The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) have named blues musician Marlene Cummins and Elcho Island’s Saltwater Band as the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees, ahead of the ceremony in Darwin next month.

Cummins — a Guguyelandji woman on her father’s side and Woppaburra on her mother’s — is regarded as one of Australia’s leading Indigenous female blues voices. Born in Cunnamulla, Queensland, she studied saxophone and songwriting at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and has worked across music, broadcasting, activism, dance and acting.

Her career has included award-winning radio work, the documentary Black Panther Woman, which chronicled her own history within the Australian Black Panther movement, and the song “Koori Woman,” written as a dedication to Indigenous women.

Saltwater Band, from Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island, are recognised for a catalogue that threaded traditional song through reggae and ska-influenced pop, sung mostly in Yolŋu languages. The band’s most prominent member was the late Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, already a Hall of Fame inductee — inducted by fellow founding member Manuel Dhurrkay — who went on to become the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician in history.

Before co-founding Saltwater Band, Yunupingu played in Yothu Yindi, the internationally recognised group behind the landmark 1991 single “Treaty.” His solo debut Gurrumul (2008) reached No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and won two ARIA Awards, and he sold an estimated half a million records worldwide before his death in 2017 at 46. Saltwater Band earned multiple NIMAs and Deadly Awards across their career, with their album Djarridjarri nominated for the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album in 2004.

The 2026 NIMAs take place at Darwin Amphitheater in Garramilla/Darwin on Saturday, Aug. 8, hosted by Rob Collins and Leila Gurruwiwi. The performance lineup features Baker Boy, Electric Fields, BIG NOTER, Stiff Gins, Bumpy, Casii Williams, South Summit and Zipporah, with more to be announced. The night’s Artist of the Year nominees include 3%, Baker Boy, Birdz and Fred Leone, Bumpy, Jem Cassar-Daley, Miss Kaninna and South Summit.

Ahead of the ceremony, the Blak Loud Showcase — presented by Amazon Music Australia and Awesome Blak — will serve as the unofficial opening night at Darwin’s Bustard Town on Aug. 7, featuring South Summit, Zipporah and Casii Williams. Free RSVPs are available through the NIMA website.

Ariana Grande is suing unnamed hackers who she claims have repeatedly stolen and leaked unreleased music, photos and video footage, saying they have violated the “sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans.”

In a lawsuit submitted to Los Angeles court Monday (July 27), the pop star’s attorneys say the hackers have targeted her photographers and producers, allowing them to carry out “unlawful and egregious” thefts of her private content. They say 45 of her songs were stolen and leaked in 2023 alone.

“Neither Ms. Grande nor any other public or private figure should have to suffer such violations caused by these wrongdoers who hide in the shadows and wreak technological havoc with impunity,” the star’s lawyers write. “It is imperative to Ms. Grande to ensure on behalf of herself and others that such conduct is deterred to the fullest extent possible.”

The lawsuit does not name any actual defendants; instead, it names anonymous “John Doe” hackers. Grande is aiming to use the lawsuit to unmask them, potentially through court-ordered subpoenas to internet service providers.

“Ms. Grande initiates this action to uncover the identities of these currently unknown and unscrupulous individuals in order to hold them accountable for their invasive and reprehensible conduct,” her lawyers write.

Grande’s lawyers say she has “constantly and recently been the target of cyberattacks,” resulting in theft of her music, photos and video that are “part of her personal and professional creative process and that are not intended for public consumption.” After these thefts, the hackers have then “sold this personal data and content on the dark web for significant sums of money.”

The lawsuit claims Grande has faced “hundreds” of such leaks since 2011, including a 2019 theft of “still-in-production, unreleased masters and demos and footage,” as well as two attacks in 2024 that saw unreleased photos of the star stolen in phishing scams.

“This malicious invasion of Ms. Grande’s privacy and disruption of her career have caused her substantial and irreparable harm due to this breach of privacy,” her lawyers write. “The unauthorized misappropriation and disclosure of these materials is a violation of Ms. Grande’s identity and artistry, and the direct and sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans.”

In technical legal terms, Grande is suing the unnamed hackers for invasion of privacy, violation of California computer hacking laws, and conversion — the civil law equivalent to the crime of theft.

Beyond the Valley, billed as Australia’s largest multi-day music festival, has revealed the lineup for its 11th edition, led by John Summit, the Black Eyed Peas, KI/KI and Skepta.

The festival returns to Barunah Plains in Victoria from Dec. 28 through Jan. 1, 2027, after selling out in under an hour last year. U.S. dance producer John Summit takes the New Year’s Eve countdown slot, while the Black Eyed Peas will play an Australian-exclusive show. Dutch DJ KI/KI and British grime pioneer Skepta — returning to the festival for the first time since 2019/20 — also feature high on the bill.

The lineup spans dance, hip-hop, pop and rock across five days, with Ocean Alley, Overmono, Disco Lines, Nia Archives, Armand Van Helden, The Veronicas, Vince Staples, Frost Children, SPFDJ, Jayda G, salute, southstar, Odd Mob and Dean Turnley among the acts announced. The daily bill also features The Jungle Giants, Boys Noize, Rum Jungle, Ewan McVicar, Job Jobse and dozens more across the festival’s stages.

The 2026/27 edition is presented by Untitled Group and triple j. Its daily headline structure places John Summit and the Black Eyed Peas on Dec. 31, Ocean Alley and Overmono on Dec. 30, Skepta, Disco Lines and Nia Archives on Dec. 29, and a three-hour KI/KI set on Dec. 28.

At the top of the bill sits some of the biggest commercial firepower in recent pop history. The Black Eyed Peas remain one of the best-selling acts of the 21st century, having sold an estimated 80 million records and scored three consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s in 2009 with “Boom Boom Pow,” “I Gotta Feeling” and “Imma Be” — the first two combining for a then-record 26 consecutive weeks atop the chart.

Their album The E.N.D. debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. John Summit has become one of dance music’s most in-demand live draws, topping Billboard’s Dance/Electronic charts and headlining arenas and festivals worldwide, while Skepta remains a defining figure of British grime, having won the Mercury Prize for 2016’s Konnichiwa and reached the Billboard Hot 100 through his feature on A$AP Rocky’s double-platinum “Praise the Lord (Da Shine).”

On Sunday (July 26), Slayyyter kicked off her WOR$T GIRL IN THE WORLD Tour with a hometown show — and special treat.

During the opening night set, the pop provocateur live debuted four unreleased songs. Within 24 hours, she announced that one of those unheard gems, “BRAND NEW CHANEL$,” will arrive on Friday (July 31), giving even more fans the first taste of what could be an extension of her iconic era.

Slayyyter revealed the news via Instagram on Monday (July 27) alongside a high-quality live snippet of herself performing the track during the show in St. Louis, Missouri. She accompanied the post with a message thanking fans for coming to show and wrote, “I love my hometown so much. I can’t wait to do it all over again tonight.”

Concertgoers at the tour opener were the first to hear “BRAND NEW CHANEL$,” along with three other unreleased songs: “NEKROMANTIK,” “I THINK HE’S GOT A GIRL” AND “CRANK 2.” The surprise debuts immediately caused speculation to rise surrounding Slayyyter’s next album, though she has yet to announce a new LP.

“BRAND NEW CHANEL$” will be the first official release since her third studio album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, which arrived in March and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart. It also scored Slayyyter her first entry on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 22.

Her WOR$T GIRL IN THE WORLD Tour extends through Nov. 5, wrapping in London at The Roundhouse. The trek includes a handful of festival appearances, including Lollapalooza Chicago, Reading and Leeds Festivals and All Things Go in Washington, D.C.