Arts & Culture

Rock Hall Announces Class of 2026: Phil Collins, Sade, Wu-Tang Clan, Oasis, More

On Monday, the Cleveland museum announced its latest batch of inductees, in a segment on American Idol.

by Annie Nickoloff | Apr. 13, 2026 | 9:10 PM

Courtesy Erik Drost, via Flickr

Courtesy Erik Drost, via Flickr

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2026 includes a variety of music-makers who defined far-ranging sounds. The new inductees were announced in a Rock Hall-themed episode of American Idol on Monday night.

Metalheads, rejoice: Iron Maiden, considered a longtime Rock Hall snub, finally gets inducted into the museum on its third nomination, in the performer category. After its successful 2025 reunion, Britpop band Oasis also gets in on its third nomination, and so does new-wave band Joy Division and its continuation in New Order, which will both be inducted as one group.

Other inductees in the performer category include jazzy R&B group Sade, “Rebel Yell” rocker Billy Idol, hip-hop icons Wu-Tang Clan and soul singer Luther Vandross. Phil Collins, who in the Rock Hall’s 2026 fan vote earned the second-most votes (900,825), will be inducted as a solo artist after being inducted as a member of Genesis in 2010. 

Despite dominating the Rock Hall’s 2026 fan vote with more than a million (1,022,683) votes, R&B group New Edition won’t be inducted this year. Neither will P!nk, who came in third place, nor Shakira, who was in fourth place.

Beyond the performer category, the Rock Hall is inducting even more musicians and industry professionals in other categories. In the Early Influence Award, Afrobeat trailblazer Fela Kuti, rap pioneer MC Lyte, country-rock musician Gram Parsons, rapper and actress Queen Latifah and Cuban singer Celia Cruz will be inducted.

Several record producers will be inducted in the Musical Excellence Award category: Def Jam founder Rick Rubin, Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller, longtime Atlantic Records producer Arif Mardin and Philadelphia soul producer Linda Creed. TV host Ed Sullivan, host of the long-running variety program The Ed Sullivan Show, earns the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

“Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is music's highest honor. We look forward to celebrating these remarkable artists at this year’s ceremony,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in a news release. “It’s going to be an unforgettable night.”

Unlike past induction ceremony cycles, which have brought the Rock Hall inductions to Cleveland every other year, the Rock Hall 2026 Induction Ceremony takes place at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Nov. 14. In 2027, the ceremony is slated to return to Cleveland, after three years away. The ceremony will also be shown in December on ABC and Disney+.

See the full list of 2026 inductees below:

Performer Category:

  • Phil Collins

  • Billy Idol

  • Iron Maiden

  • Joy Division/New Order

  • Oasis

  • Sade

  • Luther Vandross

  • Wu-Tang Clan

Early Influence Award:

  • Celia Cruz

  • Fela Kuti

  • Queen Latifah

  • MC Lyte

  • Gram Parsons

Musical Excellence Award:

  • Linda Creed

  • Arif Mardin

  • Jimmy Miller   

  • Rick Rubin

Ahmet Ertegun Award:

  • Ed Sullivan

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Annie Nickoloff

Annie Nickoloff is the senior editor of Cleveland Magazine. She has written for a variety of publications, including The Plain Dealer, Alternative Press Magazine, Belt Magazine, USA Today and Paste Magazine. She hosts a weekly indie radio show called Sunny Day on WRUW FM 91.1 Cleveland and enjoys frequenting Cleveland's music venues, hiking trails and pinball arcades.

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