Janet Jackson isn’t even mentioned in Michael, the hit biopic about her brother Michael Jackson, but she will be front and center at the 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala next week, as her 1989 album, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, is inducted. The ceremony will be held Friday, May 8, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
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Being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame is a Jackson family tradition. Michael was inducted with both Off the Wall and Thriller, his first two albums with legendary producer Quincy Jones. The Jackson 5 made the grade with three of their four 1970 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100: “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.”
Rhythm Nation 1814 was Janet Jackson’s fourth studio album. Although A&M executives were hoping for material similar to that on her previous album, Control (1986), Jackson insisted on creating a concept album addressing social issues. The accompanying video won a Grammy for best music video, long form, but the album and its many hit singles won no Grammys, despite receiving six nominations across two years. In what must have been a huge disappointment for all involved, the album was passed over for a nomination for album of the year, a nod that Control had garnered.
The Gala will celebrate the 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame inducted recordings, a group of 14 titles spanning nearly a century of recorded music. The Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum, which jointly present the Gala, revealed details of some of the performances:
- Father-daughter duo Fyütch & Aura V, who won a Grammy in February for best children’s music album for Harmony, will perform Ella Jenkins’ 1966 children’s classic “You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song.” Aura V set a new record as the youngest individually credited Grammy winner in history. She was just 8 when she won. The old record was set by Blue Ivy Carter, who was 9 years old five years ago when she won alongside her mom, Beyoncé, and WizKid for “Brown Skin Girl.” Jenkins received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2004. She died in 2024 at age 100.
- George Clinton, Funkadelic guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight and Erykah Badu will perform a tribute to Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain (1971), which was the funk rock band’s third studio album. It was the last album recorded by the original Funkadelic lineup. Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2019.
- Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson will perform selections from their 1976 debut studio album, Dreamboat Annie. At the time, the band was based in Vancouver, British Columbia; the album was recorded in Vancouver and first released in Canada by the local label Mushroom Records in September 1975. It was released in the U.S. five months later, through the U.S. subsidiary of Mushroom Records in Los Angeles. The album spawned the singles “How Deep It Goes,” “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You” and “Dreamboat Annie.” The Wilson sisters received lifetime achievement awards from the Recording Academy in 2023.
- Lucinda Williams will perform songs from her 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. The album, Williams’ fifth studio set, won a Grammy for best contemporary folk album. It spawned the singles “Right in Time” and “Can’t Let Go.” The latter track was nominated for a Grammy for best female rock vocal performance.
- Take 6 will perform The Soul Stirrers’ 1950 recording “Jesus Gave Me Water.” The track came from the first studio session of a young Chicago gospel singer named Sam Cook, seven years before he added an “e” to his last name and became a crossover pop/R&B star and enduring music legend. Cooke was shot to death in 1964 at age 33 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 1999.
- Taylor Hanson, who achieved fame, a Hot 100-topping single and a Grammy nod for record of the year as a member of the brother trio Hanson, will perform a tribute to Nick Drake’s 1972 album, Pink Moon. It was the English musician’s third and final studio album, and the only one of his studio albums to be released in North America during his lifetime. Drake was found dead in November 1974 at the age of 26 due to an overdose of antidepressants.
Additional performances include a set by Norah Jones, this year’s Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award recipient. Josh Groban and Teddy Swims are slated to perform as part of a tribute to Warner Records, this year’s Visionary of Music Award recipient.
Broadcast journalist Anthony Mason will host the event. The show will be produced by former Grammy Awards executive producer Ken Ehrlich, alongside Renato Basile, Chantel Sausedo, and Lynne Sheridan, with musical direction by Cheche Alara, Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning composer, producer and conductor.
Tickets for the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala are on sale now. For more information, go here.
An online auction will run alongside the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala beginning May 5 and closing May 21, featuring a collection of guitars signed by such artists as Charli xcx, ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as Platinum tickets to the 2027 Grammy Awards. Proceeds will benefit the Grammy Museum. More information will be available after May 5.
