Rock Hall names Class of 2026

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2026 performer class includes Phil Collins, Oasis, Sade, Iron Maiden and Wu-Tang Clan. (rockhall.com) Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order and Luther Vandross round out the eight performer inductees announced Monday night on “American Idol.” The induction ceremony is set for November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will air later in December on American Broadcasting Company and Disney+. (rockhall.com / billboard.com) The Hall also named five early influence honorees — Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons — plus four musical excellence recipients: Linda Creed, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin. Ed Sullivan will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award. (rockhall.com / wkyc.com) The performer ballot started with 17 nominees, and voters from the music industry weighed that field alongside a public fan vote. The Hall says artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. (rockhall.com / rockhall.com) That process again produced a split between fan enthusiasm and the final class. New Edition finished first in the fan vote with 280,725 ballots, ahead of Phil Collins and Billy Idol, but did not make the performer class. (rockhall.com / wkyc.com) Several of this year’s inductees got in after repeat appearances on the ballot. Billboard reported that Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis and Sade were all returning nominees, while Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan were on the ballot for the first time. (billboard.com / wsbtv.com) Collins is already in the Hall as a member of Genesis, and this induction brings him in as a solo artist. Joy Division and New Order are being honored together, linking the post-punk band and the group that formed after singer Ian Curtis died in 1980. (rockhall.com / britannica.com) The Hall has recently used “American Idol” as its reveal platform, and this is the third straight year the inductee announcement aired on the program. The ceremony itself will stay in Los Angeles rather than Cleveland, where the museum is based. (billboard.com / wkyc.com) The next public marker is November 14, when a class that mixes classic rock radio staples, British post-punk, quiet-storm soul and Staten Island rap takes the stage in Los Angeles. (rockhall.com / variety.com)