The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame would seriously have to consider doing away with fan voting if the ballot actually mattered. Thankfully, the Hall likely knew when they started having a fan vote that things would get weird, kind of like having New Edition win in 2026.
The R&B boyband leads by nearly 100,000 votes with a week left before voting ends on April 3. Should they be victorious, they would follow the 2025 winner, Phish, in leading musicians, music historians, and record company executives to ask, "What the heck are fans thinking?"
That must be the case because while jam-band Phish won the fan vote last year, they weren't inducted. In fact, they weren't even on the 2026 ballot. They shouldn't be. The band has had a bunch of successful tours, not many commercially appreciated albums, and hasn't been extremely influential on young bands.
New Edition leads the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote with one week left
Selling albums and singles does matter, but that isn't everything that does. That is why Phish not being more impactful in all the other aspects means they aren't worthy of induction. New Edition, on the other hand, is only somewhat successful in moving units of music.
Moreover, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should be about just what it implies: Rock music. New Edition is not a rock band, so why they were even on the ballot is not clear. They weren't influential and weren't long-lasting. Someone on the nomination board must simply be a big fan.
2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote as of March 26:
- 1. New Edition - 789,347
- 2. Phil Collins - 697,803
- 3. P!NK - 642,512
- 4. Luther Vandross - 566,431
- 5. INXS - 492,453
- 6. Sade - 482,270
- 7. Billy Idol - 461,142
- 8. Wu-Tang Clan - 459,997
- 9. Shakira - 450,825
- 10. Mariah Carey - 396,859
- 11. Lauryn Hill - 366,893
- 12. Iron Maiden - 309,535
- 13. Melissa Etheridge - 297,175
- 14. The Black Crowes - 213,657
- 15. Oasis - 207,699
- 16. Joy Division/New Order - 181,053
- 17. Jeff Buckley - 135,078
As far as those trailing New Edition, several should be inducted. Phil Collins is a no-brainer. Iron Maiden should be too, though the Hall seems not to like one of the more important wings of the genre: Heavy metal. Maiden has done massive tours, sold loads of albums, and has obviously influenced a slew of important metal bands.
All of the fan votes will be collected into one ballot that will be grouped with as many as 1,200 other ballots from other musicians, record executives, and rock historians. Those ballots will hopefully have a bit more of an intellectual approach than the fan vote.