Katy Perry has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at her hotly-awaited AFL Grand Final performance as she rehearsed just hours ahead of the big gig.
The US popstar, 39, took to Instagram on Saturday morning to add to the excitement for her pregame headlining performance at the MCG’s AFL showdown.
She shared a black-and-white video of herself on stage in the centre of the footy stadium, where she will sing to 100,000 AFL fans live on Saturday afternoon.
She was joined by a string of backup dancers as she belted out her vocals and joined them in choreographed routines as they did sound check for the big show.
The Roar hitmaker cut a sporty figure in fitted cream bike shorts and a matching crop top, which she styled with black trainers and sunglasses.
She swept her brunette locks beneath a baseball cap as she kept things casual, refusing to reveal what outfit she will be wearing during the show.
Katy also simply played her prerecorded music over the video and muted the live audio from as she made sure to keep some surprises in store for the audience.
‘Today’s the day. Can’t wait to hit the stage in front of 100,000 Aussies for the AFL Grand Final,’ Katy gushed in a caption.
Katy Perry has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at her hotly-awaited AFL Grand Final performance as she rehearsed with dancers (pictured) just hours ahead of the big gig
She will be taking to the stage in the MCG at 1.40pm on Saturday to headline the pregame entertainment for the Brisbane Lions vs Sydney Swans showdown
She will be taking to the stage in the MCG at 1.40pm on Saturday to headline the pregame entertainment for the Brisbane Lions vs Sydney Swans showdown.
Katy is reportedly being paid a staggering $5million to perform just five tracks live on stage during the brief setlist, with conflicts emerging over her choices of songs.
Katy was said to have butted heads with AFL bosses as she wanted to play her new songs, but they reportedly requested she instead sing her smash hits, such as Firework and Teenage Dream.
They reportedly reached a compromise with Katy set to sing four of her best-loved tracks along with one song from her new album 143, which has divided fans and critics alike.
Katy will also be joined on stage at the MCG by Aussie superstar Tina Arena for a surprise duet, while Cody Simpson will later sing the national anthem.
However, not all Australians were happy about Tina being signed up to perform at the Grand Final as they called on AFL fans to ‘boo’ her.
Many fans criticised AFL bosses’ decision to include Tina in the line-up, citing her past divisive comments about Daniel Andrews’ lengthy Covid lockdowns in Victoria.
Katy (pictured at the VMAs) is reportedly being paid a staggering $5million to perform just five tracks live on stage during the brief setlist
Katy will also be joined on stage by Tina Arena (pictured in April) for a surprise duet, however not all Aussies were happy about her involvement as they called on AFL fans to ‘boo’ her
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – one fan wrote: Everyone needs to Boo the f**k out of #TinaArena at the Grand Final Tomorrow!’
Another said: ‘TONE DEAF! Why on earth would the AFL pick a washed up, 90’s French-wannabe has-been as entertainment? Did they not learn anything from Meatloaf?’
A third penned: ‘Katy Perry will be performing with Tina Arena tomorrow. Shall be interesting to see how many boos she gets from the 100,000 people in the stadium.’
‘Reserving my thoughts on Tina Arena performing with Katy Perry at the AFL GF for now,’ a fourth tweeted.
While another added: ‘Please tell me Victorians are going to boo Tina Arena?’
However, other fans shared their delight that Tina was going to be taking to the stage alongside the Roar hitmaker, 39, as they lauded the collaboration.
One wrote: ‘I adore Tina Arena! Absolute legend she is,’ and another shared: ‘Lmao society is f**ked if they boo Tina Arena.’
A third said: ‘Tina Arena is a wonderful choice,’ while a fourth commented: ‘I’d forgotten how good Tina Arena is.’
A fifth penned: ‘Melbourne at its best with the jewel in our crown, awesome Tina,’ and another added: ‘Tina, you are a true Melbourne icon.’
Tina sparked controversy with her disapproval of the Victorian Covid-19 lockdowns and incited anger when she revealed she broke the rules to resist what she called a ‘totalitarian’ system.
While she did not publicly endorse any conspiracy theories, she deliberately broke the rule advising citizens not to travel more than 5kms from home unless necessary.
‘Why can’t you drive more than five kilometres? Guess what – watch me. So I did. I drove past my five kilometres,’ she told The Weekend Australian last year.
Many fans criticised AFL bosses’ decision to include Tina in the line-up, citing her past divisive comments about Daniel Andrews ‘ lengthy Covid lockdowns in Victoria
‘Am I a criminal now? You want to pull me up? Pull me up. You want to fine me? Fine me. I’m not the one with the issue here.
‘The issue is, there is no logic. You have no right to do that. You are fining me. This is totalitarian. We don’t work like that.’
Tina went on to claim that she hadn’t heard anyone else complaining about the stringent lockdowns as she doubled down on her criticism of the rules.
‘I didn’t hear anybody complaining during lockdown other than me: ‘Why are we locked up? Where’s your science? What? Why?’,’ she went on.
‘The fear was so much for me; it was choking me, I was like, I can’t cope with all of you being so fear-driven like this, and compliant.’
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