Songwriters Hall of Fame: N.W.A, Janet Jackson, and Eminem Among Class of 2025 Nominees

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Every year, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honors songwriters across genres who have made significant contributions to the cultural fabric of music, recognizing their creativity, impact, and influence on the industry. This year’s nominees reflect a diverse blend of styles and eras—from pop and rock to hip-hop, country, and R&B—underscoring the evolution and breadth of songwriting. To qualify for induction, a songwriter’s first significant commercial song release must be at least 20 years old.

Only six will be elected – three from 13 nominees in the performing songwriters category and three from 13 nominees in the songwriters category, which is reserved for non-performing songwriters.

The nominees will be voted upon by eligible members (who are either apart of a Performing Rights Organization or are employed as a music industry professional). The six inductees will be celebrated at the SHOF’s 2025 Induction & Awards Gala, which will be held on June 12 in New York City (Billboard).

2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominees

Note: The songs listed after each name are “merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs” (as stated by Songhall.org).

SONGWRITERS

Walter Afanasieff – “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Hero,” “License to Kill,” “Love Will Survive,” “One Sweet Day”

Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan – “Secret Agent Man,” “Eve Of Destruction,” “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “You Baby,” “Can I Get to Know You”

Mike Chapman – “The Best,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Ballroom Blitz,” “Stumblin’ In,” “Kiss You All Over”

Sonny Curtis – “Love Is All Around (Theme from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”),” “I Fought the Law,” “Walk Right Back,” “More Than I Can Say,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain”

Tom Douglas – “The House That Built Me,” “Little Rock,” “I Run to You,” “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” “Love Me Anyway”

Franne Golde – “Dreaming of You,” “Nightshift,” “Don’t Look Any Further,” “Don’t You Want Me,” “Stickwitu”

Ashley Gorley – “I Had Some Help,” “Last Night,” “You Should Probably Leave,” “Play It Again,” “You’re Gonna Miss This”

Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins – “Say My Name,” “The Boy Is Mine,” “You Rock My World,” “Déjà vu,” “Telephone”

Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter – “One Tin Soldier (Theme from “Billy Jack”),” “Don’t Pull Your Love,” “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got),” “It Only Takes a Minute,” “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)”

Tony Macaulay – “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup,” “Don’t Give Up On Us,” “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)”

Roger Nichols – “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” “Out in the Country,” “Times of Your Life”

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham – “I’m Your Puppet,” “Cry Like a Baby,” “A Woman Left Lonely,” “Out of Left Field,” “It Tears Me Up”

Narada Michael Walden – “How Will I Know,” “Freeway of Love,” “You’re a Friend of Mine,” “Baby Come to Me,” “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”

Timbaland reflects on being inducted [WATCH BELOW]:

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Mariah Carey accepts her SHOF Award [WATCH BELOW]:

PERFORMING SONGWRITERS

Bryan Adams – “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” “Heaven,” “All for Love,” “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?,” “Summer of ‘69”

George Alan O’Dowd p/k/a Boy George – “Karma Chameleon,” “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock Of The Heart), “Love Is Love,” “Miss Me Blind”

George Clinton – “Atomic Dog,” “Flash Light,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” “I’d Rather Be With You,” “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”

Sheryl Crow – “All I Wanna Do,” “Soak Up The Sun,” “If It Makes You Happy,” “A Change Would Do You Good,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road”

Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons p/k/a Doobie Brothers – “Listen to the Music,” “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “Black Water,” “What a Fool Believes,” “Long Train Runnin’”

Marshall Mathers p/k/a Eminem – “Lose Yourself,” “Stan,” “Mockingbird,” “Houdini,” “Rap God”

David Gates – “Everything I Own,” “Make It With You,” “Baby I’m-A Want You,” “The Guitar Man,” “If”

Janet Jackson – “Black Cat,” “Together Again,” “Again,” “Got ‘til It’s Gone,” “Rhythm Nation”

Tommy James – “Mony Mony,” “Crimson and Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Sweet Cherry Wine,” “Tighter, Tighter”

Mike Love – “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “The Warmth of the Sun,” “I Get Around,” “Fun, Fun, Fun”

Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Thank U,” “Uninvited”

Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella p/k/a N.W.A – “Express Yourself,” “Dopeman,” “Fu*k Tha Police,” “Gangsta Gangsta,” “Straight Outta Compton”

Steve Winwood – “Higher Love,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “I’m a Man,” “Valerie,” “Roll With It”

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