21st-century artists who will someday be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Usher is well overdue for his induction. Debuting in the late ‘90s, he’s past the 25-year rule, but he’s also very much an artist who hit his stride in the 21st century with songs like “Yeah!” “Burn” and “U Got It Bad” defining much of the early 2000s music scene.

American Idol set out to find the best singer in the US in the summer of 2002, and almost immediately, people were obsessed with the reality show, and soon enough, they’d be even crazier for the winner. No shade to the other winners of the series, but Kelly Clarkson came out swinging as the first, and no one has matched her skills (or career) since.

If Taylor Swift being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sounds weird to anyone, that anyone must have been living under a rock the past decade. There isn’t a thing the country-turned-pop phenomenon has done that hasn’t broken a record or set a standard, from touring to friendship bracelets. Her impact on her fandom alone is worth the induction.

My Chemical Romance is to emo music what Nirvana is to grunge. Each set the bar for their respective genre, and, in turn, became the poster boys for them.

Beyoncé captured the world’s attention as a member of Destiny’s Child, left everyone in awe with her Coachella performance (and the Grammys, the VMAs, basically any stage she steps on), and has transcended genres to dominate spaces she was told she didn’t belong in. Yeah, Beyoncé will be in that Hall of Fame as soon as she’s eligible. 

Everything Bruno Mars seems to touch turns to 24k gold, so it’s only a matter of time before the “Finesse” singer earns his spot in the Hall of Fame.

There are plenty of singers who are considered Chappell Roan’s peers, but not many vocalists who are on her level. A master of the pop melody, the 2025 Best New Artist Grammy winner has proven she has the chops to be an icon.

With the boy band to solo star lane cleared due to Justin Timberlake “ruining the world tour,” there’s room for former One Direction singer, Harry Styles, to move on in. His solo venture proved to be quite fruitful, even winning Best Album at the 2023 Grammys for Harry’s House.

Rihanna is a singer turned mogul with her Fenty Beauty line propelling her further than many of the artists she started with. While her fans consistently beg and plead for new music, she’s already showcased that she is a powerhouse. Rihanna’s music helped define the 2000s for over a solid decade before she stepped back to focus on her other business ventures and growing family with A$AP Rocky.

The end of the ‘90s was all about Nu Metal in rock, and after that came the emo wave of the 2000s. However, the one band that can be viewed as the bridge that connected the two genres was Linkin Park. Their debut, Hybrid Theory , was pulsating rock music that satisfied the fans of bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, but their lyrics were riddled with emotional depth, which played in line with the emo bands that would soon take over Hot Topic. It’d be shocking not to see Linkin Park in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Based on her vocals alone, Ariana Grande is a shoo-in for the accolade.

Multiple Grammy awards for her debut, next-level piano skills, and a voice that was classic from the start: Alicia Keys has never been about a gimmick or a gag, just genuine talent. That is why she will definitely be an inductee in her lifetime.

Coldplay made their debut in 2000 and went No. 1 in their native UK with Parachutes, but the album didn’t fare too well in the US. It made the top 100, but it was the single “Yellow” that helped them become a household name that same year. Since then, Coldplay has been a mainstay in the AC rock scene with multiplatinum albums, chart-topping singles, and countless awards backing them up.  

Miley Cyrus led the Disney Channel renaissance of the mid-'00s with Hannah Montana. Her alter ego alone has had a few No. 1 albums, but as for Cyrus herself, she’s got her own set of accolades, including a couple of Grammys. A voice like no other, Cyrus will be the first (and maybe only) one in her family tree to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the future.

Ed Sheeran is in because of the sheer volume of hysteria he caused when he first arrived on the scene, and the amount of hits he's garnered since 2014.

One does not have a career, voice, and creative perspective like Lady Gaga and not get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’d be kind of insane to have anyone else in modern music in there, and not Lady Gaga. She’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

As many shifts in the lineup as Destiny’s Child, Paramore comes with some baggage but also a lot of dynamics when it comes to sound. What started as a pillar of the emo scene in the mid-'00s has transformed with each release from the more mainstream ways of the self-titled to the '80s-esque joy of After Laughter. It’s Paramore’s ability to evolve that has helped them avoid being an Emo Nite nostalgia trap, and more so, a continuous topic in musical conversations.

Leon Thomas started his career as an actor on stage, and then found himself alongside Ariana Grande on Nickelodeon’s Victorious. While on the show, Thomas shone as both a singer and songwriter, penning songs for the series set in a performing arts high school. After the show, like his costar, he headed towards music full-time and has not only made a name for himself as an artist, but as a songwriter and producer for artists Ariana Grande, Drake, SZA, and many more. His path to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is clear; he just has some years to go.  

There have been many singers who have come and gone in the 21st century, but few vocalists have possessed ranges like Adele's. With that, her impressive career this far, and all those Grammys, expect Adele to be inducted around 2033.

Fall Out Boy entered the lives of millennials in 2005, likely via a music video starring a boy with antlers. It was all uphill from there as they went on to make Warped Tour a massive success that summer. Since then, the band has outlasted many of their peers from back in the day, changed up their style here and there, and become a mainstream mainstay. To call them “just an emo band” would be criminal, and to not place them in the Hall of Fame one day would be downright disrespectful.

It’s kind of funny to pitch someone for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who hasn’t even been alive 25 years, let alone a debut album that’s that old. That being said, Olivia Rodrigo is one of the youngest and newest talents that many would agree could go the distance in music.

To list every accolade Kendrick Lamar has already achieved on top of playing the Super Bowl Halftime Show, over three dozen BET Awards, a plethora of Grammys (many from the same night), and well, it’d just take too long. He’s done so much already, even receiving a Pulitzer Prize for Music, but time will tell if he lands in the Hall of Fame. Based on everything he’s done so far, it’s only a matter of time.

Halfway to an EGOT before she’s legally able to rent a car, Billie Eilish is a pint-sized force that has never faltered when it comes to scoring big in music.