Kyle Sandilands has fumed at Australia’s welcome-to-country recognition, claiming it has been devalued by its “overuse”.
The radio host, 52, weighed in after Wednesday’s first State of Origin match, in which Savannah Flynn acknowledged the traditional owners of the land before Australian Idol’s Dylan Wright performed a country music rendition of the anthem national.
Kyle and his radio co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, 49, spoke about the mixed reception to Dylan’s unique rendition of the anthem on Thursday’s Kyle And Jackie O Show.
While he praised both individual performances, Kyle criticized football games for adopting Welcome to the Country recognition in general.
The radio king said he believes traditional recognition has lost its impact because it is “overused” commercially.
Kyle Sandilands, 52 (pictured), was furious with the Welcome to Country recognition as he claimed it has been devalued due to its “overuse”.
Do you know what I’ve been noticing? People are dissing Welcome to the Country because it was overused and lost its impact!’
He criticized corporations and football matches for adopting Welcome to the Country, saying its “powerful” and “emotional” meaning has been lost for Australians.
“People get upset now instead of immersing themselves in the culture and making them feel spiritually aware, people don’t like smoke billowing and everyone dancing,” he fumed.
He criticized football matches for adopting Welcome to the Country after Savannah Fynn (pictured) recognized the traditional owners of the land in the opening State of Origin match on Wednesday.
‘I think it’s sad, it’s overused, it’s pathetic. They have ruined the Aboriginal message by using it on Qantas, Foxtel, in football.
‘You can’t go to the mall without someone welcoming you to the field at Westfield. It’s overused and needs to be scaled back a bit.’
Kyle argued that it “should always be something surprising”, while his co-host Jackie agreed that Welcome to Country has been commercially overused.
The radio host criticized corporations and football matches for adopting Welcome to Country, saying its “powerful” and “emotional” meaning has been lost for Australians.
‘It has lost its powerful meaning. A welcome to the Homeland from the indigenous people who live here, who have always lived here, must be an extremely powerful, emotional and spiritual feeling,’ he added.
In a traditional welcome to country, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander custodians welcome people to their land at the start of an event or ceremony.
His comments came after Savannah performed Welcome to Country in the first State of Origin match on Wednesday night in Sydney.
Viewers praised her for recognizing the traditional owners of the land, before declaring “may the best team win” while wearing Blues gear.
Some fans also expressed pride that Savannah acknowledged her roots in Dubbo, a city in the Orana region of New South Wales.