The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote for the 2026 class is done. Next will come the actual announcement of the inductees, likely at the end of April. One who truly loves rock music should hope the true inductees don't mirror the fan vote.
For the second straight year, online fans have voted an unworthy artist at the top spot. In 2025, that was Phish. The others involved in the induction process, which include musicians, music historians, and record company executives, chose not to induct Phish, and rightfully so.
Not that the band makes bad music because it doesn't. Phish simply has been artistically or commercially successful enough (either one might make an artist worthy of induction) on a global scale to be worthy of being enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Fan vote for the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class is disapoointing
The same can be said of boyband New Edition, who led the vote-getters in 2026. New Edition wasn't without talent, of course. If that were the case, they wouldn't have even been nominated for possible induction. But having four top-10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and just one on the UK charts, doesn't scream Rock Hall enshrinement.
More importantly, New Edition wasn't a rock band. At times, it seems as if the decision-makers of the Hall forget which genre they are honoring.
The hope is that in 2026, musical artists like Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, and Oasis make the cut. Collins almost certainly will. The other three are more iffy, though leaving Maiden out is criminal. They weren't just commercially successful, but extremely influential as well.
The fan vote for the 2026 Rock Hall class ended on April 3, the results of which you can see below.
Final results from 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class fan vote:
- 1. New Edition - 1,022,683
- 2. Phil Collins - 900,825
- 3. P!NK - 852,581
- 4. Shakira - 738,034
- 5. Luther Vandross - 732,747
- 6. INXS - 645,021
- 7. Sade - 622,997
- 8. Wu-Tang Clan - 610,083
- 9. Billy Idol - 601,061
- 10. Mariah Carey - 503,549
- 11. Lauryn Hill - 472,708
- 12. Iron Maiden - 395,281
- 13. Melissa Etheridge - 387,393
- 14. The Black Crowes - 277,769
- 15. Oasis - 259,942
- 16. Joy Division/New Order - 229,862
- 17. Jeff Buckley - 171,146
Of the list above, Buckley and Joy Division + New Order are unlikely to get in, though the latter is certainly worthy. For the others, music fans have to wait and see.