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Rob Halford is pushing fans to keeping voting for Judas Priest as one of their picks for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.
Halford has been forthright in recent years about his belief that Judas Priest, one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, belongs in the Rock Hall, among a heap of other long-overlooked metal acts.
As of Friday morning, February 25, Priest was sixth in the fan voting tally, trailing Eminem, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Dolly Parton and Eurythmics, respectively.
Judas Priest has been eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1999. The band was finally nominated in 2018 and again in 2020, but denied induction both times.
"Like I said on the first nomination, and I'll say it on this one, for us it's all about getting some more metal into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame," Halford said in a new radio interview. "It's a great establishment as far as what it should be and do, which is to represent all of these figures in music. It's always a place that's full of emotion and passion 'cause that's what music generates. So, we urge our fans to keep voting, 'cause you have to get top five, for whatever reason. We did that the last two times, I think, which gives you a little bit of a cherry on the cake, if that's the right expression; it helps you get through the door a little bit more. But it's important.
"And the thing is let's have fun with this. There's a lot of stuff going on in the world right now. This is cool; this is fun. Let's get some more metal in there and celebrate the success together."
Each year, inductees are voted on by the Hall of Fame's members, as well as a group of music journalists, historians and industry professionals. The totality of the fan vote serves as one ballot among 1,000 or so other votes, and a strong suggestion to the other voters.
But the other voters haven't always been keen on taking the fan ballot into account.
In 2020, only one of the top five fan-voted acts — Doobie Brothers — actually earned induction into the Hall of Fame. Doobie brothers finished third that year in the fan voting, behind Dave Matthews Band and Pat Benatar. Judas Priest and Soundgarden finished fourth and fifth place, respectively.
You can check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Official Fan Vote Leaderboard here.
You can cast your vote here.