Tones and I’s message for NRL after grand final performance negotiations break down

Tones and I has sent a message to the NRL hours after it was revealed negotiations for her to headline the grand final had fallen through at the 11th hour.

It’s understood the singer refused to perform her biggest hit, Dance Monkey, leading to NRL bosses scrapping the performance slot altogether.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said the performance fee would instead go to grassroots rugby league, prompting a pointed response from the four-time ARIA Award winner.

"Some artists that also deserve opportunities," Tones & I wrote on an Instagram story.

“Not even scratching the service [sic] of how many incredible artists we have in this country.”

Tones and I, whose real name is Toni Watson, shared a collage of photos and handles of artists she thinks are worthy of the slot.

This included: Budjerah, Kye, Miss Kaninna, Illy, Baker Boy, Ruel, Adrian Eagle, Soli, Pierce Brothers, and band One Four.

The singer also named G Flip as a possible replacement. Georgia Claire Flipo (aka G Flip) is already a part of the AFL pre-game line-up, which is being headlined by Kylie Minogue.

But V’landys suggested the NRL isn’t keen on spending the sort of money performers can command for the 11-minute slot.

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NRL grand final left without a headline act at the 11th hour after Tones and I fallout

“Rather than giving a performer $90,000 a minute, we would prefer to give it to grassroots,” he said.

“We believe that the entertainment is our game. It’s more the media that put themselves into a frenzy who we get as performer. But when you look at it realistically for 11 minutes, it’s not worth it.

“People will come to the game with or without it. We believe the money is better spent on junior rugby league.”

Tones and I performed Dance Monkey at the AFL grand final in 2019, the year the song was released. It broke the record for most consecutive weeks at No.1 on the ARIA charts after 10 weeks at the top.

It stayed up there for a total of 24 weeks and went 19 times platinum.

The song went to No.1 in 37 other countries and made Tones and I the first female artists to get more than 3 billion streams on Spotify.

But the singer has spoken previously of hating performing the track.

“I loathe that song a lot of the time,” she told radio show Smallzy’s Surgery in a 2022 interview.

“A lot of times I don’t want to sing it. I’m not gonna write another song like it.”

The NRL grand final will take place at Accor Stadium on October 4.