NEW YORK — Lady Gaga, Shakira, Pink, Boy George, Jack White, Sia, Vince Gill, Ne-Yo, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein and many more are among the impressive list of nominees for the 2027 Songwriters Hall of Fame class, an especially eclectic mix of pop, hip-hop, Latin, funk and rock innovators. Also on the ballot are America’s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, Grandmaster Melle Mel, ZZ Top’s Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as well as War’s Thomas Sylvester Allen, Harold Ray Brown, Morris “B.B.” Dickerson, Jerry Goldstein, LeRoy L. Jordan, Lee Oskar Levitin, Charles William Miller and Howard E. Scott. And that’s just scratching the surface. A long list of talented songwriters The Hall annually inducts performers and non-performing songwriters alike. The latter category’s nominees this year include Boy Meets Girl — the dream duo of George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam — responsible for Whitney Houston’s biggest hits like “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and “How Will I Know.” Then there’s Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer, the trio behind the 1960s American songwriting and record production company FGG Productions. Also known as simply Feldman, Goldstein & Gottehrer, they are responsible for The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back” and The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy.” (Fun fact: FGG were The Strangeloves; they just pretended to be a band of brothers from Australia.) Also recognized are Maurice Starr (New Edition’s “Candy Girl,” New Kids on the Block’s “Step By Step”) and Stock Aitken Waterman — aka, Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman — known for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” and Kylie Minogue’s “I Should Be So Lucky.” The same goes for Dan Wilson (Semisonic’s “Closing Time,” Adele’s “Someone Like You”) and Toni Wine (Phil Collins’ “A Groovy Kind of Love,” Tony Orlando’s “Candida”). For the R&B pop fans, Kandi Burruss is nominated (known for TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills,” NSYNC’s “It Makes Me Ill”), as are Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, the Norwegian duo known as Stargate behind Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” Excitingly, will.i.am is also nominated (Black Eyed Peas’ “Where Is the Love,” and “I Gotta Feeling” as well as Usher’s “OMG” and John Legend’s “Ordinary People”). It might be strange to see a name like his, or Burruss’, or Wilson’s in the non-performing songwriter category, since they are all performers as well, but that is because they are being recognized for their work with a variety of artists beyond their own catalogs. And for country fans, all eyes are on Tom Douglas (Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me,” Tim McGraw’s “Grown Men Don’t Cry”). 2027 Songwriters Hall of Fame voting starts Eligible voting members have until midnight Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 14 to turn in ballots with their choices of up to three nominees from the songwriter category and up to three from the performing-songwriter category. This year, a few songwriters are getting another shot at entry. That’s true for Starr, Douglas, Gill, Boy George and members of Blondie and America. Pink was nominated in 2026 but didn’t make the final cut. It’s the same case for Swedish pop producer of the legendary Cheiron Studios, Andreas Carlsson, known for such hits as Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” and Katy Perry’s “Waking Up In Vegas” and disco songwriter Pete Bellotte (known for his work with Donna Summer on “Hot Stuff,” “I Feel Love” and “Love To Love You Baby”). Bob McDill, known for country classics like Don Williams’ “Amanda” and Dan Seals’ “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold),” is also a returning nominee, having been on the ballot six times in 15 years. New inductees will join a historic institution The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor those creating popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song. Some already in the hall include Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Neil Diamond, Phil Collins, R.E.M., Steely Dan, Dean Pitchford, Hillary Lindsey and Timbaland. The 2026 class included Taylor Swift, Kiss’s Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, Alanis Morissette and Kenny Loggins as well as nonperformers like the duo Terry Britten and Graham Lyle (Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It”) and Walter Afanasieff, who helped Mariah Carey with her smash “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The 2027 inductees will be announced in early 2027. Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
