Kylie Minogue’s spectacular AFL Grand Final show looked ready for the Super Bowl
Kylie Minogue’s epic show set the stage for an AFL Grand Final with record ratings. The ‘GayFL’ radio show tells Outsports why.
Mark
Should Aussie singer Kylie Minogue be seriously in the running for a future Super Bowl halftime show?
Her performance at Saturday’s AFL Grand Final in Melbourne deserves a look, at the very least.
In front of more than 100,000 fans at the MCG, Kylie crammed 12 songs into a 20-minute medley, saving “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” — her biggest U.S. crossover hit — for a stunning finale in which she flew above a giant Sherrin football emblazoned with her name.
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With three costume changes, a link-up with LGBTQ artist G Flip on gay anthem “Padam Padam” and plenty of color and camp, this certainly had a different vibe from last year’s pre-game entertainment, provided by Snoop Dogg.
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Guardian Australia described Kylie’s set as “dizzying, sparkling joy” while the Sydney Morning Herald’s headline said simply: “She delivered.”
The verdict was much the same at the Victorian Pride Centre, where Chris and Brendan Maher — husbands and hosts of the fast-growing “GayFL” radio show and podcast — were hosting the venue’s annual Grand Final screening event.
The match was a thriller, too, with the Brisbane Lions coming from 19 points down in the final quarter to beat the Fremantle Dockers 96-89 and secure a third straight title.
Later came news of record ratings — this was the most-watched Grand Final ever, with 4.35 million viewers tuning in for Kylie and the peak audience hitting 6.5 million.
In relative terms, the audience share for Australia’s biggest sporting occasion is actually higher than for the Super Bowl.
@afl La la la la la la la la Thanks to @Telstra #afl #aflgf #kylieminogue ♬ original sound – afl
Chris Maher says the ratings “speak volumes” for a day that will live long in the memory.
“There was a bit of rain, but that couldn’t dissuade the fans, the players and Kylie, who all showcased the best of who they are and what they do,” he told Outsports.
“It’s a Grand Final that’s going to be talked about for years to come.”
‘GayFL’ podcast has had great success in its first year
The Mahers were podcasting at home for two years before their “GayFL” show was picked up by LGBTQ station JOY 94.9. They secured a major scoop in March when former Lions half forward Leigh Ryswyk granted them an interview.
It was through that episode that he became the first AFL player to come out publicly as gay. Ryswyk has been received superbly throughout the sport, and he was at the MCG on Saturday as an official guest of the league.
Having been trialled as a summer fill-in on the schedules last year, “Gay FL” has now completed 43 consecutive shows and has been nominated for two Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Awards.
(@gayfl_aqfs)The enthusiasm around the show was evident at the watch party in south Melbourne on Saturday.
“With G Flip and Kylie on stage and Leigh in the stands, this would have to be the most LGBTQIA+ friendly football match at this level, ever!” said Chris, who admired how the Grand Final organizers got the balance right.
“The traditionalists and our First Nations community were also valued, with Mike Brady [who sings a popular Aussie rules anthem every year] maintaining his spot, and a moving ‘Welcome to Country’ performed by Uncle Colin Hunter Jr. It showed that history, tradition and inclusivity do not have to exist in isolation.”
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Looking back on the season, Chris feels they’ve been able to help move the needle after years of mostly negative stories about the AFL and its LGBTQ connections, as a result of incidents of homophobic language and behavior.
“I feel like the watch party and our interview with Leigh highlight what “GayFL” is all about: breaking down barriers, changing the conversation and building community,” he said.
“We’ve also done a lot outside of the episodes, such as Pride Round fundraising for local women’s teams; the facilitation of an inclusion panel with executives from Tennis Australia, Netball Victoria and soccer’s Football Victoria; on-stage interviews with local queer sporting groups at the Midsumma (Pride) Festival; and covering the Coral Carpet of the 2025 AFLW Best and Fairest Awards.
“We’ve also got some really exciting developments coming up for the 2026 AFLW Pride Round in October.”
‘Locomotion’ energy suggests AFL is heading in right direction
One of the best bits of Kylie’s pre-game show was “The Locomotion,” which brought everyone in the MCG to their feet.
Could that work for a Super Bowl Halftime Show? Well, there’s no denying that the “Princess of Pop” has bundles of energy, even if Kylie is five years older now than Madonna was when she headlined in 2012 (we’ll let you work that out).
@afl Everybody do the Loco-Motion with Kylie Thanks to @Telstra #afl #aflgf #kylieminogue ♬ original sound – afl
In any case, the Australian gay icon is younger than most of the Halftime Show performers were in the late 2000s. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen all reminded us that age is just a number.
And her incredible back catalogue would inject both gay disco and pop pizzazz to proceedings. It could be a welcome change.
Whether that could ever happen or not, seeing Kylie command the MCG was a joyous conclusion to Chris and Brendan’s season, one in which “GayFL” has more than found its feet.
“It’s been an amazing year, and the wonderful community we’re building is really quite overwhelming — it’s exceeded even our dreams for the show,” added Chris.
“The awards nominations prove that our reach has grown beyond the semi-regular content we put out in the two years prior, and we‘re so proud.
“Knowing that in a small way we’re changing the conversation in the league and also building a safe and inclusive space for our community means the world to us.
“One of our proudest metrics is that over 50% of the engagement to our Spotify podcast is from people identifying as female.
“It’s just another moment that we both hold dear and take responsibility for maintaining, because football really is for everyone.”
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