Tones and I turns down NRL grand final as Dance Monkey row ends pre-game show
Tones and I has turned down an offer to perform at the NRL grand final, leaving Australian rugby league's championship decider with no pre-game entertainment.
The NRL, Australia's top rugby league competition, is due to stage its season finale the weekend after 24 September. League boss Peter V'landys said talks with the singer collapsed over "artistic differences", according to The Guardian.
V'landys described Tones and I, real name Toni Watson, as a great performer and a great Australian artist, according to The Australian. He then framed the money in blunt terms. Rather than pay a performer $90,000 a minute, he said, the NRL would put $1 million toward junior rugby league.
He linked that figure to an 11-minute performance when discussing the value of the grand final slot. The grand final will now go ahead without a pre-game act.
At the centre of the row is one song. Dance Monkey spent 24 weeks at No. 1 on the Aria charts, Australia's official singles chart, making Watson one of the country's biggest pop exports.
The NRL told The Guardian her management had made clear she would not play Dance Monkey. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the NRL had insisted she perform it, according to RNZ.
That history is not new. In 2022 Watson told Kent Small on the Nova Network that she "loathes" Dance Monkey after years of being asked to sing it.
Her side says there was never a signed deal. Manager Regan Lethbridge of Lemon Tree Music said the NRL first contacted them about the show on 5 September, and said no agreement had been signed or confirmed in writing. The management also pointed to a prior commitment with US rapper Macklemore.
The NRL disputes that timeline. It told The Guardian that discussions with her label, Sony, began well before 5 September.
Watson and Macklemore have history together. They collaborated on the single Chant in 2022. She has since announced three live shows in March 2027, teasing them on Instagram with the caption "PSA: Will be singing all Songs."
For fans, this means a quieter build-up to the biggest night in league. No anthems over the warm-up. Just teams, whistles and 80 minutes to decide the title.
