Why do certain Rock Hall nominees get inducted and others don’t? These annual prediction posts try to make sense of the Rock Hall Voting Committee’s tendencies. Over the years we’ve justified our predictions by discussing:

• The need for an exciting HBO broadcast
• The propensity of the voters to induct their peers over younger artists
• The correlation between the fan vote and the inductees
• The voters’ preferences for fresh names on the ballot

One thing that doesn’t really get discussed is who is actually most worthy of induction. It really doesn’t matter as much as it should.

Future Rock Legends predicts the five inductees of the Rock Hall class of 2019 will be:

• Def Leppard: No surprise here. The winner of the Rock Hall’s fan poll has been inducted every year so far, and this year will be no exception. Def Leppard are first-time nominees and unquestionably “rock,” which matters to a not-insignificant portion of the voting pool (many voters dismiss half the ballot each year because the artists don’t fit their narrow definition of “rock and roll”). Their performance will be a major highlight of the induction ceremony.
• Stevie Nicks: The Rock Hall is certainly aware of its issues of women being underrepresented in Cleveland. A Stevie Nicks induction would give them a positive story to tell this year, as she would become the first woman to be a multiple inductee.
• Todd Rundgren: For Rundgren’s fans, this nomination has been a long time coming, and his strong showing in the fan poll is proof that he has a lot of passionate support. We’re betting that includes enough members of the Voting Committee and they will be eager to induct him now that he has finally made the ballot.
• The Zombies: After three previous turns on the ballot, the Nominating Committee has given The Zombies a clear lane for induction this year. Paul Shaffer has made it his mission to get them in, so even if they strike out, they will keep coming back again.
• Radiohead: Perhaps last year’s ridiculous snub woke up the voters enough to realize they shouldn’t assume anyone is getting in, no matter how obvious it seems.
• (If there are six inductees) John Prine: This year’s most surprising nominee could waltz right into the Hall on his first try. Prine’s lengthy career has touched multiple generations of voters, giving him an edge over those who had a briefer impact.

Inductees will be officially announced next week, a day or two after voting closes on December 10th.

For twelve years we have been conducting an unofficial poll which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1163 ballots):

1. The Cure 50% (half of our voters had them on their ballot of five)
2. Radiohead 48%
3. Janet Jackson 45%
4. Kraftwerk 39%
5. Def Leppard 39%
6. The Zombies 39%
7. Roxy Music 38%
8. Stevie Nicks 37%
9. Todd Rundgren 35%
10. MC5 29%
11. LL Cool J 25%
12. Devo 23%
13. Rage Against the Machine 22%
14. Rufus with Chaka Khan 16%
15. John Prine 14%