Nollsie Among the Artists Campaigning to Perform at the NRL Grand Final
Shannon Noll and Jon Stevens are among the Australian artists putting their hands up to perform at the NRL Grand Final following the breakdown of negotiations with Tones And I.
Shannon Noll and Jon Stevens are among the Australian artists putting their hands up to perform at the NRL Grand Final following the breakdown of negotiations with Tones And I, despite the league ruling out a replacement headline act.
Noiseworks frontman and former INXS singer Jon Stevens, is the latest to reportedly throw his hat in the ring for the show, set for October 4th at Sydney's Accor Stadium. Stevens even floated the idea of teaming up with other Australian artists for the occasion, with any performance fees donated to Head and Neck Cancer Australia in honour of John Farnham.
And he's certainly not alone.
Shannon Noll has also made his pitch for the job, taking to Instagram this week to share several posts, including an AI-generated promotional poster, declaring himself available for the pre-game show. "Ready and willing!," he wrote on one of the posts.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
Nollsie even has the experience to back it up. The former Australian Idol runner-up performed at the 2007 NRL Grand Final alongside the Hoodoo Gurus and Vanessa Amorosi, while his single "Loud" featured throughout that year's finals series. And, in both 2015 and 2023, he provided the pre-game entertainment for the State of Origin series.
And if the NRL wanted to cast its net a little wider, there's no shortage of international talent heading to Sydney around the same time.
Noah Kahan will be in town for four shows at Afterpay Arena on October 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th, leaving a rather convenient Grand Final-shaped gap in his schedule. Olivia Dean is also heading Down Under, with two Sydney concerts booked for the following weekend, October 9th and 10th.
Neither artist has expressed interest in performing, of course, but it's not as though the NRL is short on options. As reported on Wednesday, NRL chairman Peter V'landys revealed that the league had been "inundated" with offers from musicians, including an unnamed international star who also expressed interest.
There's just one small problem... V'landys and the NRL aren't actually looking for a replacement. He has ruled out booking another headline act, instead opting to redirect the entertainment budget, reportedly worth around $1 million, towards grassroots rugby league.
“We have plenty of entertainment. Our entertainment is our game. We have a festival of rugby league all day. It’s a bit like buying a cheeseburger for the pickle. You don’t do that. People come to our game for the game,” he said.
“The halftime entertainment’s going to be out of this world. There’s going to be lots of entertainment, but it just won’t be a performer costing a million dollars.”
V’landys’ comments came after Tones And I’s management issued a statement to Rolling Stone AU/NZ, addressing reports that negotiations fell apart over the singer’s reluctance to perform her global hit “Dance Monkey”.
Her team clarified that existing commitments with Macklemore on Ed Sheeran‘s ‘Loop’ tour in the US – which he has since been removed from – had prevented her from accepting the offer, adding that “nothing was signed or confirmed in writing”.
“Tones had a prior commitment with Macklemore in America and explored all avenues to make it work. Due to the last-minute nature and prior commitments by Tones, we were unable to accept the offer,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Tones And I subtly addressed the matter, taking to Instagram on Tuesday night to share pictures of a number of local artists, writing: “Some artists that deserve opportunities. Not even scratching the [surface] of how many incredible artists we have in this country.”
From Rolling Stone AU/NZ
