Music Commission News

The finalists for the 2026 Pacific Music Awards were announced last night at the Mangere Arts Centre in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

This year, 33 artists have been recognised as finalists across 13 categories, highlighting the depth and diversity of Pacific music talent in Aotearoa and across the Moana.

Leading the pack with five nominations are A.R.T and Sam V.

A.R.T, the Porirua trio, is nominated for FLAVA Best Pacific Group, Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Language, Best Pacific Soul/RnB Artist, NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video for ‘Over Now’, directed by Michael Hunt, and Recorded Music NZ Te Tino Pukaemi Moana Nui a Kiwa o te Tau | Best Pacific Music Album for Blank Canvas.

The group released their Nana’s Garage EP, followed by Blank Canvas EP, marking a new chapter in their sound and building on the momentum of their 2024 breakout singles ‘When He Was Mine’ and ‘Easy’.

RnB singer Sam V is nominated for NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, Best Pacific Soul/RnB Artist, APRA Best Pacific Song for ‘Small Taste’, Recorded Music NZ Te Tino Pukaemi Moana Nui a Kiwa o te Tau | Best Pacific Music Album for Take A Chance On V: Deluxe , and MPG Aotearoa/SAE Creative Media Institute Best Producer along with EDY and Astro.

The Auckland artist’s nostalgic take on contemporary RnB has earned him a growing following, with Take A Chance On V: Deluxe following a busy year of touring across New Zealand and Australia.

Hip hop heavyweight Scribe has four nominations for NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, ONErpm Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist, APRA Best Pacific Song for ‘Glowstick’, and Recorded Music NZ Te Tino Pukaemi Moana Nui a Kiwa o te Tau | Best Pacific Music Album for Scribe is Dead.

Ladi6 also returns to the Pacific Music Awards with four nominations for Auckland Council Best Pacific Female Artist, Best Pacific Soul/RnB Artist, and Recorded Music NZ Te Tino Pukaemi Moana Nui a Kiwa o te Tau | Best Pacific Music Album for Le Vā. The producers of her album are also nominated this year.

Le Vā explores themes of legacy, loss and renewal, with Ladi6 describing it as exploring “the space between – between life and death, between who I was and who I’m becoming.”

Receiving three nominations this year are Iva Lamkum, Junior Soqeta, Tree, and Three Houses Down.

Iva Lamkum is nominated for Auckland Council Best Pacific Female Artist, APRA Best Pacific Song for ‘Don’t Mind If I Do’, and NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video for ‘Don’t Mind If I Do’, directed by David Truasheim.

Junior Soqeta receives three nods for NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Language, and Best Pacific Roots/Reggae Artist.

Tree is nominated in the Auckland Council Best Pacific Female Artist, Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Language and 531pi Best Pacific Gospel Artist categories for The Rose Era.

Three Houses Down receives three nominations for FLAVA Best Pacific Group, Best Pacific Roots/Reggae Artist for their Lovers Roots EP and NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video for ‘Turn Around’.

Other finalists this year include Kenzie From Welly (Auckland Council Best Pacific Female Artist, ONErpm Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist), MELODOWNZ (NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, ONErpm Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist), Brotherhood Musiq (FLAVA Best Pacific Group, 531pi Best Pacific Gospel Artist), Signature Choir (FLAVA Best Pacific Group, 531pi Best Pacific Gospel Artist), Island Vibes (Best Pacific Roots/Reggae Artist, APRA Best Pacific Song), Lepani (NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, APRA Best Pacific Song), Diggy Dupé & choicevaughan (ONErpm Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist), Myshaan (Best Pacific Soul/RnB Artist), Shane Walker (Best Pacific Roots/Reggae Artist), Brandn Shiraz (NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video), Shepherds Reign (NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video), Vallé (NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video), GLEN JXN JACKSON (Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Language), Taonepuna Lakatani, Malcolm Lakatani & Pacific Kids Learning (Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Language), Punialava’a (531pi Best Pacific Gospel Artist), and Village 90 (FLAVA Best Pacific Group).

There are also four nominees for MPG Aotearoa/SAE Creative Media Institute Best Producer, including Brent Park-Tamati and Brandon Haru for Le Vā by Ladi6, EDY, Astro, and Sam V for Take A Chance On V: Deluxe by Sam V, Josh Fountain for Don’t Mind If I Do by Iva Lamkum, and Nathan Judd for Disco Witch by LOU’ANA.

This year’s Niu FM Best International Pacific Artist finalists represent music from around the globe, with finalists Jaro Local, etu, JAHBOY, Wameblood and the late Fiji.

Finally, the finalists for NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video are Brandn Shiraz (‘Youngin from Kuki II’, directed by Esther Mauga), Shepherds Reign (‘Samoa Mo Samoa’, directed by Twayne Laumua), Vallé (‘Hold Me’, directed by John Ross), A.R.T (‘Over Now’, directed by Michael Hunt), Iva Lamkum (‘Don’t Mind If I Do’, directed by David Truasheim), and Three Houses Down (‘Turn Around’, directed by Three Houses Down).

Pacific Music Awards Trust spokesperson Rev Mua Strickson-Pua said: “The Pacific Music Awards Trust are committed to celebrating and bringing together our Pacific music community. We recognise this significant moment in time, where we can announce and celebrate the 2026 finalists.

“With each step of the process, it is our artists and their music that inspires and motivate us to keep going. We encourage everyone to get behind the finalists and their music, and to journey with us as we build towards the 2026 Pacific Music Awards celebration on 12 August.”

The SunPix People’s Choice Award voting is open now, and all artists nominated for the 2026 Pacific Music Awards are eligible. The winner will be decided entirely by public vote, which can be cast through the voting poll on the PMA website. Voting will close on Wednesday 22 July.

To listen to all the nominees, here’s the official PMA 2026 Finalist Playlist. This year’s Pacific Music Award winners will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 12, at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau.

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In 2004 the Pacific Music Awards Committee (PMAC) was formed to realise a vision and the inaugural Pacific Music Awards debuted at Pasifika Festival in March 2005. Encouraged by the success of the awards the PMAC set about developing an annual event as a significant highlight of the New Zealand music industry calendar. The awards committee formed a Charitable Trust to organise and host the awards, and are driven by a simple core objective: to create and manage an event that acknowledges the success of Pacific artists, celebrates and promotes excellence in Pacific music and encourages young Pacific musicians to aspire to a higher level of achievement. Today the Trust’s three core services are the Pacific Music Awards, Tautua Programme and Hiva Folau Vaka Project.