Weekly wrap-up
Week of July 27, 2026
43 stories No issue this week
Everything the desk filed July 27 to August 2, 2026, best-covered first. No issue went out this week, so this page is the whole of it.
Filed this week
43 stories
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ReleasesRock
Wolf Alice cover The Roches' Hammond Song for new B-sides EP
Sunflower Bean's Julia Cumming and Bria Salmena join for a cover that lands one year on from The Clearing.
Confirmed3 outlets
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BusinessPop
BTS, the K-pop group, pulls out of the Grammys over new Asian Pop category
The band's boycott pushed Recording Academy chief Harvey Mason Jr. to defend, then reconsider, the award two weeks later.
Confirmed3 outlets
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BusinessPop
Boy George attacks Bandcamp for pulling his pro-Israel song
He said the platform gave in to pressure from people he called antisemites.
Confirmed2 outlets
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LegalPop
Singer Ariana Grande sues to unmask hackers leaking her unreleased music
The lawsuit says hackers have accessed devices and accounts of her photographers and producers for 15 years, leaking 45 songs in 2023 alone.
Developing3 outlets
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ReleasesR&B
Ari Lennox previews her Vacancy deluxe album with Hookah Baby
She co-wrote the club track with Alivia Blue after ending her Vacancy Tour in June.
Developing2 outlets
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ObituaryRock
Glen Hansard, Irish singer and 'Once' star, dies at 56
The Frames frontman was killed in a motorcycle collision in Lucan, on the western edge of Dublin.
Developing2 outlets
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ReleasesCountry
Shaboozey discusses new concept album The Outlaw Cherie Lee and Other Western Tales
The Grammy-winning singer built the Wild West revenge story around a fictional character inspired by the women in his life.
Single source1 outlet
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FestivalsElectronic
John Summit, Chris Lake and Kaskade headline Breakaway Utah's festival debut
The inaugural stop brings Tiesto and a first-ever Gorgon City b2b MPH set to America First Field on October 2-3.
Single source1 outlet
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Releases
Legendary songwriter Diane Warren releases reggae covers album Songs in the Key of Diane
The 13-track compilation reworks her pop and rock hits in reggae and Pacific Island styles, with five previously unreleased songs.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesLatin
Lido Pimienta discusses new album Caribenya on NPR
The Colombian Canadian artist says the record explores what she calls the Caribbean sublime, with her 7-year-old daughter singing on one track.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesPop
Ariana Grande's new album Petal channels her anger into pop
Rolling Stone calls the rage-filled eighth LP a departure from the meticulous Eternal Sunshine, and says it works.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesLatin
Selena Gomez, Becky G and Benny Blanco share Te Olvido (La La) video
Danny Trejo stars in the Chicano-culture-steeped clip, directed by a frequent Bad Bunny collaborator, previewing Blanco's album Hermoso.
Single source1 outlet
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FestivalsElectronic
Zedd, Excision and Gryffin headline Breakaway Mass festival return to Worcester
The two-day run at Palladium Outdoors adds Crankdat, INZO and Wax Motif to a 24-act bill on August 21-22.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesIndie
Chrissi shares reflective new single The Scariest Part
The Essex singer-songwriter wrote the song after blocking an ex mid-flight to a new country.
Single source1 outlet
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Business
GEMA beats Suno in German copyright ruling over AI music training
The Munich court found the AI company infringed copyright by training on and reproducing GEMA-controlled songs without a license.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesPop
flowerovlove announces debut album Mini Skirt Warrior
The pop singer also shared new single Kiss Kiss Kiss, ahead of an arena tour opening for Niall Horan.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesPop
Remi Wolf returns with vulnerable new single Twiggy
She debuted the song live at Newport Folk Festival with a surprise assist from Paramore's Hayley Williams.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesPop
Rachel Chinouriri announces sophomore album I Think I Spoke Too Soon
The London singer-songwriter worked with Lucy Dacus on the follow-up to her 2024 debut, due this October.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesJazz
DOMi & JD Beck release second album Who Asked?
The keys-and-drums duo tell NPR they still second-guess themselves daily, even after praise from Anderson .Paak and Herbie Hancock.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesIndie
Lucia & The Best Boys release '80s-leaning second album Picking Petals
DIY hears the Scottish act finally settle into a sound after a shakier debut, with Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry joining for one track.
Single source1 outlet
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LegalHip-hop
Kanye West settles sexual assault lawsuit with former assistant Lauren Pisciotta
The deal, reached July 23, closes claims of assault, trafficking and wrongful termination without any admission of fault.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesR&B
Steve Lacy and Syd release solo albums on the same day
NPR hears the two Internet bandmates chasing the same quiet cool from opposite directions on Oh Yeah? and Beard.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesLatin
Karol G announces sixth album No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto
The Colombian superstar revealed the record from the stage in Toronto, with the LP due one week later.
Single source1 outlet
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LegalHip-hop
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs gets his prison release date moved up again
Federal records now show a release date of January 24, 2028, days after a reported fight landed him in solitary confinement.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesCountry
Shania Twain's new album Little Miss Twain draws a mixed review
Saving Country Music gave the record a 5 out of 10, calling it a course correction that still chases pop moments it should leave behind.
Single source1 outlet
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Business
Canada's SOCAN buys CMRRA to unify music rights licensing
The deal folds Canadian mechanical rights back under the same roof as performing rights for the first time in years.
Single source1 outlet
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Business
Major record labels float new rules for AI music on the charts
The proposal would let AI-assisted songs compete but keep tracks built entirely by AI off official tallies.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesCountry
Kentucky singer-songwriter Ian Noe announces double concept album Canyon Falls
The 16-song record follows a hiatus caused by a broken wrist and marks Noe's return with producer Andrija Tokic at Nashville's Bomb Shelter.
Single source1 outlet
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ToursCountry
Jason Isbell cancels and postpones tour dates without explanation
Two of the three postponed shows already have new dates, but nothing has been said about why they were moved.
Single source1 outlet
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LegalRock
Actor and singer Jared Leto denies sexual misconduct accusations from BBC documentary
Ten women describe alleged incidents between 2002 and 2016 in a film the BBC spent 18 months investigating.
Single source1 outlet
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ObituaryElectronic
French electronic artist Kavinsky, composer of "Nightcall" from "Drive," dies at 50
Paris prosecutors found "no suspicious elements" after the producer, born Vincent Belorgey, died of a suspected stroke.
Single source1 outlet
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Business
Major and indie record labels propose rules for AI tracks on the music charts
The plan would let AI-assisted songs chart while blocking fully AI-generated tracks, and could extend to gold and platinum certifications.
Single source1 outlet
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Business
AI music company Suno hit with two class action lawsuits over data breach
Personal data tied to 55.3 million users was accessed last November, but Suno never formally notified those affected.
Single source1 outlet
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LegalHip-hop
Rapper RBX refiles lawsuit accusing Spotify of ignoring streaming fraud
The amended complaint claims stream manipulation tied to Drake has diverted at least $600 million in royalties from other artists.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesLatin
DJ Fred Again.. and Latin Mafia livestream their mixtape sessions on YouTube
The three-day Mexico City livestream will run until the British DJ and the Mexican trio finish recording their joint project.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesLatin
Cuban French duo Ibeyi release fourth album "Offering" as independent artists
Twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz left longtime label XL Recordings after 10 years to make the record on their own.
Single source1 outlet
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Business
Concert promoter Live Nation resists sharing more on its DOJ settlement
21 states that already won an antitrust monopoly verdict against the concert giant now want the DOJ deal opened up to more scrutiny.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesMetal
Composer Bear McCreary releases metal album "The Singularity: Ekleipsis"
The Emmy-winning "Battlestar Galactica" and "God of War" composer enlisted Steve Vai, Claudio Sanchez and his own brother for the record.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesCountry
Texas band the Wilder Blue announces fifth album, aptly titled "Cinco"
The record, made at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, features a guest turn from country singer Tracy Byrd on "Texas Women."
Single source1 outlet
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BusinessPop
Singer Carly Simon reveals Parkinson's diagnosis: "I am still very much here"
The 83-year-old also underwent skin cancer surgery and says the illness brought "anxiety, depression, exhaustion, an apathy."
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesRock
The Strokes release first album in six years, "Reality Awaits"
Twenty-five years after "Is This It," the band's most-streamed song is still 2020's "The Adults Are Talking," not an old-guard hit.
Single source1 outlet
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ToursCountry
Kacey Musgraves cancels three "Middle of Nowhere" tour dates without explanation
The canceled shows in Chicago, Boston and Brooklyn were all extra dates added after strong early ticket sales, Saving Country Music reports.
Single source1 outlet
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ReleasesCountry
Country artist Chasen Wayne announces concept album "The Diamond Saloon"
The 17-track record, narrated by Austin musician Denis O'Donnell, follows two fictional brothers running a struggling bar in Van Horn, Texas.
Single source1 outlet