Various musical acts were on the highly-anticipated list of nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when it was announced the morning of Feb. 10.
This year’s nominees are Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Iron Maiden, Kate Bush, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Fela Kuti, Todd Rundgren, Dionne Warwick, Foo Fighters, Chaka Khan, Carole King, Devo, LL Cool J and Tina Turner. If inducted this year, Tina Turner, Carole King and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters will become twice-inducted performers.
New wave band The Go-Go’s, known for their 1981 hit “We Got The Beat,” were also nominated this year, with many fans of the band deeming the nomination long overdue. Bassist Kathy Valentine took to Twitter to express her excitement about finally being nominated.
Several fans were happy to find out that there were quite a few female artists nominated for a possible spot, as women make up less than 8% of the entire Hall of Fame according to a Loyola Marymount University gender representation analysis led by Evelyn McDonnell. This had been the case for a time span of over 34 years.
Inducted artists even took it upon themselves to bring awareness to the matter. During Janet Jackson’s 2019 induction speech, she used her platform while on stage to speak about the low percentage.
“Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, please: 2020, induct more women,” Jackson said.
Stevie Nicks, Nine Inch Nail frontman Trent Reznor and members of Radiohead have also expressed their contempt for the hall in the past.
In order to be considered, ballots with the names of nominees are sent to thousands of musical historians, artists and experts. The artist’s career length, creativity, technique and musical influence plays a huge part in this process. An artist must also have released their first commercial recording 25 years before the year they were nominated.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was going to induct the 2020 class on May 2 last year, but due to the pandemic that ceremony was postponed. Instead it was broadcast live for the first time on HBO on Nov. 7. This year, the ceremony will take place in-person in Cleveland, Ohio and the inductees will be announced later this year in May.
The public will get to decide on who makes the hall. Fans will be able to vote for up to five nominees at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland or on the hall’s website every day until April 30.
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