Australian Katy Perry fans were left 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, surprised at the MCG by performing eight songs before an enthusiastic audience, including her hits Roar, Firework and California Gurls, and two songs from her new album, 143.
However, fans were left devastated by his decision not to perform his 2008 hit Hot N Cold, which was the famous theme song for MasterChef Australia.
Viewers flocked to social media to criticize the singer for omitting such an iconic song from her set list, jokingly describing it as Australia’s true “national anthem”.
‘Like they couldn’t get Katy Perry to play Hot N Cold. It has to be a joke because of how big that song is here,” one angry fan criticized.
‘I’m surprised Katy didn’t sing Hot N Cold. Surely that’s the song so many football fans can relate to,” a second person joked.
‘Is there no cold or heat? ‘Katy that’s literally the Australian national anthem darling!!!!” another person joked and a fourth user added: ‘Katy didn’t act hot and cold at the AFL Grand Final when she was the theme song for Australian MasterChef all these years’.
While international editions of MasterChef do not use the Katy Perry song in their intros, it became particularly beloved by Australian audiences but was later removed by Channel Ten due to expensive licensing fees.
Australian fans of Katy Perry (pictured) were left 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, surprised at Melbourne’s MCG by performing eight songs to an enthusiastic crowd, including her hits Roar, Firework and California Gurls.
Although he didn’t sing Hot n Cold, he surprised AFL fans by opening his 20-minute set with Roar, despite it being widely theorized that he wouldn’t play the hit.
There had been feverish speculation that the song had been blacklisted because it would show alleged bias toward the Lions, and Perry herself even admitted that she had been warned not to sing it.
However, despite the rampant theories, Perry, who was paid $5 million for the concert, threw caution to the wind in performing the song that some fans consider the unofficial anthem of the underdog.
He also performed his hits Teenage Dreams, Dark Horse, Firework and California Gurls and sang I Kissed A Girl with Tina Arena.
Following reports that AFL bosses restricted her to just one new song, Perry also sang two tracks from her 2024 album 143: Lifetimes and Gorgeous, her collaboration with Kim Petras.
The California-born singer also surprised with some very “strange” CGI effects during the big show before the clash between Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans.
However, fans were left devastated by his decision not to perform his iconic 2008 hit Hot N Cold, which was at one point the theme song for reality series MasterChef Australia.
Furious fans quickly took to social media to criticize the singer for omitting such an iconic song from her set list.
While fans praised her voice, many were completely baffled by her choice to accompany her real-life performance and dance moves with a variety of “bizarre” CGI effects.
Fans watched as huge futuristic effects appeared over the stadium grounds, including strange golden love hearts and a galaxy-style black hole, with many mocking the CGI look of an early 2000s video game.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one joked: “AFL preshow presented by Fortnite with all this CGI.”
Another said: ‘What the fuck was @channel7 thinking with those $5 CGI effects?’, while a third wrote: ‘Petition to not allow CGI only during #AFLGF practical effects.’
The American singer, 39, wowed at Melbourne’s MCG by performing eight songs to an enthusiastic crowd, including her hits Roar, Firework and California Gurls, and two songs from her new album 143.
A fourth tweeted: ‘What is CGI all about? This is horrible,’ and a fifth joked: ‘I hope the crowd at the MCG are enjoying the CGI.’
‘How much is the AFL paying for this?’ added another.
However, other fans quickly came to Perry’s defense, praising her vocal talent and upbeat performance despite the hilarious CGI mistake.
One wrote: “If you say Katy Perry was shit you 100% choose me and I have no time for you.”
“I know Katy Perry is embarrassing but that performance was surprisingly good,” another shared, while a third added: “Katy Perry killed it.”
A fourth said: ‘Everything ready for the #AFLGF. All the entertainment over and now for the battle. But @katyperry was good.”
A fifth commented: ‘Personally. Loved @katyperry at the #AFLGF!! It was so much fun!’