The grand final for Australia’s National Rugby League won’t have an entertainment spot after talks with Tones And I fell through due to scheduling conflicts.
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Tones (real name: Toni Watson) had been tipped as the headline music act for the NRL’s showpiece event, set for Sunday, Oct. 4 at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
That won’t happen, her reps say. And the league won’t pursue another artist to fill the void.
According to a statement from Tones’ team at Lemon Tree Management, the singer was “recently approached to perform the preshow at the NRL Grand Final.” An offer was presented to Tones via management on Sept. 5, reads the message, seen by Billboard.
“Tones had a prior commitment with Macklemore in America and explored all avenues to make it work.” However, “nothing was signed or confirmed in writing.”
“Due to the last minute nature,” the statement continues, “and prior commitments by Tones, we were unable to accept the offer. We wish the NRL nothing but the very best for their event.”
The league has said it will, instead, funnel that budget towards sports programs for underprivileged children.
Speaking with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys said the cost associated with the grand final entertainment was roughly A$1 million.
“I’d prefer to see 20,000 underprivileged kids who can’t afford to play rugby league play rugby league, rather than spend a million dollars on 11 minutes of a musical performance,” he remarked.
V’landys had no hard feelings with Tones. “I’m a fan of Tones And I,” he said. “She is a great performer, no doubt about that, and she’s got some great songs, but as I said, we both decided to go to a different direction.”
That different direction means a move away from artists sharing the spotlight of the grand final, one of the great annual crossover moments for a country obsessed with music and sport.
V’landys insisted the sport didn’t need high-profile singers to sell tickets. “Our game sells itself,” he told the ABC. “People come to watch rugby league. They don’t come to watch a pop concert.”
Performers have included Tina Turner, Billy Idol, The Kid LAROI, and in 2025, Teddy Swims. Swims could be the last of that breed.
“We consider a lot of artists over a period of time,” V’landys added, “but as I said, I’ve been toying with this idea for a couple of years now, about giving the money to kids to play rugby league rather than a musical act.”
The Sydney Morning Herald, quoting unnamed sources, reported the issue was connected with the NRL’s demand that Tones And I perform her 2019 smash “Dance Monkey,” but that the singer and songwriter had declined. Tones has previously discussed her mixed feelings about the song. In a 2022 interview for Australian commercial radio, Tones remarked that “a lot of time, I don’t want to sing it.”
She does sing it, sometimes, including her showcase for the New Year’s celebration at Time’s Square, heading into 2026, and at Sydney’s NYE event in 2022.
“Dance Monkey” was a massive streaming hit which dominated charts for months, including Australia where it held top spot for an all-time record 24 weeks. The single also led the U.K. survey for 11 weeks, a record for a solo female artist; it cracked the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100; and reigned over charts in some 30 territories.
Tones’ debut full-length album Welcome to the Madhouse hit No. 1 in Australia after its release in July 2021, and featured her followup hit “Fly Away,” which peaked at No. 11 in the U.K. Her sophomore album, 2024’s Beautifully Ordinary, also went to No. 1 on the ARIA Chart.
Tones has, in the past, described Macklemore as her “favorite artist.” And with the release of “Chant” in 2022, she counts the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist as a collaborator.
Macklemore finds himself with some unexpected time on his hands, after a widely publicized early exit from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour of the United States, following his “Free Palestine” remarks onstage.
