By “Tampa” Earl Burton
Last night on the bloated carcass that is called American Idol (more on this in a moment), the Class of 2026 for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was announced. You could call it a “cleaning out the closet” moment for the now 40-year-old institution, as many problematic issues were addressed with the inductions. Seriously, however, the Chairman of the Hall, John Sykes, and the Board of Directors need to be put in check; it’s time to rein in these monstrous classes before the induction into the Hall is diluted to nothing.
Here are my thoughts after last night’s announcement, and we will get to the inductees at the end:
EIGHTEEN INDUCTEES?? SERIOUSLY??
The nomination class for 2026 was already bloated with seventeen selections, but Sykes and Company weren’t happy with that. They then went and named EIGHTEEN inductees to make a mockery of the inductions completely. It is going to be difficult enough to get the Class of 2026 into a four-hour show come this November, but going beyond that, it is a dilution of the honor of being inducted.
Yes, I know there have been oversights, some of which were addressed in this induction class. But I have always erred on the side of QUALITY over QUANTITY, and the Sykes Hall has completely blown the quality end of the spectrum out of the water. Since Sykes took over in 2020, 95 inductees have been named, averaging roughly 13 per year. THAT is even too many for a quality class to be established.
What’s With The “Side Door?”
Look, I am cool with the inductions of Rick Rubin, Gram Parsons, Queen Latifah, and Fela Kuti through the Musical Excellence (Rubin) and Musical Influence pathways (and Sykes…can we make up our minds on whether it is the MUSICAL Influence or the EARLY Influence? Thank you!), but these were not meant to be ways of circumventing the will of the Voting Membership. With some of these “side door” entries, I had to pause and look them up (and they were worthy of induction, to be honest).
Oh, and Ed Sullivan for the Ahmet Ertegun Award? Well, since he’s dead, it will be a quick induction.
Overall a Worthy Induction Class
With the Performer inductees, overall I am OK with the selections. Of the eight inductions (and that is one of my missteps; I have always held that the Performer class should be seven, but they decided to go one more this year), I got five of them correct (I’ll indicate my choices when I list the inductees). I missed Billy Idol, Sade, and Oasis, and I’m not particularly upset with missing in that manner.
I am also not upset with who DIDN’T get in. I imagine that Mariah Carey was smashing crystal around her mansion last night, as she was bypassed for the third time. I am also not upset with the exclusion of INXS and New Edition, two first-time nominees in 2026. In the Hall’s history, over 400 individuals have been inducted, and only 45 (roughly 10%) were inducted on their first nomination (excluding the Hall’s first year). INXS and New Edition fans are just going to have to learn a cruel lesson about the Hall…you do not usually get in on your first nomination. The trick will be earning a second nomination in 2027 or beyond.
The Hall Doesn’t Need American Idol
For the past three years, if my memory is correct, the announcement of the Induction Classes has been a part of the ABC television show American Idol. This program, at one point, was appointment television for U.S. music fans, and it has given us some talented stars, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson, to name a few. The current incarnation of AI has unfortunately become a bloated carcass of its former self, and the Hall doesn’t need to be a part of it.
For their “Hall of Fame Show,” the “talent” (a stretch of the word if ever there was one) was teamed with Hall of Famers Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, who tutored them through their musical choices. First, these “singers” probably had no fucking clue who Benatar and Giraldo were (one even said “Oh, now I see why you’re Hall of Famers.” That’s right, you insignificant grub, they were making music when you weren’t even a gleam in your father’s eye), and they didn’t exactly take to mentoring from two legends who did not need this hassle. To put it bluntly, the AI contestants were cookie-cutter lame and didn’t do a bit of service towards the Hall.
John Sykes? Take the inductions back to SiriusXM, where you would announce them in the morning and then spend the remainder of the day debating the choices, talking with the inductees, and generally making a spectacle of the announcement of the Induction Class, rather than the mockery that American Idol makes of it. Besides, Ryan Seacrest is already annoying enough – I’d rather not see him get his grimy claws into the Hall.
As promised, here are your inductions for 2026 to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. May sanity take control in 2027!
PERFORMERS
Phil Collins*
Billy Idol
Iron Maiden*
Joy Division/New Order*
Oasis
Sade
Luther Vandross*
Wu-Tang Clan*
(* – my choices for induction)
MUSICAL INFLUENCE
Celia Cruz
Fela Kuti
Queen Latifah
MC Lyte
Gram Parsons
MUSICAL EXCELLENCE
Linda Creed
Arif Mardin
Jimmy Miller
Rick Rubin
AHMET ERTEGUN AWARD
Ed Sullivan
- An ‘Outta Control’ Night: Nonpoint Powers Aggressive Rock Show in Tampa - April 29, 2026
- Class of 2026 for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Cleaning Out the Closet - April 14, 2026
- Chatting with Canadian metal band The Fixer - April 2, 2026
