Mariah Carey & Wu-Tang Clan Nominated For Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame |

Diverse listing of nominees displays evolving rock music and influence on youth tradition.
10 artists are first-time nominees, together with Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, and Wu-Tang Clan.
Final choices shall be made by over 1,200 trade professionals and historians.

The 2026 nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have been introduced.

Source: James Devaney / Getty

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2026 nominees, and this yr’s listing is full of legends from each nook of music. Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Iron Maiden, Luther Vandross, and Shakira are among the many artists within the operating, representing each style from hip-hop and steel to R&B, Britpop, blues rock, and pop.

The Hall introduced 17 performer nominees on Wednesday, additionally naming Melissa Etheridge, Jeff Buckley, Pink, New Edition, Sade, and the Wu-Tang Clan as contenders.

Billy Idol and Joy Division/New Order are again on the poll after falling in need of induction final yr. Meanwhile, two famously feuding brother bands — The Black Crowes and Oasis — are as soon as once more up for consideration following current reunions.

Phil Collins, identified for classics like “In the Air Tonight” and “One More Night,” has gained eight Grammys, together with Album of the Year in 1985 for No Jacket Required. Lauryn Hill made historical past in 1999 when The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill grew to become the primary hip-hop album to win Album of the Year.

Mariah Carey, who was additionally nominated in 2024 and 2025, boasts 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Sade, one other returning nominee, scored comfortable rock favorites like “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo.”

The Wu-Tang Clan has been celebrated as hip-hop pioneers since their groundbreaking 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang. INXS dominated late-’80s radio with hits like “Need You Tonight,” “Devil Inside,” and “New Sensation.” Melissa Etheridge, a two-time Grammy winner, is greatest identified for “Come to My Window” and “I’m the Only One.”

Iron Maiden helped outline the brand new wave of British heavy steel with albums corresponding to The Number of the Beast. New Edition discovered success with songs like “Cool It Now” and “Candy Girl,” whereas Shakira has earned reward for mixing Latin sounds with pop and rock. Pink, in the meantime, has notched 4 No. 1 singles and three chart-topping albums, together with The Truth About Love.

Ten of this yr’s nominees are first-time contenders: Buckley, Collins, Etheridge, Hill, INXS, New Edition, Pink, Shakira, Vandross, and the Wu-Tang Clan.

Luther Vandross, who bought greater than 25 million albums and recorded hits like “Here and Now” and “Any Love,” handed away in 2005. Jeff Buckley, whose debut album Grace stays extremely regarded, died in 1997.

“This numerous listing of proficient nominees acknowledges the ever-evolving faces and sounds of Rock & Roll and its continued influence on youth tradition,” mentioned John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, per Rolling Stone.

The class of 2026 shall be introduced in April. That reveal may also embody honorees in three particular classes: Musical Influence, Musical Excellence, and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.

To be eligible, artists should have launched their first industrial recording not less than 25 years in the past. Final choices shall be made by a voting physique of greater than 1,200 artists, historians, and music trade professionals.

Last yr, 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 had been all inducted.