As is the case every year, when the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are announced, a debate is open who deserves and who doesn’t to be on that list. Of course, the same debate will open as the 2026 RRHF list is now announced.
This year, the Hall has recognized 17 acts, and 10 of those names are being put forward for the first time. Coming up for the first time are Jeff Buckley, the Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross, Pink, Shakira, INXS, New Edition, Melissa Etheridge, and solo Phil Collins.
The other seven nominees were 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.
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.
Here’s this year’s 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
