INXSThey’re one of Australia’s most loved bands, and for the first time, INXS have been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Overnight (25 February), the Rock Hall revealed the list of 17 performer nominees for induction, with artists spanning rock, metal, hip-hop, pop, R&B, Britpop, and blues.
Ten of the 17 nominees are on the list for the first time – along with INXS, fellow debutants include Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins, Pink, Wu-Tang Clan, Shakira, Melissa Etheridge, Luther Vandross, New Edition, and Lauryn Hill.
While Phil Collins is a first-time nominee as a solo artist, he was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame with Genesis in 2010.
Meanwhile, the other seven have been nominated before and return to the ballot in 2026. Returning nominees include Iron Maiden, Oasis, Billy Idol, New Order and Joy Division (on the ballot together), Mariah Carey, The Black Crowes, and Sade.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote is now open.
The 2026 inductees will be announced in April, as well as additional inductees who will enter the Hall of Fame in the following special committee categories: Musical Excellence, Musical Influence, and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.
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To qualify for induction, artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they can be eligible for induction. Nominees will be decided via a panel of over 1,200 artists, music industry professionals, and historians.
“This diverse list of talented nominees recognises the ever-evolving faces and sounds of Rock & Roll and its continued impact on youth culture,” commented John Sykes, Chair of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, in a statement. “Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is music’s highest honour, and we look forward to celebrating the Class of 2026 this Fall.”
INXS’s Andrew Farriss said of the nomination (via Billboard), “I think everybody in the band is thrilled and excited to be nominated, and obviously we’re very much honoured to have something like that. It’s something, I guess, that goes into the history books, whatever they are.”
He continued, “I never started writing songs and playing music to be in a hall of fame; that’s not why I started doing it — but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I’m a little philosophical about all that; I think when something’s meant to happen, it’s going to happen in your life, whether you realise it or not.”
Last year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees included Soundgarden, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, OutKast, Carol Kaye, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Nicky Hopkins, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell and Warren Zevon.
