OneRepublic delivers sleepers to fired-up grand final crowd expecting bangers

When it comes to pre-show entertainment then NRL grand final either hits or it really really misses.

Hits include last year’s Gang of Youth’s spot, which could have been extended by a good hour. Misses include Billy Idol’s 2002 jaunt when he arrived by hovercraft.

OneRepublic perform before the start of the 2019 NRL grand final.Credit:AAP

None have ever been as unfortunate as Meatloaf’s 2011 AFL appearance, but grand final entertainment is rarely middling.

And while US pop group OneRepublic did a fine enough job of the handful of tracks they performed, whether they were the right pick for the fired up crowd at ANZ Stadium (or even the viewers at home) they will probably go down as one of the less memorable NRL bookings.

In town to flog their new album, the group, fronted by lead singer Ryan Tedder weaved through some new music, some hits and even a track Tedder wrote for Beyoncé.

Given the group exists at the less lively end of pop rock, their opening track If I Lose Myself was a gentle enough warm up with its moderately rousing chorus.

They moved through Something I Need which peaked at No.6 on the ARIA charts in Australia, so at least the crowd could join in for a tepid sing along for the chorus.

Next up was a single from earlier this year, Rescue Me, which failed to crack the top 20 in Australia, and the lack of bangers to sing along to was certainly felt in the stadium.

Before too long Tedder wheeled out what I’m sure he thought was going to be a crowd pleaser; Halo, the globally huge hit he wrote for Beyoncé. But when the crowd is amping up for 80 minutes of grand final footy, a ballad that has been the anthem of weddings for the past decade fell pretty flat.

OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder tries to fire-up the crowd.Credit:AAP

Not even the introduction of local singer Thandi Phoenix was enough to lift the crowd, including the mosh pit assembled around the stage, out of their slumber.

A few fans made a valiant attempt at an arm wave, but the most exciting part of the show was an on-stage pyro that was malfunctioning and caught fire on the scaffolding sending sparks flying perilously close to a cello player.

Perhaps the fact Nine cut the broadcast away to ads before the band got to their biggest hit, Counting Stars, and the Raiders fans started chanting over the top of the song, might suggest that this booking was not the NRL’s most carefully considered.

Before kick off, TV and theatre star Natalie Bassingthwaighte delivered a safe rendition of the national anthem and then mercifully it was on to the reason everyone had hoofed it to Homebush.

Playing any major sporting event is a thankless task, as Dean Lewis and Conrad Sewell will attest after last week’s AFL grand final, but everyone could be saved a lot of misery and social media backlash if the acts booked were at least somewhere in the wheelhouse of the crowd they are playing for.

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