Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson to Appear at 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala as Her ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’ Is Inducted

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. Erykah Badu has been added as a performer to the already announced lineup. The ceremony will be held Friday, May 8, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

via: Variety

For the event, taking place on May 8 at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton, Jackson will make a special appearance to celebrate the induction of her album “Rhythm Nation 1984” into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Badu, meanwhile, will join George Clinton and Funkadelic guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight in a tribute to Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” which is also among the 14 albums and songs being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

Performances at the event will honor those inductions, including Fyütch & Aura V performing Ella Jenkins’ “You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song”; Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson returning to songs from “Dreamboat Annie”; Lucinda Williams revisiting tracks from “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road”; Take 6 covering the Soul Stirrers’ “Jesus Gave Me Water”; and Taylor Hanson tributing Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon.”

Josh Groban and Teddy Swims will be on hand to perform as part of a tribute to Warner Records, which is being honored with the Visionary of Music Award. Norah Jones, recipient of the Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award, is also among the slate of performers.

This year’s gala will be hosted by Anthony Mason and is set to induct 14 recordings, including 2Pac’s “All Eyez on Me,” Radiohead’s “OK Computer,” Alice Coltrane’s “Journey in Satchidananda,” Selena’s “Amor Prohibido,” and Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full.”