AFL Grand Final day entertainment goes flat with Ellie Goulding awkward moment

SINGER Ellie Goulding laughed hysterically when she heard Meatloaf’s infamous performance at the AFL Grand Final. It came back to haunt her.

POPSTAR Ellie Goulding has been left with egg on her face after being criticised for her AFL Grand Final performance — the day after laughing hysterically at Meatloaf’s infamous effort in 2011.

Goulding appeared on the Kyle and Jackie O show on Friday and could barely speak after hearing Meatloaf mumble his way through I Would Do Anything for Love.

Ellie Goulding Hears Meatloaf's Grand Final Performance #AFL #EllieGoulding @elliegoulding #KJshow https://t.co/9yFdCy8ztm

— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) October 1, 2015

As Goulding giggled, Jackie O told her “now you don’t have to be nervous”, while Kyle added “you could go out and not sing one note and still be better than Meat”.

But Goulding became the punchline when she struggled through an awkward beginning to her appearance on the MCG pre-match entertainment stage.

While Chris Isaak and Bryan Adams were hailed for their performances, Goulding appeared to struggle to co-ordinate the opening lines of her first tune with the backing vocals and live music.

The English songstress was accused of lip-synching on social media, while others blamed Channel 7 and the AFL’s pre-match entertainment setup for Goulding’s struggles at the start of her two-song set.

Goulding denied she was lip-synching, shrugging off the negative attention her performance attracted.

The 28-year-old also re-tweeted one fans tweet, suggesting Goulding believes the issue that plagued her performance was the result of a technical glitch.

Love it when people think I lip sync, what a rad compliment :) Now where does one find a good veggie restaurant in Melbs?

— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) October 3, 2015

Goulding opened her set with her track Love Me Like You Do from the movie 50 Shades of Grey, but missed the right moment to begin singing over the top of her backing track or may have been unable to hear it.

The Channel 7 feed also appeared to struggle to pick up the live music from the performing music act, leaving a very awkward pause as fans waited for something to happen alongside the quiet background music behind Goulding’s track.

The producer of the Grand Final entertainment admitted Goulding’s performance was disrupted right at the start by a “technical issue”.

Michael Gudinski said Goulding did not lip-sync.

“Ellie performed live vocals to a backing track,” Gudinski said.

“This is a very common practice for performances in situations such as the Grand Final.

“Unfortunately a technical issue at the start of Ellie’s performance caused a brief hiccup but Ellie went on to prove just how much of a superstar she is, belting out two of her massive hits.

“Claims that Ellie lip synced her performance are absolutely untrue.”

Ellie returned to the stage at the MCG for the post-match party after the Hawks’ grand final win.

Her pre-match moment did not go unnoticed by fans.

Be interesting to see if the internet comes down as hard on Ellie Goulding as it did on Meatloaf. #aflgrandfinal #aflgf #afleagleshawks

— Jimmy (@macattack86) October 3, 2015

look I don't mind @elliegoulding but the sound at the G makes her sound really awful #AFLGF

— Mays (@mayscarlisle) October 3, 2015

Hahaha AFL Pregame Fail #fail #AFLGF #EllieGoulding

— Craig Scott (@craigus03) October 3, 2015

Omg I feel so sorry for Ellie Goulding right now. This is so awkward. AFL you need to up the budget on the GF entertainment....

— Harriet13 (@harriet_hhh) October 3, 2015

why does Ellie Goulding sound like she's singing from under water? sound problems #aflgf

— mabso (@mabso01) October 3, 2015

@elliegoulding that explains her lip synching failure

— Giancarlo Bonfiglio (@Giancarlo1989) October 3, 2015

However, there were still plenty of fans who thought the English singer was a good addition to the pre-match show.

Despite the sound issues, @elliegoulding sang like such a boss just then. Her voice. INSANE. #AFLFinals

— Joel Farland (@joelfarland) October 3, 2015

Her fans also appeared to enjoy the performance despite the drama at the start.

@elliegoulding caught your gig today at the @MCG and you were amazing! Congratulations.

— Curtains (@Ifearforfuture) October 3, 2015

Ellie Goulding didn't lipsync... She had a backing track, but sang over it.

— Han || ⭐️ (@happinessirwin) October 3, 2015

Feeling a bit sorry for @elliegoulding -- not b/c of her performance (which was awesome) but because she looked like she's getting sunburnt!

— Sarah Shae Barry ♔ (@sarahliz92) October 3, 2015

Most fans fortunately quickly forgot Goulding’s awkward start when Bryan Adams provided the grand finale to the pre-match entertainment.

Earlier, American rocker Chris Isaak warmed up the MCG crowd and received a much better reception.

@ChrisIsaak Why more people didn't turn up early to see you is weird. Thanks, Chris. #AFL2015GF

— sleep enthusiast (@mycatistweeting) October 3, 2015

Why doesn't Chris Isaak play one of his recent hits? Oh. #AFLGF

— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) October 3, 2015

Originally published as AFL Grand Final day entertainment goes flat with Ellie Goulding awkward moment