NIN, NWA, Janet Jackson, nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Nine Inch Nails, NWA, Janet Jackson, Chic, and The Smiths are among contemporary rock’s ground breaking acts who have been nominated for induction into the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Others are Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Yes, Chicago, Chaka Khan, James Brown’s backing band The J.B.'s, Los Lobos, Steve Miller, The Spinners and The Cars.

Several have been nominated before. Chic, who continue to be a force in disco/EDM, were on the ballot ten times. NWA, currently in the buzz on the back of the box office smash Straight Outta Compton, have been up four times. Deep Purple and The Spinners were considered three times.

Cheap Trick, on the other hand, have been eligible since 2002 and finally got a mention. Other first timers are Janet Jackson, Los Lobos, Chicago, The Cars, Chaka Khan, The J.B.'s and Steve Miller.

"It's a wide range," says Joel Peresman, CEO and President of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. "I always find that's how it comes together, but it's representative of different people's definitions of rock." He emphasised it’s not how many records these acts have sold: “It's about what your influence in the arts is."

The successful inductees will be announced in December and inducted in April at a gala ceremony in New York City. It will be filmed by HBO for a later broadcast.

To be eligible for the current ballot, acts must have released their first single or album in 1990 or earlier. Fans can vote via the Hall website.