glass” and “Get the Party Started,” along with a cover of “Lady Marmalade.”
Phil Collins is already in the Hall of Fame with his band Genesis, but as a solo artist, he still played the drums and sang songs he penned to help “shape the sound of popular music across five decades.”
His biggest solo hits include “In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds” and “One More Night.”
Sade, for four decades, “blended jazz, soul, and R&B into a sound entirely their own.”
Her biggest hits were “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo.”
Shakira took Latin fusion global to become “one of the most successful and culturally significant artists of her generation,” according to the Hall of Fame.
Her biggest hits are “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Try Everything” and “Whenever, Wherever.”
The Black Crowes brought back hard rock combined with Southern blues in some of their biggest hits, including “Hard to Handle” and “She Talks to Angels.”
Wu-Tang Clan “redefined what a hip-hop group could be — building a mythology, a movement, and a body of work that permanently changed the culture,” the Hall of Fame said.
The group’s biggest hits include “Triumph” and “Protect Ya Neck.”
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