Today, the Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced their list of nominees for 2019. This year’s class of nominees features a mix of talented artists from a diverse spectrum of “performing songwriters” including John Prine, Missy Elliott, Cat Stevens, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), Mariah Carey, Mike Love (The Beach Boys), Vince Gill, Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), Jimmy Cliff, and more. The organization also recognized a number of non-performing songwriters with a nomination, shining light on some of the less widely-known creative minds behind the music you love.

As the nominee announcement press release notes, “The Songwriters Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create music around the world. To qualify for induction, a songwriter must be a published writer for a minimum of 20 years with a notable catalog of hit songs.” Eligible voting members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame will have until December 17th to cast their ballots, from which six songwriters of songwriting teams will be selected for induction at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame Annual Induction & Awards Gala on June 19th, 2019—three from the performing songwriters category and three from the non-performing songwriters category.

Of particular note is the nomination of Missy Elliott, who marks the first female hip-hop artist to be tapped for the honor. If chosen, she would be just the third hip-hop artist overall to be inducted (after Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri).

As Variety notes,

While she’s kept a relatively low profile in recent years, Elliott has had a vast influence on the sound of hip-hop and R&B, both through her solo work (particularly songs like “The Rain,” “Work It,” “Lose Control” and “Get Ur Freak On”) and her collaborations with Aaliyah, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige and many others. 


Congratulations and good luck to all the talented songwriters nominated this year. To see a full list of the 2019 nominees and read their stories, head here.