When Taylor Swift is inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at their annual awards gala in New York City on June 11, she’ll become the first person to graduate from winning the organization’s Hal David Starlight Award (an accolade for a songwriter who shows promise, which Swift won in 2010) to full membership status.
A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for SHOF induction 20 years after their first commercial release of a song. Swift’s first single, “Tim McGraw,” was released in June 2006, so she just made it.
Eight more recipients of the Hal David Starlight Award are eligible for induction into the SHOF (or will be by the time of the 2027 gala). They include three songwriters who have won Grammy Awards for song of the year – Rob Thomas (Santana’s “Smooth,” a co-write with Itaal Shur, which won in 2000), Alicia Keys (“Fallin’,” which won in 2002) and John Mayer (“Daughters,” which won in 2025).
Four other Hal David Starlight Award recipients who will be eligible for induction by next year have been nominated for the song of the year Grammy, though they have yet to win it – John Legend (“Ordinary People,” Estelle’s “American Boy,” DJ Khaled’s “God Did”), John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris”), Jason Mraz (“I’m Yours”) and Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”).
Ne-Yo has yet to be nominated for song of the year, but he won a Grammy for best R&B song for “Miss Independent,” which he co-wrote with Stargate. Nick Jonas has yet to be nominated in a songwriting category, though he has received two Grammy nods in other categories as a member of Jonas Brothers.
The voting members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame will choose the 2027 class of inductees later this year. Their choices will probably be announced in January 2027 (the 2026 class was announced on Jan. 21). There’s no assurance they’ll include a former Hal David Starlight Award recipient in their 2027 class. But if they did, who would you suggest they choose?
Vote in the poll here.
