CLEVELAND — When the class of 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees was announced on “American Idol” Sunday night, there was one interesting twist as Phish did not make this year’s cut despite dominating the fan vote.
Billy Idol, who finished the fan ballot in third place, was also not selected for induction.
So how could Phish win the fan vote and still be omitted from induction?
While the top seven in the annual vote are included on a special fan ballot that’s tallied with the more than 1,200 ballots from artists, historians and music industry professionals, the Rock Hall’s FAQ page says the fan ballot “is weighted the same as the rest of the submitted ballots.”
You might remember that Dave Matthews Band won the 2020 Rock Hall fan ballot, but still wasn’t selected for induction despite getting more than 1 million votes that year. No worries, though, the band was ultimately selected for induction with the class of 2024.
Of the 2,553,233 total votes that were cast between Feb. 12 and April 27 in the Rock Hall’s 2025 fan vote, here is how the final tally broke down:
- Phish: 329,281 votes (not chosen for induction)
- Bad Company: 280,725 votes
- Billy Idol: 260,416 votes (not chosen for induction)
- Cyndi Lauper: 236,960 votes
- Joe Cocker: 233,495 votes
- Soundgarden: 233,205 votes
- Chubby Checker: 203,092 votes
- The Black Crowes: 165,249 votes (not chosen for induction)
- Mariah Carey: 137,993 votes (not chosen for induction)
- Joey Division + New Order: 120,346 votes (not chosen for induction)
- The White Stripes: 110,511 votes
- Outkast: 108,073 votes
- Oasis: 99,381 votes (not chosen for induction)
- Maná: 34,506 votes (not chosen for induction)
So who made it in? Here’s a list of this year’s inductees based on the category in which they’re being honored…
This category includes artists who have created music with originality, impact and influence that changed the course of rock ‘n’ roll.
- Bad Company (first-time nominee)
- Chubby Checker (first-time nominee)
- Joe Cocker (first-time nominee)
- Cyndi Lauper
- Outkast (first-time nominee)
- Soundgarden
- The White Stripes
This category includes artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired and evolved rock ‘n’ roll and music impacting youth culture.
This category includes artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.
- Thom Bell
- Nicky Hopkins
- Carol Kaye
This category includes non-performing industry professionals who have had a major influence on the creative development and growth of rock ‘n’ roll and music that has impacted youth culture.
The 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angles on Saturday, Nov. 8. The entire event will be streamed live on Disney+.
