Cameron Adams: Hate the Grand Final performers? Please, keep it to yourself
Remember when we once praised successful Aussie artists, rather than slaughtered them because they weren’t to the taste of a few Twitter nuffies? Please keep your negative opinions to yourself, writes Cameron Adams.
Rendezview
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rendezview. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Here’s a glimpse into the not-too-distant future. American band One Republic are playing the NRL Grand Final this Sunday night.
And you don’t need a crystal ball to predict there’s going to be a rash of Twitter users spamming social media asking “Who is this band?” with the appropriate hashtag so people can find their witty commentary.
It’d take just as much time for them to search “Who are One Republic?” online, or hear any of their handful of big hit singles, but why do that when you can vent on social media?
There’s going to a lot of “Why didn’t they use an Australian band?” too.
We saw the modern blood sport of social media users savaging musicians performing before sporting events in full effect at the AFL Grand Final — and that was all Australian talent.
Turns out we’re never happy, even though nobody watches the Grand Final for the music performed before it, let’s be honest.
The musicians are there to promote themselves; it’s one of the few chances to get original music aired on a TV broadcast seen by millions. Plus they get paid. Win win. Except if they read social media afterwards.
MORE FROM CAMERON ADAMS: ‘Woke’ pop stars should just shut up and sing
Melbourne busker Tones And I has had the No. 1 song in Australia for nine weeks now with Dance Monkey.
It’s incredibly rare for the AFL to luck out and tap directly into pop culture and have the No. 1 song in the country performed at the Grand Final while it’s still sitting atop the charts.
Yet some Twitter nuffies were saying her performance was “worse than Meatloaf”. Really?
You may not like her voice — it is divisive — but Meatloaf was absolutely diabolic on all fronts.
Meatloaf has become the bottom of the barrel benchmark for AFL performances for a reason. Until GWS on the weekend, Meatloaf was the most unfortunate performances on the ’G in recent memory.
Dean Lewis also copped it online. Ballads are a tough choice at any sporting event, especially soppy ones about broken hearts.
People have incredibly short attention spans these days — a year ago Lewis’s Be Alright was everywhere and it has been a major international success story. But 12 months on, it looks like he‘s another victim of tall poppy syndrome.
Every year someone sings the National Anthem at the Grand Final. And it’s arguably the most dangerous gig of all — everyone has an opinion and now they have a forum to share it.
If you’re a pop singer, you’ve presumably been chosen because of your appeal and voice. You have to find the balance between putting your own vocal inflection on Advance Australia Fair and sticking with tradition.
MORE FROM CAMERON ADAMS: To stand or not to stand: the great concert question
Conrad Sewell walked that line respectfully. Yet apparently some people wanted him to sing it robotically and without passion or personality.
Paul Kelly was rightly praised by most people for his excellent two-song performance which, unlike most musicians at the Grand Final over recent years, featured an actual live band actually playing live. Now that was refreshing.
But did he “save the day?” Or was he just the act you enjoyed the most?
The whole point of Grand Final entertainment is to try to appeal to everyone. Hence Mike Brady and John Williamson, who are from the older generation, and Tones And I and Dean Lewis, who tap into a younger demographic.
You can like Paul Kelly without having to slam anyone else who performed. That’s the beauty of music, if you don’t like something, there’s millions more songs that may appeal to you. And even if you don’t like Tones And I, others do — Dance Monkey is also Top 10 in the UK right now.
MORE FROM CAMERON ADAMS: When do you give up on your favourite artist?
If a song or a singer isn’t for you, skip it, turn the channel or go and get a drink, don’t necessarily feel the need to let everyone know on social media.
Remember when we praised Australian artists for being successful internationally, rather than slaughter them on social media because they weren’t to your taste?
Cameron Adams is News Corp Australia’s national music writer.
cameron.adams@news.com.au