The good, the bad and the ugly of the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee announcement:

The Good:

• The inductees! With this ballot it was impossible to make an induction class that wasn't going to be fantastic, but there are some special things about this group: Missy Elliott being the only first ballot black woman and the first female hip hop inductee; The Spinners finally getting over the hump; Rage Against the Machine injecting some much-needed rebelliousness; rewriting George Michael's legacy; honoring Willie Nelson while he's still active; and Sheryl Crow's positivity towards the institution.
• Link Wray's induction! When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame created the "Singles Category" in 2018 to honor significant songs from artists who weren't in the Hall of Fame, it felt like a consolation prize and a sign that those artists wouldn't be nominated as Performers eligible for induction. And up until now, that had held true. After nominations on the main ballot in 2014 and 2018, Link Wray was selected by the renamed "Musical Influence" committee to be a Hall of Famer this year. This opens up the potential for others who had previously been dismissed as candidates because of their Singles Category honor. It's also a direct consequence of the Hall of Fame's expanded use of the Special Categories to make up for oversights on the Performer ballot. The Hall of Fame had already thrown out the original definition of "Early Influence," which was intended to honor pre-rock 'n roll artists, so Link Wray is a natural fit for this category.
• No artists jumped from the Performer ballot to the Special Categories in the same year! This may seem like a minor point, but last year Judas Priest failed to be inducted on the regular ballot for the third time but were named in the Musical Excellence category anyway. That felt a lot like a consolation prize in the minds of fans, and even Rob Halford. LL Cool J's induction was done the same way in 2021. This year, the Rock Hall kept Chaka Khan off of the ballot clearly knowing they were going to induct her no matter what. This is a far better solution and makes the Hall of Fame seem like they aren't insulting artists while they're trying to honor them. Credit goes to new Nominating Committee chairman Rick Krim for the new discipline (assuming he's responsible).
• Another huge induction class! In each year under the direction of chairman John Sykes, the Rock Hall has had at least 13 inductees. In the years just prior to him taking over, classes were usually around seven, which made the backlog grow deeper every year. Whether the new standard of 13 is enough to make a dent in the snub list remains to be seen, but the larger classes have helped tremendously to honor artists who never would have had a chance in the old system.
• The Fan Vote's impact on the results. After last year's Fan Vote top five all got swept into the Hall of Fame, the significance of the results may have been overblown in the minds of fans. Yes, this year's winner got in again, but outside of that, the others in the top five were shut out. This was a similar result to 2020 when the only top five finisher to get in were the Doobie Brothers, and the runaway fan vote winner Dave Matthews Band did not. This year, Cyndi Lauper fans put up an admirable fight for first place, but ultimately finished in second. Similarly, in 2021, Fela Kuti's fans pushed his name to second in the poll. But after the disappointment of him missing out, they completely abandoned voting for him in 2022 so he finished last. If Cyndi Lauper or Warren Zevon return to the ballot next year, we'll see if their fans return with the same passion they had this year.
• Returning to Cleveland in 2024. The Rock Hall confirmed they are recommitting to hosting the induction ceremony in Cleveland every other year, beginning in 2024. Other cities in the rotation like New York and Los Angeles will have to share the "odd" years (L.A. in 2025? Brooklyn in 2027?), not to mention other cities like London and Nashville that John Sykes teased could get into the rotation.

The Bad:

• The inductee announcement. The Rock Hall tweeted on April 30th that the announcement would be made on May 3rd, but with no additional time or information. Since the SiriusXM deal apparently expired, they were silent as well. The Rock Hall finally tweeted a video of LL Cool J reading the names just after 8am Eastern, and directed people to Apple Music 1 to hear the "complete announcement." That show didn't seem to be live and have any of the energy or discussions that existed on SiriusXM.
• The length of the Fan Vote. There's no reason to encourage fans to vote daily for nearly three months for something with such little impact. That's not an argument in favor of increasing the importance of the Fan Vote, but just to decrease the time devoted to it all.

• The metal problem. Anyone who follows the Rock Hall closely knew that Iron Maiden had no shot at being inducted by way of the Performer ballot. The Voting Committee has proven time and time again that unless an artist has had multiple radio-friendly "hits," they're not interested. The Hall of Fame keeps using the Special Categories to address this deficiency in their system, but they may need to provide more guidance to the voters about what they should be rewarding if they want it to actually change. (Go back to explicitly saying it's not about sales and hit records. Remind voters that innovation and influence is critical. These were some of the guiding principles they used to promote, but have clearly strayed away from.)

The Ugly:

• Messy personal histories. Don Cornelius's career is unquestionably worth celebrating, it's just unfortunate his personal life puts a stain on his legacy.

Like any other year, there are plenty of other things to criticize about the induction process, but on the whole, this year has fewer issues than most and has lots of reasons to celebrate.

The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees were announced at 8am EDT on May 3rd. The Induction Ceremony will be held on November 3rd in Brooklyn, New York.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will officially announce the class of 2023 on Wednesday, May 3rd. Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees in the Performer category will be:

1. Willie Nelson: The only certainty in this year's hyper-competitive ballot is that Willie Nelson is getting inducted. Once you nominate a legend like Willie who has a resume longer than most Hall of Famers, you simply have to put him in.
2. Missy Elliott: Hosting the ceremony in New York in hip hop's 50th anniversary year provides a great opportunity to induct Missy Elliott, one of hip hop's true innovators.
3. George Michael: The Voting Committee historically marks their ballots in favor of artists who haven't previously been nominated. Roughly 2/3 of inductees get in the first time they appear on a ballot.
4. Warren Zevon: The catalyst for Zevon's appearance on the ballot was a letter from Billy Joel advocating for his induction. Joel likely didn't stop his lobbying once he was nominated, and he's been joined in the effort by David Letterman.
5. Sheryl Crow: After being the presenter at previous induction ceremonies, this year it will be Sheryl Crow's turn to be on the receiving end of the honor.
6. Cyndi Lauper: After the recent inductions of The Go-Go's and Duran Duran, the Rock Hall continues to dig deeper into the superstars of 1980s MTV. Cyndi Lauper's industry connections are a huge asset with their overlap with the Voting Committee.

Additional Notes:

• This year's ballot is stacked with deserving candidates and it's not hard to make a case how (almost) any of them could be inducted. It's painful to leave them off the list above.
• We incorrectly predicted Chaka Khan would be inducted in the Musical Excellence category last year, but it has to happen this year, right?
• Since 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, we're predicting the Rock Hall will have a big segment of the ceremony devoted to the genre, including an Early Influence induction of DJ Kool Herc.
• If the induction class is at least 50% women, the Rock Hall will breathe a sigh of relief given the renewed criticism of the lack of women who have been honored.
• This is the second year of the public Ballot Tracker. The top five artists currently in the lead of known ballots are Kate Bush, Joy Division/New Order, Missy Elliott, The Spinners, and A Tribe Called Quest. Last year, the public ballots were not indicative of the actual results.
• The top five winners of the Fan Vote this year were George Michael, Cyndi Lauper, Warren Zevon, Iron Maiden, and Soundgarden. That's the second top-five finish for both Iron Maiden and Soundgarden, which bodes well for their future inductions, even if it will come in the form of Musical Excellence. Fela Kuti and Dave Matthews Band are the only other artists to finish in the top-five and haven't been inducted.
• There hasn't been an entire performer class of first year nominated artists (FYNs) since 2009.
• As mentioned above, the induction ceremony will be in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, the site of the 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019 events. The Rock Hall had previously promised Cleveland they could host every other year, but that deal seems to no longer exist. The upcoming construction at the museum will be enough of an excuse to quell any grumbling from the Cleveland contingent for a few years.

For sixteen years we have been conducting an unofficial poll on this site which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1679 ballots):

1. Kate Bush 54% (they appeared on 54% of the ballots)
2. Willie Nelson 50%
3. Iron Maiden 49%
4. Soundgarden 48%
5. Joy Division/New Order 48%
6. Cyndi Lauper 42%
7. George Michael 36%
8. Warren Zevon 30%
9. Sheryl Crow 30%
10. The White Stripes 27%
11. The Spinners 24%
12. Rage Against the Machine 22%
13. Missy Elliott 19%
14. A Tribe Called Quest 19%

A bit early for any definitive predictions, but it's really difficult to imagine a scenario where a least six of these don't get into the Rock Hall this year:
-Willie Nelson
-Sheryl Crow
-Warren Zevon
-Missy Elliott
-The White Stripes
-George Michael
-Cyndi Lauper

— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) February 24, 2023

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had been hoping to hold the announcement until May, but Nominating Committee member Amy Linden disclosed on her podcast that the Induction Ceremony would be returning to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this fall.

In Linden's conversation with Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels, they discussed that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be taking part in the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop celebrations happening this year, so it was fitting the ceremony will be in New York.

Just a few months ago, unnamed representatives from the Rock Hall continued to insist the induction ceremonies would still be returning to Cleveland every other year despite the indications from the Hall of Fame's chairman John Sykes that the events would be on a three city rotation (and potentially include other cities like Nashville and London).

Cleveland last hosted an induction ceremony in 2021, so after stops in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, it would theoretically be on deck for the 2024 event.

See our list of every induction ceremony location

The day the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot was officially announced, Nominating Committee member Amy Linden revealed on her podcast the ranking of the artists from the group's vote.

On her ImmaLetYouFinish podcast yesterday, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee member Amy Linden revealed the standings from the group’s vote, including that there was a three-way tie for the last ballot spot. More to come… #RockHall2023 pic.twitter.com/OpY99fojHg

— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) February 3, 2023

This ranking may not correlate much with the 1100+ member Voting Committee's wishes, but it offers a glimpse into the Nominating Committee's levels of support for each artist. Only 5-7 of these names be inducted this year, but those at the top may have an easier time returning to the ballot to try again next year.

The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees were announced at 8am EST on February 1st. Inductees will be revealed in May, and will be honored at a ceremony in a location yet to be announced.

Please vote in our fan poll!

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Last month, John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, announced that Jon Landau had stepped down as the head of the Nominating Committee. Landau, in addition to his day job as Bruce Springsteen's manager, had served as chairman or co-chairman of the group since 1994. John Sykes:

Jon [Landau], throughout his nearly 30-year tenure leading the performers nominating committee, has shaped the look and sound of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame we see today. He possesses an incredible mind for music and over the years has consistently updated the committee membership and encouraged the group to keep pace with the evolving sounds that have moved the culture. Jon was an early proponent of the Hall of Fame's recognizing hip-hop as an important driver of the evolution of rock 'n' roll. He notified us after overseeing this year’s ballot that he was stepping down after having delivered yet another group of iconic performers. We will miss him.

After playing such an integral role in the Hall of Fame for the majority of its existence, Landau deserves the same credit for the successes and blame for the failures that the institution itself receives.

John Sykes named his longtime friend, and former MTV co-worker, Rick Krim, the next chairman of the Nominating Committee. Sykes again:

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Rick from our very early days together at MTV and VH1, and I’ve watched him firsthand grow into a gifted talent executive. Rick has a rare combination of knowledge and passion that has made him a valuable member of our nominating committee for 15 years. What makes Rick the perfect person for this position is that, like Jon, he can manage a diverse group of committee members without leading with his own opinion.

So what else do we know about Rick Krim?

• Born in 1959
• From Williamsport, Pennsylvania
• He was an accounting major at Bucknell University
• Worked at MTV between 1982-1994 and VH1 from 2001-2014
• Moved from New York to L.A. in 2015
• Asked to join the Nominating Committee in 2008/2009 because he felt that prog rock wasn't being well represented
• Has publicly expressed support for Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Yes, Genesis, the Doobie Brothers, Radiohead, and Oasis
• He was executive producer of I'm Going to Break Your Heart (Wilco doc), CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, Meat Loaf's Behind the Music episode, and many VH1 Divas specials
• Co-produces the Rock Hall Induction Ceremony each year

You can find out more about Krim here, here, and here.

So does Krim's prog and metal fandom mean there will be significant changes in the types of artists named on future Rock Hall ballots? Time will tell, but it seems unlikely. John Sykes hand-picked Krim to continue executing his vision, so it's a safe bet that things generally stay the course.

But! If Krim wanted to put his own stamp on the Rock Hall, here are 10 ideas we came up with to get started. Here's hoping we look back on this transition as the dawning of a new age for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction process.