Janet Jackson accepted the Grammy Hall of Fame honor for her landmark 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 at the Beverly Hilton Friday night, telling the crowd she does not consider the record a relic of the past.
"I don't see Rhythm Nation as a phenomenon that lives in the past; I believe it's alive and well in 2026," Jackson said from the podium. "Rhythm Nation still resonates on a deep and profound level. It's an ongoing force that fights bigotry and promotes understanding. It cannot be stopped, it's simply too strong and too positive."
Jackson was inducted by Jimmy Jam, the producer behind Rhythm Nation 1814, who helped shape one of the most commercially and politically ambitious pop albums of its era. In her remarks, Jackson called the album "a movement of people of all ages and backgrounds seeking to give and receive love free of judgment," and said it was "beautiful to relive the memories attached to this project that's so precious to me tonight."
The Recording Academy's third-ever Grammy Hall of Fame Gala brought together 14 inductees spanning decades and genres. The full list included 2Pac's All Eyez on Me, Selena's Amor Prohibido, Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Heart's Dreamboat Annie, The Soul Stirrers' "Jesus Gave Me Water," Alice Coltrane's Journey in Satchidananda, Funkadelic's Maggot Brain, Radiohead's OK Computer, The Rouse Brothers' "Orange Blossom Special," Eric B. and Rakim's Paid in Full, Nick Drake's Pink Moon, Bertha "Chippie" Hill's "Trouble In Mind," and Ella Jenkins' You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song.
The evening's performances ranged widely. Take 6 opened with "Jesus Gave Me Water," while Taylor Hanson played a solo version of Nick Drake's "Pink Moon." Heart delivered a three-song set covering "Magic Man," "Dreamboat Annie," and "Crazy on You." Lucinda Williams performed "Can't Let Go" and the title track from Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, then told the crowd she remembered when the music industry struggled to categorize her sound.
"Don't give up when the music falls in the cracks, that's where it's supposed to be," Williams said. "That's a good place."
One of the night's more electric moments came when Erykah Badu joined George Clinton onstage to perform the Funkadelic classic "Can You Get to That." Badu told Clinton that he created "something that never existed before" with his funk rock. From the audience, Flavor Flav punctuated the moment with one of his signature shouts, drawing laughter and cheers from the crowd.
Norah Jones received the Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award and performed two of Charles' songs, "Seven Spanish Angels" and "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," before speaking briefly about his lasting influence. Teddy Swims and Josh Groban performed in honor of Warner Records, selected as this year's record label honoree for the event.
