Music icons Pink, Mariah Carey, Shakira and Billy Idol are among 17 nominees announced by the Rock Hall for inclusion
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled its 17 nominees for the 2026 class, showcasing a genre-spanning roster that reflects pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop and crossover influences. The list includes Shakira, Pink, Lauryn Hill, Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Mariah Carey, The Black Crowes, Melissa Etheridge, INXS, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, New Edition, Oasis, Sade, and Wu-Tang Clan.
Ten of these artists are first-time nominees, including Buckley, Collins, Etheridge, Hill, INXS, New Edition, Pink, Shakira, Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan. Returning nominees making another bid include the Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, and Sade. Notably, Pink is eligible for the Hall for the first time, having debuted in 2000 with her album ‘Can’t Take Me Home’.
While some fans may note a relative recency bias, most first-time nominees launched their careers in the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000, others are likely to applaud the diversity. Only about half the nominees fall strictly within rock, while the rest span pop, Latin crossover, R&B, and hip-hop. Phil Collins is already an inductee with Genesis, and Jeff Buckley is among the rare artists considered with just one album, his 1994 release ‘Grace,’ before his untimely death in 1997.
The voting will take place over the next two months by the Hall’s 1,200 voters, with the results announced in April.
Additional inductees may be named through special committees for Musical Influence, Musical Excellence, and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award. This year’s nominees reflect the Hall’s ongoing mission to honour both iconic rock acts and influential artists across multiple genres.
The RRHOF Foundation was established in 1983 by Ahmet Ertegun, who assembled a team that included publisher of Rolling Stone magazine Jann Wenner, record executives Seymour Stein, Bob Krasnow, and Noreen Woods, and attorneys Allen Grubman and Suzan Evans.
The Foundation began inducting artists in 1986, but the Hall of Fame still had no home. The search committee considered several cities, including Philadelphia (home to rock pioneer Bill Haley and American Bandstand); Memphis, Tennessee (home of Sun Studios and Stax Records); Detroit (home of Motown Records); Cincinnati, Ohio (home of King Records); New York City; and Cleveland.
Cleveland lobbied for the museum, with civic leaders in Cleveland pledging $65 million in public money to fund the construction, and citing that WJW disc jockey Alan Freed both coined the term “rock and roll” and heavily promoted the new genre, and that Cleveland was the location of Freed’s Moondog Coronation Ball, which is often credited as the first major rock and roll concert. Freed was also a member of the hall of fame’s inaugural class of inductees in 1986.
In addition, Cleveland cited radio station WMMS, which played a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s, including David Bowie, who began his first U.S. tour in the city, Bruce Springsteen, Roxy Music, and Rush, among many others.
During early discussions on where to build the Hall of Fame and Museum, the Foundation’s board considered a site along the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland. Ultimately, the chosen location was along East Ninth Street in downtown by Lake Erie, east of Cleveland Stadium.
At one point in the planning phase, when a financing gap existed, planners proposed locating the Rock Hall in the then-vacant May Company Building but finally decided to commission architect I. M. Pei to design a new building. Initial CEO Larry R. Thompson facilitated I. M. Pei in designs for the site. Pei came up with the idea of a tower with a glass pyramid protruding from it.
Pei initially planned the tower to be 200 feet (61 m) high, but was forced to reduce it to 162 feet (49 m) due to the structure’s proximity to Burke Lakefront Airport. The building’s base is approximately 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2).
