Phil Collins, Wu-Tang Clan, Shakira and Luther Vandross are among the first-time nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday.
This year’s nominees also include Jeff Buckley, Lauryn Hill, New Edition and INXS. The list of nominated artists and bands, who become eligible 25 years after their first recording, continues the influx of rap acts since the first hip-hop candidate, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, in 2007. The inclusion of four female performers — Pink and Melissa Etheridge join Shakira and Hill as new nominees — is an uptick over the previous year, when no women were among the first-time picks and just two holdovers, Mariah Carey and Cyndi Lauper, made the list. Lauper was inducted last year.
Collins, 75, who made the Hall in 2010 as a member of the British rock band Genesis, is up for his work as a solo artist, having notched No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” and “Sussudio.” He has faced a litany of health problems which he detailed in a BBC interview in January. Collins said that he’d had five knee surgeries, experienced kidney issues that he said resulted from excessive drinking and had nerve damage to his hands after a 2007 spinal injury. He said he has been sober for two years and requires 24-hour live-in nursing care. Collins has not performed publicly since 2022, in an appearance with Genesis.
“Everything that could go wrong with me did go wrong with me,” he said.
If voted in, Wu-Tang Clan, the Staten Island rap group that emerged in the 1990s, would be the latest hip-hop group inducted to the hall. The female rap combo Salt-N-Pepa and the Atlanta rap duo Outkast were honored in November, following the induction of Public Enemy and N.W.A in previous years. Wu-Tang Clan concluded a residency in Las Vegas in 2024 and began a world tour last year.
In total, 10 of this year’s 17 nominees are on the ballot for the first time. Among the other returnees are Joy Division/New Order, Billy Idol and Iron Maiden. The inductees selected from this group will be announced in April.
Emmanuel Morgan reports on sports, pop culture and entertainment.
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