Culture February 10, 2021

Carole King, Mary J. Blige and more: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announces 2021 nominees

WATCH: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts 7 new members

After years of hearing that there aren't enough women in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it seems the powers that be got the message.

Out of the 16 artists nominated for induction this year, seven are women.

Among the female first-time nominees: The Go-Go's, Dionne Warwick and Carole King as a performer (she was already inducted as a non-performer for her songwriting).

MORE: Whitney Houston and the Notorious B.I.G. inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Other female nominees on the ballot again this year include Chaka Khan, Kate Bush, Tina Turner and Mary J. Blige.

Turner is already a Rock Hall member as half of Ike & Tina Turner.

"I think The Go-Go's are probably the number-one artist that we get fan mail about right now -- people are really excited," Rock Hall vice president of education, Jason Hanley, told ABC Audio of the band's nomination.

MORE: Miranda Lambert to perform 3 shows in Texas in April: 'We're doing this safely and right'
Editor's Picks

The rest of this year's nominees include first-timers like the Foo Fighters, JAY-Z, Iron Maiden, the late African superstar Fela Kuti, Devo, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and Todd Rundgren.

"There's so many great female artists, people of color in the history of rock and roll, and so many different musical styles," noted Hanley. "I think it's great, and I think it's probably a trend we're going to see continue moving forward as well."

The inductees will be announced in May and the induction ceremony will take place this fall in Cleveland, Ohio.

Fans can now vote at RockHall.com for their favorites.