Madonna (File Photo)

    BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Pop star Madonna is among the nine recording artists nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    Other nominees include Canadian poet-singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, disco queen Donna Summer, instrumental rock band The Ventures, rap pioneer Afrika Bambaataa and puckish rappers The Beastie Boys, according to media reports Friday.

    Also making the short list of nominees are New York-based funk group Chic, 1960s English band The Dave Clark Five and rock singer John Mellencamp, who have been nominated previously.

    The nominations illustrate how far the Hall of Fame has stretched its definition of rock n' roll to incorporate a variety of musical styles.

    Five-hundred music industry professionals will choose five of the nominees to be inducted at a ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel next March.

    It's certainly the case with Madonna, the Michigan-native who burst out of New York dance clubs in the early 1980s with "Holiday" and soon became a pop culture icon. She sold more then 200 million albums worldwide.

    (Agencies)