George Michael has won the fan vote for the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame list of nominees.
The list of nominees for 2023 was announced in February, with the late pop star and Wham! singer joined by Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Cyndi Lauper, Rage Against The Machine and The White Stripes for potential induction this year.
Joining them on the list of nominees are Iron Maiden, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow, Warren Zevon, A Tribe Called Quest, Willie Nelson and The Spinners. Meanwhile, Joy Division and New Order have been packaged together for their first nomination.
The annual fan vote allows fans to vote once per day for their favourite nominee online or in person at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
Michael won the vote with over a million votes, followed in second place by Cyndi Lauper (928,113 votes), with Warren Zevon (634,130), Iron Maiden (449,682) and Soundgarden (427,040) following up.
The fan vote victory isn’t a confirmation of Michael’s induction this year, but all but one of the five previous fan vote winners have gone on to be inducted into the prestigious group. The inductees are to be announced on Wednesday (May 3).
#RockHall2023 Inductee Announcement – coming Wednesday, May 3rd. pic.twitter.com/Au9pSn830e
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) May 1, 2023
Most of this year’s shortlisted artists have not previously been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Rage Against The Machine have been nominated the most tines (now on their fifth nomination), while Kate Bush is on her fourth. Soundgarden, Iron Maiden, A Tribe Called Quest and The Spinners are all on their second nomination.
Meanwhile, Missy Elliott and The White Stripes have been nominated in their first year of eligibility. Artists become eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their debut album.
Last year’s inductees were Eminem, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Judas Priest and Pat Benatar.
Fans of the late singer Aaliyah recently campaigned for her to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The hall has been in the headlines recently after Courtney Love called for more female acts to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, while highlighting that there are also “few” past inductees of Black origin.
The Hole vocalist recently took to social media to respond to an article titled ‘Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame celebrates women who rock’, which had been shared by author and journalist Jessica Hopper.
In her post, the singer attached a screenshot of a text she had sent Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl about his own induction to the Rock Hall, and how he should “hold the seats of Tina Turner and Carole King, both who have been eligible for over 30! years each”. Grohl has been inducted into the hall twice: with Nirvana in 2013 and Foo Fighters in 2021.
Love then turned her attention to this year’s Rock Hall nominations, saying the list – featuring the likes of Bush, Elliott and Lauper – “offered the annual reminder of just how extraordinary a woman must be to make it into the ol’ boys club”.