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Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Queen Latifah, Oasis, Sade and Joy Division/New Order will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, along with first-time nominees Wu-Tang Clan and the late Luther Vandross.
The list was revealed on Monday night’s airing of American Idol. Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. Nominees were voted on by more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals.
Soft rocker Collins, who is already in the hall as a member of Genesis, has had such solo hits as In the Air Tonight and One More Night, and has earned eight Grammys, including album of the year in 1985 for No Jacket Required. Collins got in the first time he appeared on the ballot.
Soul-jazz vocalist Sade, also nominated in 2024, had such soft rock hits as Smooth Operator and The Sweetest Taboo. The Wu-Tang Clan have been hailed as rap innovators since their game-changing 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
Iron Maiden, nominated twice before, helped power the new wave of British heavy metal with iconic albums like The Number of the Beast. Vandross, who sold more than 25 million albums and had the hits Here and Now and Any Love, died in 2005 and inspired Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s song Luther.
This year, the hall will open its arms to the sounds of Manchester, England, inducting post-punk pioneers Joy Division and New Order — which shared most of the same members — as well as Britpop’s recently reunited Oasis, led by Noel and Liam Gallagher. Idol, also English, has brought a punky sneer to pop with songs like White Wedding and Rebel Yell.
Nearly 17 years after their last Canadian performance, Oasis fans celebrated the reunion of the long-estranged Gallagher brothers in Toronto.
The induction will be held Nov. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. A TV presentation will air in December on ABC and Disney+. Next year, the ceremony will return to the hall’s home of Cleveland.
Special categories
In addition to the performer category, inductees entering the hall can arrive under three special committee categories: early influence, musical excellence and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.
The early influence award this year will honour Queen Latifah, Cuban singer Celia Cruz, Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, rapper MC Lyte and country rocker Gram Parsons. The musical excellence category will honour songwriter Linda Creed and producers Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin.
More than 50 years after his death, Ed Sullivan, the legendary host of his self-titled appointment-viewing TV show, will go into the hall with the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.
It’s a recognition of how important his Sunday night stage became as a launchpad for nearly every musical icon of the 1950s and ’60s and of how his show helped break racial barriers in American entertainment.
Not this year…
Those nominated this year but who came up short for the class of 2026 include Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Melissa Etheridge, Jeff Buckley, Pink, New Edition and Shakira.
Last year, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Carol Kaye, Nicky Hopkins, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell and Warren Zevon all were inducted.
