It appears that Katy Perry and the AFL are in dispute over the songs the American pop star will sing at the upcoming Grand Final in Melbourne.
The 39-year-old star player was announced in July as the headliner for next weekend’s match.
Appears on SEN Breakfast On Monday, a veteran AFL journalist said Tom Morris claimed Katy’s team had resisted an AFL request that the Teenage Dream hitmaker perform just one new song.
“She plays about five songs and the AFL really wanted her to play five classic songs. She wanted to play two new ones,” he said.
Tom added that both camps had reached a compromise, with Katy reportedly agreeing to just one new song.
“They ended up meeting halfway and she plays one new song and four classics,” he said.
Co-host and AFL legend Kane Cornes admitted he was a Katy Perry fan and added that the AFL should have a say in the planning of the hit stadium show.
“The AFL says, ‘We only want your hits. We only want your bangers. We only want your best stuff,'” he said.
It appears that Katy Perry (pictured) and the AFL have had a falling out over the songs the American pop star would sing at the upcoming Grand Final
“We want Roar, we want Teenage Dream, we want Firework. They want all the songs that we know and love. And she pushed back and said, ‘No, no, I want to play two of my new songs.’
He added: ‘You know, when you go to a concert and they’re maybe old and you just want their good stuff. You just want their greatest hits.
“That’s what the AFL asked Katy Perry. And she’s gone: ‘Obviously, I want to promote some of my new music.'”
Ny Breaking Australia has reached out to the AFL for comment.
Katy released her latest album 143 last week, featuring the controversial lead single Woman’s World and its follow-up Lifetimes.
In an interview with SEN Breakfast on Monday, the veteran AFL journalist said Tom Morris claimed Katy’s team had resisted a request from the AFL that the Teenage Dream hitmaker only perform one new song.
The singer released the lead single from 143 in July, but the song — billed as a powerful feminist anthem — was quickly dismissed as unoriginal, hypocritical and predictable.
The Teenage Dream hitmaker also drew criticism for the sexualised nature of the accompanying video, and for her decision to collaborate with music producer Dr Luke, 50, following his high-profile legal battle with Tick Tock singer Kesha, 37.
The reviews for 143 haven’t been too kind to Katy, with Variety in which he brazenly states that the album “strips away the remnants of the cheerful persona that propelled Perry to superstardom in the early 2010s.”
The news that Katy would be travelling to Australia for the September match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was met with disapproval from fans, with many questioning why the AFL felt the need to import talent from overseas.
Co-host and AFL great Kane Cornes admitted he was a Katy Perry fan and added that the AFL should have a say in the planning of the hit stadium show
“AFL Grand Final should be about giving Australian bands some exposure. Let @birdsoftokyo do it again, they were amazing when they did it,” one fan commented on X.
Another weighed in with a similar sentiment, arguing that the foreign artists recruited for the grand finale were often past their sell-by date.
“The AFL continues to hire overseas artists even ten or twenty years after they became popular,” wrote one commentator, while another noted that “this would have been a huge success ten years ago.”
Another criticized the lackluster performance of Katy’s recent comeback single, saying the September performance was a step backwards for the pop icon.
“I don’t think the crisis management for the women’s world is going well if she’s playing in the AFL final.”
Katy released her latest album 143 last week, featuring the controversial lead single Woman’s World and its follow-up Lifetimes