On this evening’s American Idol, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2026, and if you are wondering why they would announce it during American Idol, so are we.

Nevertheless, this is where the announcement came from, and let’s look at who comprises the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Inducted are:

Phil Collins:  Eligible since 2007, inducted on his first time on the ballot.  Already inducted as a member of Genesis, Collins enjoyed huge success as a solo artist with hits like “In the Air Tonight”, “I Missed Again”, “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “Against All Odds”, “Sussudio”, “Take Me Home”, and “A Groovy Kind of Love”.  Whether he was singing rock, pop, or blue-eyed soul, Collins was a permanent fixture on the music scene throughout the 1980s.  Collins has not been in the greatest health as of late, and it is good to see him earn this accolade.

Billy Idol:  Eligible since 2007, inducted on his second time on the ballot (was nominated in 2025).  Idol brought pop-punk to the forefront with songs like “White Wedding”, “Rebel Yell”, “Flesh for Fantasy”, and “Eyes Without a Face”.  While his career cooled off in the early 90s, his hits remained eternal.  Idol will be joined by his longtime guitarist, Steve Stevens, as an inductee.

Iron Maiden: Eligible since 2005, inducted on their third time on the ballot (was nominated in 2021 & 2023).  This was a long time coming for the heavy metal gods, but generally, they represent a genre that the Rock Hall generally looks down on.  The inducted members are Clive Burr, Paul Di’Anno, Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers, Steve Harris, Nicko McBrain, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Dennis Stratton & Blaze Bayley.   Wait, Eddie wasn’t inducted?

Joy Division/New Order: Eligible since 2004, inducted on their third time on the ballot (was nominated in 2021 & 2023).  When Joy Division’s lead singer, Ian Curtis, passed away, the rest of the band formed New Order, who leaned further into synth.  Arguably, either incarnation could get in on the strength of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Blue Monday” alone, and this is another case of why it took so long for them to get in.  The inducted members are Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris & Gillian Gilbert.

Oasis: Eligible since 2020, inducted on their third time on the ballot (was nominated in 2024 & 2025).  While Oasis did not have to wait as long as many of the other acts that entered, the leaders of the Brit-Pop movement had a case for immediate induction.  With international hits like “Supersonic”, “Champagne Supernova”, “Wonderwall”, and “Don’t Look Back”, Oasis at one time was the biggest band in the world.  The inducted members are Gem Archer, Paul Arthurs, Andy Bell, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher & Tony McCarroll.

Sade: Eligible since 2010, inducted on her second time on the ballot (was nominated in 2024).  Sade put out some of the most beautiful Neo-soul music of the 1980s, but bluntly, we are surprised that she was the only female act on the ballot to be voted in.  Her signature hits, “Smooth Operator”, “The Sweetest Taboo”, “Paradise”, and “No Ordinary Love” were hits on multiple charts.  Paul Denman, Andrew Hale & Stuart Matthewman were also inducted.

Luther Vandross: Eligible since 2007, inducted on his first time on the ballot.  Vandross was the king of the Quiet Storm era, and his voice provided the backdrop for many sensual moments.  He had seven number ones in the R&B Chart (“Never Too Much”, “Stop to Love”, “There’s Nothing Better Than Love”, “Any Love”, “Here and Now”, “Power of Love/Love Power”, “The Best Things in Life Are Free”, and he was easily one of the most successful R&B acts of the 1980s and early 90’s.  Sadly, he passed away in 2005.

Wu-Tang Clan: Eligible since 2018, inducted on their first time on the ballot.  Like Oasis, this should have been a first-year inductee.  The Wu-Tang Clan is credited with reviving the East Coast hip-hop scene and is considered by many to be the greatest collective of hip-hop talent ever assembled.  Arguably, their debut album, “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” is one of the most important albums ever released.  Inducted are RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa & Cappadonna.

The acts on the ballot that did not get in were:

The Black Crowes: Eligible since 2016, were also on the ballot in 2025.

Jeff Buckley: Eligible since 2019.

Mariah Carey: Eligible since 2016, was also on the ballot in 2024 & 2025.

Melissa Etheridge: Eligible since 2014.

Lauryn Hill: Eligible since 2023.

INXS: Eligible since 2006.

New Edition: Eligible since 2009.

Pink: Eligible since 2025.

Shakira: Eligible since 2016.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also inducted four new members in the Early Influence Category with Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons.  Kuti and Parsons are previous nominees.

The Hall also awarded Linda Creed, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin with the Musical Excellence Award.

Legendary talk show host Ed Sullivan enters the hall via the annual Ahmet Ertegun Award.

In June, we will revise the Notinhalloffame Rock and Roll list to reflect your votes, comments, and add in the acts who are eligible in 2027.

We here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate the incoming members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

At 6:00 AM this morning (why do they always do it this way?), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dropped their nominees for the Class of 2026.  As always, they did so with less than 24 hours’ notice (again, why do they always do it this way?), but nevertheless, chaos, in all forms of Hall of Fame-based institutions, is what we do here.

This year’s 17 acts span musical genres and generations.

The nominees are:

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

We will be discussing these nominees in greater detail on our network of shows.

We here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate the musicians nominated.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fane has announced the Finalists for the 2025 Class, and as always they did do in random fashion, with an announcement the day before that always changes.

The nominees are:

Bad Company.  Eligible since 2000, never nominated.  Ranked #23 on Notinhalloffame.com.  This is a long time coming for Paul Rodgers, whose band has huge support for the Rock Hall.

The Black Crowes.  Eligible since 2016, never nominated.  Ranked #240 on Notinhalloffame.com.  The Black Crowes netted their first nomination and were outliers in their time.

Chubby Checker.  Eligible since 1986, never nominated.  Ranked #280 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Nobody waited longer than Checker, who receives his first nomination after being eligible for the entire duration of the Hall’s existence.

Joe Cocker.  Eligible since 1995, never nominated.  Ranked #34 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Cocker is another who waited a long time to finally gain a nomination.

Billy Idol.  Eligible since 2007, never nominated.  Ranked #118 on Notinhalloffame.com.  The prince of pop-punk secures his first nomination after 18 years.

Mana.  Eligible since 2013, never nominated.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.  Who?   Bluntly, they were never on our radar but this Mexican group is massively popular and can fill to this day arenas across the United States. 

OutKast.  Eligible since 2019, never nominated.  Ranked #40 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Southern Hip Hop looks to enter the Hall for the first time, and who better than Outkast to spearhead it.

Phish.  Eligible since 2016, never nominated.  Ranked #131 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Could Phish become the next jam band to enter the Hall?

Mariah Carey.  Eligible since 2016, nominated in 2024.  Ranked #130 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Carey is on the ballot for the second straight year.

New Order/Joy Division.  Eligible since 2004, nominated in 2023.  Ranked separately on Notinhalloffame at #5 and #11 respectively.  The Hall is trying it again by combining the two groups.  This is not unprecedented as they indicted the Small Faces/The Faces together.

Cyndi Lauper:  Eligible since 2009, nominated in 2023.  Ranked #105 on Notinhalloffame.com. Lauper is nominated for the second time, and sees a ballot with only one other female act.

Oasis:  Eligible since 2024, nominated in 2024.  Ranked #3 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Oasis is on the ballot for the second straight year, and would that not be fun to hear a Gallagher brothers acceptance speech!

The White Stripes: Eligible since 2023, nominated in 2023.  Ranked #6 on Notinhalloffame.com.  Jack and Meg White return to the ballot, and look to be fixtures until they are inducted.

Soundgarden: Eligible since 2012, nominated in 2020 & 2023.  Ranked #19 on Notinhalloffame.com.  This is the third kick at the can for the Grunge act.

It is unknown when the Rock Hall will announce the 2025 Class, but we would like to congratulate those who were nominated.