STORY: Musical icons gathered in front of Peacock Theatre Saturday (November 14) in downtown Los Angeles to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This year’s group of inductees was quite diverse, including 1990s Britpop icons Oasis and American hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and adding Phil Collins as a solo performer 16 years after he was honored ⁠as part of progressive rock band Genesis.

“We don't get happy about a lot of things,” said American rapper and producer RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan. “We are alpha males from Park Hill, New York, and Brooklyn, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announcement, everybody in the crew was smiling. Everybody is here. Everybody been partying all week. This is a good time for us, and it's a special night.”

Collins said he hopes to get back to making music and his physical therapist has told him to try drumming again, since it’s good for his health.

“I can see myself doing some shows again, with or without new music,” Collins said. “I mean, I've done it all my life and to take something away that you've done and love, I think is probably a dangerous thing. I've managed to sort of get by without it for a few years but I'm getting a little hungry for it. There's just some more stuff I have to fix first.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation also recognized British heavy metal pioneers Iron Maiden, soul singers Luther Vandross and Sade, punk-rocker Billy Idol and influential post-punk band Joy Division, later reborn as New Order.

“I couldn't imagine anything like this when I started out,” said Billy Idol. “That's the thing about doing music, there's no qualifications, you just have to find out by doing it whether you can do it or not, whether you could be successful. I think somewhere along the way I've found some great songs, some great people to work with, and here is the kind of the denouement. It's not over yet, I've still got more music to make.”

Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years ago to qualify for induction, with selections made by fans and industry professionals.

Inductees in the 'Early Influence' category include rappers Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, who have been long-time friends. MC Lyte was recognized as the first solo female rapper to release a full-length studio album.

“It was just to have a good time," said singer MC Lyte. "With some of the songs, of course, it was to speak to my generation about drugs. I had a real anti-drug message. But I never thought, like, ‘ooh, I'm going to break these barriers’. That was the last thing on my mind, but very thankful that it worked out.”

Queen Latifah gave credit to MC Lyte for inspiring her to get into rap music.

“It was everything she did that said, ‘I can do this too’,” Latifah said. “I mean, the fact that she was a girl and she was teenager and she was powerful in the things that she was talking about. Everything about what she doing at that time, I felt connected to.”

After two years of streaming it live, the Rock Hall is returning to its previous model, where the public won't see it until an edited version airs in December on ABC and Disney+.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 14, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY RED CARPET

2. VARIOUS OF SINGER PHIL COLLINS AND FAMILY, INCLUDING HIS DAUGHTER, ACTRESS LILY COLLINS

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PHIL COLLINS, ENGLISH SINGER AND DRUMMER, SAYING:

“I can see myself doing some shows again, you know, and with or without new music, you know. I mean, I've done it all my life and to take something away that you've done and love, I think is probably a dangerous thing. I've managed to sort of get by without it for a few years but I'm getting a little hungry for it, you know, I can see myself doing it. There's just some more stuff I have to fix first.”

4. VARIOUS OF BILLY IDOL ON RED CARPET

5. BILLY IDOL'S RING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BILLY IDOL, ENGLISH ROCK SINGER, SAYING:

“Of course, you couldn't imagine anything like this when I started out, you know, because that's the thing about music or doing something, there's no qualifications, you just have to find out by doing it whether you can do it or not, whether you could be successful. And I think somewhere along the way I've found some great songs, some great people to work with, and here is the kind of the denouement. It's not over yet, I've still got more music to make.”

7. VARIOUS OF MC LYTE DOING AN INTERVIEW

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MC LYTE, AMERICAN RAPPER, IN RESPONSE TO WHETHER SHE WANTED TO BREAK BOUNDARIES AS AN ARTIST, SAYING:

“It was just to have a good time. With some of the songs, of course, it was to speak to my generation about drugs. You know, I had a real anti-drug message. But no, I never thought, like, 'oh, I'm going to break these barriers'. That was the last thing on my mind. But very thankful that it worked out.”

9. QUEEN LATIFAH POSING FOR PHOTOS

10. LATIFAH DOING INTERVIEWS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUEEN LATIFAH, AMERICAN RAPPER, SAYING (ON MC LYTE):

“It was everything she did that said, ‘I can do this too’. I mean, the fact that she was a girl and she was teenager and she was powerful in the things that she was talking about, also talking about things that were relevant to our lives and our time and decisions that a young woman would have to make and things that we would observe, like everything about what she was doing and doing it to some beats that made you want to move. So everything about what she doing at that time, I felt connected to.”

12. VARIOUS OF RZA, AMERICAN RAPPER AND MEMBER OF WU-TANG CLAN, DOING INTERVIEWS

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RZA, AMERICAN RAPPER AND MEMBER OF WU-TANG CLAN, SAYING:

“We don't get happy about a lot of things. We are alpha males from Park Hill, New York, and Brooklyn and all that. And so we keep it kind of close to the chest. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announcement, everybody in the crew was smiling. Everybody is here. Everybody been partying all week. This is a good time for us, and it's a special night.”

14. VARIOUS OF INSPECTAH DECK, AMERICAN RAPPER AND MEMBER OF WU-TANG CLAN

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) INSPECTAH DECK, AMERICAN RAPPER AND MEMBER OF WU-TANG CLAN, SAYING:

“We were on tour like dreaming of what this moment was going to be like sitting there like, yo, what you going to wear? Who you going to shout out when you get the chance? So it was just it kind of dominated the tour. It became like, you know, the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tour', because we knew that once it was over, this was the next move. And I can't put it into words right now. I'm trying to grasp it all. You know, we're next to like Billy Idol and Phil Collins, and I got to hang out with them the other day like that. That's the part that I'm loving more than anything.”

16. 'ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION 2026' SIGN

17. RZA ON RED CARPET

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RZA, AMERICAN RAPPER AND MEMBER OF WU-TANG CLAN, SAYING:

“When you're listening to Wu-Tang Clan, or any great artist. You're not just hearing the capturing of music; you're hearing the capturing of time and space. You are hearing the men who are in the room at the same time. Not only does sound vibrate, bodies vibrate. Energy vibrates. And that microphone captures all that. You know what I mean? And so, AI can go ahead and have some fun in its zeros and ones, but it’s nothing like the real thing.”

19. VARIOUS OF TRAVIS BARKER, DRUMMER OF BLINK-182, DOING INTERVIEW

20. SINGER TINASHE POSING FOR PHOTOS

21. LATE-NIGHT SHOW HOST JIMMY KIMMEL WALKING ON RED CARPET