Katy Perry Adam Trafford/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Katy Perry fans were in for a treat as they watched her AFL Grand Final pre-game performance on Saturday, September 28, in Melbourne, Australia.
As the 39-year-old singer sang her 2010 hit “Teenage Dream” at the MCG stadium, a slew of dancers dressed in silver and pink balloon costumes came out full of energy — except one who was, sadly, deflated.
“A deflated balloon is the new left shark for Katy Perry,” a TikTok video, showing the burst balloon dancing before exiting the field, read.
Commenters posted some incredible reactions, with one cheekily referencing Perry’s “Firework” lyrics: “✨Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again✨.”
“The commitment to the routine though 😅,” another wrote.
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The deflated balloon was reminiscent of the iconic “Left Shark” who made headlines during Perry’s Super Bowl XLIX halftime show in 2015. During her performance of “Teenage Dream,” the singer was flanked onstage by two dancers dressed in enormous blue shark costumes. The one on the right seemed to dance in sync; however, Left Shark flailed around like a fish out of water, becoming an instant sensation.
@yasminjnelson What a performance ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ @Katy Perry #afl #katyperry #grandfinal #leftshark #iconic
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The man behind the costume, Bryan Gaw, revealed in a 2018 interview that he played up the goofiness. “I’m in a 7-foot blue shark costume. There’s no cool in that. So what’s the other option? Well, I’m gonna play a different character,” he told NPR.
Amusingly enough, Perry mentioned Left Shark in a pre-performance interview with AFL last week, telling the reporter that a surprise like that could happen again.
“You know, I have been asking Pesto [the Australian penguin] to show up, but since the weather changes four times in one day here in Melbourne — when it was about to snow yesterday, I thought maybe the conditions would be perfect — but on Saturday it’s going to be nice and toasty so I don’t think he’s coming out. But, I’m going to go to him and get a blessing.”
She did tease what to expect during her set, however, saying, “There’s over 150 dancers. It’s going to be really fun, larger than life, super bright, and full of a lot of the songs everybody wants to sing along to.”
Aside from “Teenage Dream,” Perry performed hits like “Roar,” “Dark Horse,” “California Gurls” and “Firework,” as well as two songs from her new album 143: “Gorgeous” and “Lifetimes.”
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A noteworthy moment came thanks to a cameo appearance by Australian singer Tina Arena, who embraced Perry as they performed “I Kissed A Girl.” Arena also sang her 1994 hit “Chains.”
Perry took to Instagram following her 17-minute performance, sharing, “went to Australia where they taught me the definition of a specky so i gave them one @afl 🦋🏟️🏉😎.”