Katy Perry’s Australian fans are furious after the pop star failed to perform one of her most iconic songs at the AFL Grand Final on Saturday.
The American singer, 39, wowed at the MCG by performing eight songs to a rapturous audience, including her hits Roar, Firework and California Gurls, and two songs from her new album, 143.
However, fans were devastated by her decision not to perform her 2008 hit Hot N Cold, which was famous as the theme song of MasterChef Australia.
Viewers flocked to social media to condemn the singer for leaving such an iconic song out of her setlist, jokingly describing it as Australia’s real ‘national anthem’.
“Like they can’t get Katy Perry to play Hot N Cold. Must be a joke because how big that song is right here,” one upset fan snapped.
‘Surprised Katy didn’t sing Hot N Cold. Surely that’s the only song that so many football fans can relate to,” a second person joked.
‘No hot and cold? Katy, that’s literally the Australian National Anthem hunny!!!!” another person joked and a fourth user added: ‘Katy didn’t perform hot or cold at the AFL Grand Final even though it’s been the theme song of all these years the Australian MasterChef was.’
Although international editions of MasterChef do not use the Katy Perry song in their intros, it was particularly loved by Australian audiences, but was later removed by Channel Ten due to expensive licensing fees.
Australian fans of Katy Perry (pictured) are furious after the pop star failed to perform one of her most iconic songs at the AFL Grand Final on Saturday
The American singer, 39, wowed at Melbourne’s MCG by performing eight songs to a rapturous crowd, including her hits Roar, Firework and California Gurls
Although she didn’t sing Hot n Cold, she surprised AFL fans by starting her 20-minute set with Roar, despite it being widely believed she wouldn’t perform the hit.
There had been feverish speculation that the song had been blacklisted because it showed a perceived bias against the Lions, with Perry herself even admitting that she had been warned not to sing it.
Despite the rampant theories, Perry – who was paid $5 million for the performance – threw the caution to the wind by performing the song that some fans consider the unofficial anthem of the underdogs.
She also sang her hits Teenage Dreams, Dark Horse, Firework and California Gurls and sang I Kissed A Girl with Tina Arena.
Following reports that she had been restricted to just one new song by AFL bosses, Perry additionally released two songs from her 2024 album 143 – Lifetimes and Beautiful, her collaboration with Kim Petras.
The California-born singer also shocked with some very ‘bizarre’ CGI effects during the big show ahead of the Brisbane Lions vs Sydney Swans showdown.
However, fans were left devastated by her decision not to perform her iconic 2008 hit Hot N Cold, which was once the theme song for reality series MasterChef Australia.
Furious fans quickly took to social media to slam the singer for leaving such an iconic song off her setlist
While fans praised her singing, many were left completely baffled by her choice to accompany her real-life performance and dance moves with a series of ‘bizarre’ CGI effects.
Fans watched as huge futuristic effects appeared above the stadium grounds, including bizarre golden love hearts and a galaxy-style black hole, with many poking fun at the video game look of early 2000s CGI.
On X – formerly known as Twitter – someone joked: ‘AFL preshow brought to you by Fortnite with all this CGI.’
Another said: ‘What the hell was @channel7 thinking with those $5 CGI effects,’ while a third wrote: ‘Petition to only allow CGI during the #AFLGF practical effects.’
The American singer, 39, wowed at Melbourne’s MCG by performing eight songs to a rapturous crowd, including her hits Roar, Firework and California Gurls, and two songs from her new album 143.
A fourth tweeted: ‘What is the CGI about? This is awful,” and a fifth joked: “I hope the crowd at the MCG enjoy the CGI.”
“How much is AFL paying for this?” another added.
However, other fans were quick to defend Perry as they praised her vocal talents and upbeat performance, despite the funny CGI blunder.
One wrote: ‘If you say Katy Perry was bad you are 100% a choice for me and I have no time for you.’
“I know Katy Perry is cringing but that performance was surprisingly good,” shared another, while a third added: “Katy Perry killed it.”
A fourth said: ‘Ready for the #AFLGF All entertainment done and now for battle. But @katyperry was good.”
A fifth commented: ‘Personal. Loved @katyperry at the #AFLGF!! She was a lot of fun!’
