Katy Perry stuns with 'iconic' AFL grand final performance: 'Gave me chills'

Katy Perry has divided viewers with her highly anticipated AFL grand final performance, with some loving it and some calling it a 'mess'. The performance, which earned the singer a reported $5 million, saw her play several of her classic songs, including 'Roar', 'Firework', and 'Teenage Dream', as well as 'I Kissed A Girl', which she brought out Aussie legend Tina Arena for, with the pair also singing Tina's song 'Chains'.

Katy had previously hinted at Tina's involvement in her performance, offering a clue during an appearance on Sunrise, "There’s going to be a surprise performance of a favourite Australian artist that I look up to. She will be singing a little bit with me, and I’ll be singing a little bit with her.

"I’ve been sworn to secrecy, locked up, chains — all of it."

Fans react to Katy Perry's 'iconic' performance

Fans loved the performance, with one user writing, "[Not gonna lie], Katy Perry way exceeded my expectations. She was sensational. Respect."

"Katy Perry was the best entertainment we’ve ever seen, great use of the space," another said, before adding a suggestion, "But the thing that was missing is a roof on the MCG, the addition of lighting design and improvement to sound quality by not losing it all to the open air would elevate any performance."

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"Loved @katyperry for the @AFL Grand Final! 💖 Only thought is how much better this would have been at a twilight/night game!" a third said. "Might be finally time for that change if AFL are going to put this much effort (💰) into the pre-game show!"

"I hope @NRL is watching this because *this* is how you do grand final entertainment!" another agreed.

"Just wow!!!! Bloody fabulous pre game show!" one fan said.

"So iconic, this gave me chills," yet another said.

"I know Katy Perry is cringe but that performance was surprisingly good," someone else said. "The MCG is a huge stadium. Artists rarely ever use a good amount of its floor space in the pregame act."

While many loved the performance, some weren't fans, with one user writing, "This entertainment is a mess, performers running around with tin foil, Katy Perry singing her songs, new, old and then switching to Granny Tina’s songs, before coming back to hers... all accompanied by bizarre CGI, and a fat pay check of $5 mill..."

"I don’t have a problem with Katy Perry, she’s got some great songs, but I’ll not sure that performance was worth $5mil," another said. "Could have split that between a bunch of local bands and it would have been way less cringe…"

Some fans were also upset that songs such as 'Hot n Cold' and 'Last Friday Night' didn't make the setlist.

Katy Perry's grand final performance conditions

The huge amount of money has been said to have its conditional agreements — meaning that Katy focuses on playing her greatest hits instead of anything from her widely-panned 2024 album 143.

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According to Channel Nine reporter Tom Morris, the AFL initially requested for the singer only to perform her 'recognised' hits such as 'Firework', 'Roar' and 'I Kissed A Girl', with Katy's camp pushing back and saying she wanted to perform two new songs.

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