AFL grand final: American pop star Katy Perry performs pre-game entertainment ahead of premiership decider
Global pop sensation Katy Perry delivered a high-energy, vocally-charged performance ahead of the 2024 grand final, electrifying a packed-out Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Perry’s 17-minute set included some of her biggest chart-topping hits, as well as two songs from her new album 143, which has received mostly negative reviews from critics following its release last week.
The 39-year-old, who performed the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show back in 2015, kicked off the dazzling display with the number one smash hit Roar, entering the hallowed turf atop a metallic car.
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The ‘hovercraft’ drew some comparisons from keen-eyed footy fans to Angry Anderson’s infamous ‘Batmobile’ vehicle from the 1991 grand final between Hawthorn and West Coast at Waverley Park.
Perry then rode into another number one, 2013’s Dark Horse, as she was accompanied by dozens of dancers on the giant metallic stage in the centre of the MCG.
“Australia, you’re looking gorgeous today,” Perry declared as she launched into the first song from her new collection, titled Gorgeous.
After the mood dropped with the unfamiliar track, Perry diverted back to one of her most popular songs California Gurls, asking the energetic crowd to sing along.
She kept the hits coming with Teenage Dream, the titular track from her critically acclaimed 2010 album, as dozens more dancers joined the high-energy performance.
Joined on stage by Australian icon Tina Arena, who donned a sparkly sequin gown, Perry then belted her debut single I Kissed a Girl.
The pair also sang Arena’s hit Chains together, before Perry lifted the tempo again with another offering from her latest album and the titular song of her recently-announced Australian tour, Lifetimes.
The epic conclusion came as she belted out another number one, mega-hit Firework, as dazzling pyrotechnics filled the sky.
While the production couldn’t compare to the Super Bowl - and there was no left shark in sight - there was no denying the star power of Perry, who knows how to make a 100,000-strong crowd roar to life.
The pre-game entertainment was kicked off with Mike Brady’s familiar footy anthem Up There Cazaly, while ARIA winner Christine Anu and her daughter Zipporah Corser-Anu performed My Island Home alongside the Songlines Youth Choir.
Australian pop sensation Cody Simpson, who stepped back from music to pursue swimming, performed an impressive rendition of the national anthem.
KATY PERRY SETLIST
- Roar
- Dark Horse
- Gorgeous (143 album)
- California Gurls
- Teenage Dream
- I Kissed A Girl & Chains (featuring Tina Arena)
- Lifetimes (143 album)
- Firework
