2026 Rock Hall inductions highlights: Phil Collins, U2, Wu-Tang Clan, Billy Idol
Surprise guests, all-star performances and heartfelt speeches are staples when it comes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony experience and this year’s edition, held at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles Saturday night, delivered.
Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, MC Lyte, Oasis, Queen Latifah, Rick Rubin, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan were among the new class of inductees while Oprah Winfrey, Neil Young, Bob Odenkirk, Travis Barker and Megan Thee Stallion brought star power, heart and musical history to their celebratory speeches.
From the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing in costume to Barker and Cynthia Erivo crushing the Collins classic “In the Air Tonight,” catch up on the highlights of the ceremony here before it airs Dec. 8 on ABC (streaming on Hulu and Disney+ the next day).
The Edge and Bono of U2 perform onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
U2’s opening surprise
The Rock Hall got one of the biggest rock bands in the world to open Saturday night’s show: U2. The band performed “Silencio” from new album “Carnaval de Luz” while surrounded by guys dressed as riot cops, which with the choreography kicked off the night in true Rock Hall fever dream fashion. They followed up by playing hit “Pride (In the Name of Love).” It’s also notable that the band, not obviously connected to this year’s class, got two performance slots.
Flea and Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers perform during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
Rick Rubin’s trio of tributes
Mega-producer Rick Rubin was inducted by Neil Young, who leafed through a legal pad as he enumerated some of the many acts whose vibes Rubin has helped protect decade by decade — including Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Adele and the Chicks — at times Neil Young-ishly looking down at an audience full of music execs and talking about how sacred the recording studio is from business people. (By contrast to Young’s long induction, here’s Rubin’s speech in its entirety: “Can’t kill rock and roll.”)
The comedic highlight of the night was a performance of “Give It Away” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers — all dressed like Rick Rubin with long white hair, white beards and orange-tinted sunglasses. In the first verse the song comes to an abrupt stop because there wasn’t any bass coming through.
The traditional all-star jam to close the night was eschewed in favor of another performance with ties to Rubin: what Public Enemy’s Chuck D introduced as a historic attempt to be “badass and funky at the same time.” It was Aerosmith and Run-DMC doing — what else? — “Walk This Way.”
Inductee Phil Collins and Travis Barker speak onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
Phil Collins’ unlikely tribute partners
The biggest response from the crowd early in the night came as Phil Collins made his way onstage, aided by a pair of canes, after a speech from Travis Barker.
“I’m really not as bad as it looks,” he joked in regards to his medical challenges over the last few years. He also shouted out his assistant, without whom he says he’d “be in a box,” and his ex-wives and their kids.
“You haven’t heard the last of me,” Collins said, regarding the rumors of tours and performances.
Barker was back behind the kit to perform “In the Air Tonight” with Cynthia Erivo. Chris Rock offered an appraisal of Cynthia Erivo’s performance moments later with “She f— did that s—.”
Inductees MC Lyte and Queen Latifah perform onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
Ladies first: Queen Latifah teams up with MC Lyte
MC Lyte and Queen Latifah performed together, and though it’s worth asking why none of the men had to share slots, these two traded songs back and forth with clear love and respect. The medley-closer of “Ladies First” got cameos by Megan Thee Stallion and Remy Ma, who inducted Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, respectively — and ended in a group hug.
Before that, they also praised each other during their speeches. “If it wasn’t for Lyte, I wouldn’t know that this was really possible,” Queen Latifah said.
During her speech, MC Lyte gave a parting shot of wisdom for the crowd that seems ever more important: “Build multiple streams of income, because one is not enough.”
Chris Rock, and Inductees the Wu-Tang Clan speak onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
Wu-Tang Clan brings the ruckus — and the thank yous — to the Rock Hall
Wu-Tang Clan’s nine MCs “were on a mission to open people’s minds,” Chris Rock said in his induction speech. And it went beyond music — it was about “the slang, the attitude, the hoodies, the Timbs.” The group “built a whole world and invited everyone in.”
RZA ran down a long list of the record execs who’ve worked with the group. “Shout out to our legal team as well.” In contrast, Method Man thanked his family: “I love y’all like cooked food.” Inspectah Deck said he was having a ball: “I partied with Billy Idol,” before the group’s speech was cut off, with boos from the crowd, before it reemerged to do a medley heavy on “36 Chambers (Enter the Wu-Tang).”
Gwen Stefani and Inductee Billy Idol perform onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
Billy Idol: Motivational speaker
No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal inducted Billy Idol, who made sure guitarist Steve Stevens got his flowers too. Kanal said Idol turned a “fist pump into a philosophy.”
After Idol and Stevens performed “Rebel Yell,” Stefani joined them for “Eyes Without a Face,” which she said she remembered hearing out of every boombox on the beach in 1984.
“We are beautiful because we are true to ourselves. Rock and roll gave me the ability to understand that and to live it,” Idol said in his motivational induction speech.
“Find out who you are, and be it,” he told his younger fans to end his speech. “And now, I’m gonna party with the Wu-Tang Clan!”
Inductee Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order performs onstage Saturday during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Peacock Theater.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
Joy Division/New Order induction becomes a new wave dance party
Trent Reznor inducted New Order and the band’s earlier incarnation, Joy Division.
The only member of the groups in attendance was bassist Peter Hook, but he joined Deftones and Lauren Mayberry (of Churches) on Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” that had the Peacock Theater up and dancing.
“For me, it’s been a wild 50 years — I’ve been happy, I’ve been mad, I’ve been heartbroken in equal measure,” Hook said. “But I’m still f— here.”
He also gave a plug to his group, Peter Hook and the Light, which he noted plays both Joy Division and New Order songs.
Bob Odenkirk speaks onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)
The loud absences of the induction class
A few members of this year’s class didn’t attend the ceremony, notably Oasis, Sade and Iron Maiden.
Bob Odenkirk, on hand to induct the former, said he played Oasis songs every day before going on set as Saul Goodman, calling them “a dose of Viagra for the ego,” before country-rock singer Stephen Wilson Jr. turned “Wonderwall” into an Appalachian death march.
“There will only ever be one Sade,” Andra Day said in her induction speech before introducing Sienna Spiro to perform “Smooth Operator.”
Since British metal icons Iron Maiden were on tour in Australia, they didn’t perform at the ceremony. In their place we got a dynamite supergroup: Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, John 5, Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave’s Brad Wilk and St. Vincent performing “The Trooper.” Jack Black, clad in a Maiden shirt, jumped in on the chorus after giving the induction speech.
Meanwhile, Luther Vandross, who died in 2005, was feted by Oprah Winfrey in a heartfelt speech. “Luther never once over-sang a feeling,” she said. He “sang songs for weddings and heartbreaks and late nights and Sunday mornings.” Put on “A House Is Not a Home,” she suggested, and suddenly you’re “standing in the doorway of every love you ever lost.”
Usher performed a musical tribute medley of “So Amazing” and “Here and Now” — gorgeous ballads that Vandross used to show off how good he was at taking his time with a melody — and “Never Too Much,” which proved he also knew how to keep it moving.