This 12 months marks Lauryn Hill’s first time showing on the Rock Corridor shortlist.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Photographs
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Kevin Mazur/Getty Photographs
The Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame introduced the shortlist for its 2026 class of inductees on Wednesday. The shortlist features a Nineteen Nineties pop diva, heavy steel pioneers and a legendary R&B singer and producer. Though ten of the 17 nominees are being thought-about for the primary time, not one of the artists on the record are newly eligible for the popularity. In keeping with the Rock Corridor’s pointers, artists should be at the very least 25 years out from the discharge of their first industrial recording to be eligible for induction. Official inductees can be revealed in April.
Right here is the complete shortlist of nominees for the 2026 class:
The Black Crowes
The Southern blues revival band led by brothers Chris and Wealthy Robinson seem on the record for the second consecutive 12 months. After many years of fixing lineups and breakups, the Georgia-born brothers reunited each within the studio and on the street in recent times. The band’s tenth studio album, A Pound of Feathers, can be launched on March 13.
Jeff Buckley
The Los Angeles session musician turned New York Metropolis cult icon solely launched one studio album in his lifetime, however he left a long-lasting legacy for his emotive lyricism and fluid vocal vary. Buckley, who died in 1997 whereas engaged on his second album, seems on the Rock Corridor shortlist for the primary time.
Mariah Carey
It is protected to say the Rock Corridor is obsessive about Mariah Carey — 2026 marks her third consecutive 12 months nominated for induction. One of the crucial emblematic voices in pop, with over a dozen primary hits, Carey’s reign over the Billboard charts continues each vacation season.
Phil Collins
From prog rock drummer to pop rock frontman, Phil Collins is among the most commercially profitable artists in music historical past. Having already been inducted into the Rock Corridor as a member of Genesis in 2010, this nomination acknowledges Collins’ enduring impression as a solo singer and songwriter.
Melissa Etheridge
Along with her signature vocal model and evocative storytelling, Etheridge has been breaking boundaries in rock and roll for many years. A queer icon and staunch advocate for LGBTQ and environmental causes, the first-time Rock Corridor nominee has lengthy woven activism into her musical legacy, which incorporates hit songs like “Convey Me Some Water” and “Come to My Window.”
Lauryn Hill
It is arduous to overstate Lauryn Hill‘s impression on hip-hop and neo soul, each as a member of the Fugees and as a solo artist. The primary rapper to ever win a Grammy for album of the 12 months in 1999 for her paradigm-shifting album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she continues to be one of the crucial influential but elusive figures in popular culture. This 12 months marks her first time showing on the Rock Corridor shortlist.
Billy Idol
A key determine of the second British invasion, fueled by the rise of MTV within the ’80s, the bleach-blond rock star seems on the Rock Corridor shortlist for the second consecutive 12 months. Identified for hits like “Dancing with Myself,” “Insurgent Yell” and “White Marriage ceremony,” Idol continues to extensively tour around the globe.
INXS
After in depth touring, a number of studio albums and an help from Nile Rodgers, the Australian band broke out internationally within the Eighties with songs like “Authentic Sin,” “Want You Tonight” and “Satan Inside.” Following lead singer Michael Hutchence’s dying in 1997, the band continued performing with a rotating roster of vocalists till 2012. That is the primary time they seem on the Rock Corridor induction shortlist.
Iron Maiden
Because the Eighties, the heavy steel band has been redefining rock and roll with anthemic storytelling, full-throttle instrumentation and a high-caliber recording output. With dozens of studio and dwell albums, ongoing stadium excursions and a multi-generational fanbase, 2026 marks Iron Maiden’s third nomination for Rock Corridor induction.
Pleasure Division/New Order
One other English group that seems on the shortlist for the third time this 12 months is the consolidated entry for Pleasure Division and New Order. Each bands featured guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Pleasure Division’s post-punk sound, which featured the baritone vocals of Ian Curtis, gave technique to New Order’s extra digital and dance-driven rhythms within the Eighties membership scene.
New Version
Fashioned in Boston in 1978, New Version set the customary for what trendy boy bands may look and sound like. With R&B hits like “Sweet Woman,” “Cool It Now” and “Mr. Phone Man,” the quintet’s unique lineup and later vocalist Johnny Gill are all first-time nominees for Rock Corridor induction.
Oasis
Oasis, the Britpop group led by the famously feuding brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, are shortlisted for the third 12 months in a row. Final 12 months, the brothers put apart their beef for a cross-Atlantic reunion tour that briefly broke Ticketmaster.
P!NK
With the discharge of her first solo album in 2000, P!NK broke the mould of turn-of-the-millenium woman pop stardom. Her biting lyrics, punk-fueled perspective and R&B infused sound led to many years of business success. That is her first 12 months nominated for Rock Corridor induction; of the artists on the 2026 shortlist, she’s the one who most not too long ago grew to become eligible for the popularity.
Sade
The English band named after lead vocalist Sade Adu modified the sonic panorama of the Eighties and ’90s with its mix of jazz, soul and R&B. The velvety, intimate high quality of Sade’s music echoes throughout generations of artists, from Drake to Adele, and has earned a second nomination for Rock Corridor induction.
Shakira
The Colombian punk rock princess turned international pop star has shapeshifted and reinvented her sound for over three many years, all whereas remaining one of the crucial recognizable and admired voices in Latin music. For over a 12 months, she’s been touring her newest album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, around the globe — broadly thought-about her comeback file after just a few years away from the highlight, this new period probably helped land Shakira a first-time nomination for Rock Corridor induction.
Luther Vandross
Along with working as a producer for A-listers like Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, Luther Vandross grew to become an R&B and soul legend for the sheer energy of his personal voice starting within the Eighties. With over a dozen studio albums, he is influenced a brand new era of stars together with Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and most not too long ago, Kendrick Lamar. Vandross is a first-time Rock Corridor induction nominee.
Wu-Tang Clan
The Rock Corridor has made a concerted effort to broaden the definition of rock icons in previous years, significantly on the subject of hip-hop — so it is no surprise Wu-Tang Clan is within the operating. What’s extra curious is why it is taken so lengthy for the New York powerhouse to seem on the record for the primary time, given the group’s particular person and collective output over the past three many years plus.
