The names you recognize are on the ballot. So are the names you’ve never googled — and the lesser-known half may have written more of your favorite songs than any marquee act on the list. According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame‘s November 5, 2026 announcement, voting closes midnight EST on December 14, with the final class expected in January. The tension baked into this ballot is the most honest thing the Hall does all year.
Star Power Meets Songwriting Craft
This category proves that the biggest names in music earned their place one song at a time.
Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein built “Heart of Glass,” “Rapture,” and “One Way or Another” across genre lines that shouldn’t have held together — punk, disco, proto-hip-hop, as music critics have long noted — and somehow made it feel effortless. Lady Gaga’s performing-songwriter nomination spans from “Poker Face” to “Shallow,” covering fifteen years and multiple distinct cultural moments. Jack White‘s “Seven Nation Army” became a stadium chant that outlived its own era. Shakira, P!nk, Sia, Boy George, Ne-Yo, Grandmaster Melle Mel, ZZ Top, and America also appear in the performing category. The craft is real across the board. The deeper story, though, sits one category over.
The Writers Whose Names You Don’t Know
These are the songwriters whose compositions became inescapable hits through someone else’s voice.
The non-performing nominees represent the Hall’s core premise — that songwriting craft deserves recognition independent of the performer delivering it:
- Kandi Burruss — co-wrote TLC’s “No Scrubs” and Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills”
- Stargate — the songwriting and production duo credited with Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds”
- Boy Meets Girl — co-wrote Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “How Will I Know”
- Dan Wilson — co-wrote Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Semisonic’s “Closing Time”
- Stock Aitken Waterman — the songwriting and production team behind Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”
Pete Bellotte is credited with shaping Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” and “I Feel Love.” Andreas Carlsson is credited with co-writing the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” and *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.” These are the foundation players — the ones whose names rarely appear on marquees but whose hooks live rent-free in your memory regardless. You might be surprised how many of these songs you forgot they weren’t written by the artists who made them famous.
The most compelling ballot tension isn’t between categories. It’s between the names you recognize and the songs you already know by heart.
Votes Due December 14
Voting members face a genuine choice between star power and catalog depth.
Voting members may select up to three nominees per category, with ballots due by midnight EST on December 14, 2026. Last year’s class showed the Hall can honor both worlds: Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, and KISS alongside specialist writers Tricky Stewart and Terry Britten — among others. The non-performing category is where the Hall either proves its premise or quietly settles for celebrity recognition.
These songs have lived in your ears for years. Whether the Hall honors the face you know or the hand that wrote the hook, the music already made its case long ago.
