Can You Feel It in the Air Tonight? 11 Best Moments From 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

U2 crashed the Rock Hall ceremony, opening the show with a surprise two-song set a day after releasing their new album, Carnaval De Luz. The band wasn’t on the bill — they were inducted back in 2005, their first year of eligibility — but they kicked off the night with “Silencio,” the album’s second single, joined by a line of performers dressed as riot police and carrying shields, then closed with 1984’s “Pride (In the Name of Love).” The twofer from the Hall of Fame vets set the tone for an evening of legends only.

Trying to match Luther Vandross’ velvety vocals is a thankless task, but Usher was up for the challenge, paying tribute to the late R&B legend with a smooth medley of “So Amazing,” “Never Too Much” and “Here and Now,” a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1990. He nailed the warmth of Luther’s voice, but Usher also made sure to leave in his own signature dance moves for “Never Too Much” to make it his own.

Oprah Winfrey, Vandross’ friend and fan, nodded to the swag Usher channeled for the performance in her induction speech, saying, “The New York Times called him the King of the Soul Ballad. He was praised by critics as the Pavarotti of Pop. Both are so true, but I think perhaps more accurate was when Luther was named the top artist that people made love to.”

Neither Sade the singer nor her namesake band were in the building for their Rock Hall induction, but the Nigerian-British icon loomed large thanks in part to an intro package that included a very complimentary Drake interview, with the Canadian rapper praising her “haunting” music and declaring: “There are no bad Sade songs.”

Case in point: The band’s 1985 top five Hot 100 hit “Smooth Operator,” which rising British star Sienna Spiro covered after an introduction from fellow Sade superfan Andra Day. “There will only be one Sade,” Day said — but fellow Londoner Spiro brought her own powerhouse vocals to the song to honor the absent superstar.

In one of the most striking performances of the night, Cynthia Erivo covered “In the Air Tonight” in honor of inductee Phil Collins — who was previously inducted into the Rock Hall as part of Genesis — and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker joined her for one of the most iconic drum breaks in all of pop music. It was a perfect illustration of the power of Collins’ career, between the excellent, haunting songwriting and the drum-forward production, and Erivo and Barker were an electric pair.

Barker also gave a speech in tribute to Collins, saying of his balancing act between playing in Genesis and his solo career: “He wasn’t just successful at both; he was one of the best at both.”

In his own speech, Collins also put the drums center stage, noting, “I grew up wanting to play drums. Everything else has been a happy accident.”

Chris Rock gave a note-perfect introduction to Wu-Tang Clan, declaring: “Wu-Tang didn’t leave Staten Island; they took it with them.” He also added to their many catchphrases when he said, “Wu-Tang is for the children, Wu-Tang is forever, and now Wu-Tang is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

All nine living members attended the ceremony, with the group paying tribute to late rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard throughout. RZA had the lengthiest speech of the group, while Method Man kept it light by saying, “I want to thank everybody that believed in us, including the Hall of Fame. And for everybody that didn’t, you can kiss my inducted a–.”

The group also took the stage for a medley that included “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Wu‐Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit,” as well as ODB’s son Young Dirty Bastard taking over for his dad on “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”

A lot of headlines ahead of Saturday’s ceremony centered on who wasn’t going to be in attendance, including the previously warring, now-touring-again Gallagher brothers. But Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk wasn’t too shocked by the news that Oasis had opted out.

“Anybody surprised they didn’t show up?” Odenkirk asked the crowd, immediately adding, “They didn’t want to be here! It would have been out of character if they had. I would’ve worried about them.”

In his intro, Odenkirk said he listened to their music to get pumped up before playing Breaking Bad attorney Saul Goodman. “I played Oasis songs every day before stepping on set. … If I needed that injection of swagger, energy, moxie, I needed a dose of Viagra for the ego.”

In Oasis’ absence, Stephen Wilson Jr. put a country-rock spin on their 1995 smash “Wonderwall.”

With Queen Latifah and MC Lyte both being inducted into the Rock Hall in the same year, it only made sense that their paths would overlap, just like they have in the music industry as pioneers of hip-hop.

MC Lyte was inducted first, with an introduction from fellow female MC Remy Ma, while Megan Thee Stallion inducted Queen later in the night (with a crown fittingly placed atop her head). Both women shouted each other out in their speeches — and they also shouted out their respective sororities, to big whoops from the crowd. And finally, they took the stage together for a medley of their hits (along with Meg and Remy), proving that U-N-I-T-Y always goes a long way in lifting other women up in the historically male-dominated genre.

“Thank you to my sisters in the name of hip-hop,” Queen said during her speech. “Thank you, MC Lyte. If it wasn’t for Lyte, I don’t know if I would have known this was really possible. But when I heard Lyte rap, I was like, ‘Yo, what is that? I want to do that!’ … And then we met, and we just hit it off like sisters. We just had so much fun doing this thing we love.”

Just like his unpredictable career, Rick Rubin also had one of the most unexpected tributes of the night. It all started with a 10-minute-plus monologue/stand-up routine from Neil Young as he led the crowd through Rubin’s winding work history and was book-ended by a speech that made up for the rock legend’s verbosity.

“You can’t kill rock & roll,” Rubin succinctly stated and then quickly left the mic.

But it was a pair of musical performances that were the real Rubin highlights. First, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers — all hysterically wearing Rubin’s signature long hair-and-beard combo — hit the stage to perform “Give It Away,” from the Rubin-produced 1991 classic album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Then the show ended with Aerosmith and Run-DMC joining forces for the Rubin brainchild “Walk This Way.” The pair of musically powerful-yet-slightly offbeat sets set just the right tone for honoring the yogi producer.

You can’t celebrate New Order without first celebrating the band’s origins as Joy Division, which is why the Rock Hall made the unusual move of giving a two-fold honor to the group fronted by singer Ian Curtis and then the band that rose after his untimely death with the remaining members.

That two-fold honor was on perfect display Saturday night thanks to a performance that included bassist Peter Hook jamming with Deftones’ Chino Moreno and CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry for Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle.”

As Trent Reznor said while introducing them, “There are only two types of people in this world: Those who already know just how influential Joy Division and New Order are, and those whose favorite bands — such as U2, Radiohead, The Cure, The Killers, Nirvana, Depeche Mode — how different they would sound if Joy Division and New Order never existed.”

Presenter Jack Black let everyone know early in his speech that Iron Maiden wouldn’t be in the building for the Rock Hall ceremony (“They aren’t even here tonight because they’re rocking a world tour as they have been for the last 50 years!” he said proudly), but the metal-loving actor came bearing bad news/good news. Because performing 1983’s “The Trooper” in their stead would be “a supergroup the likes of which have never been seen.”

“I’m talking about guitar god John 5. I’m talking about Brad Will from Rage Against the Machine. I’m talking about Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo of Metallica. And on lead vocals, we got St. Vincent!”

Black then mashed up all their names for this supergroup title: “Give it up for the St. Rage-a-tallica 5!”

The hard rock showcase did not disappoint, with St. Vincent taking the lead and superfan Black even chiming in for some harmonies.

As the final inductee of the night, Billy Idol had a robust showcase, between an intro from No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, a solo performance of “Rebel Yell” as well as a Stefani duet on “Eyes Without a Face,” and a 10-minute-plus speech shared with his longtime guitarist and songwriting collaborator Steve Stevens.

And it was the joy of Idol’s speech that ended the evening on a high note, with him imparting wisdom to the next potential honorees. “To all the young people out there … now it’s your turn. Go make the impossible possible. Find out who you are and be it.”

Oh, and one last thing: “Now I’m going to party with the Wu-Tang Clan!”