TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jonas Brothers brought some heat to Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, September 11, headlining the halftime show as the Los Angeles Rams faced the San Francisco 49ers at the NFL's first-ever regular season match in Australia. But their performance was received with some mixed reactions.
In front of more than 100,000 football fans, the group—comprising Joe, Nick, and Kevin—took to the stage to perform a selection of hits: “Burnin’ Up,” “Sucker,” “Listen When Sad,” and “Year 3000.” They also played into the crowd by covering Australian classing "You're the Voice" by John Farnham.
While some enjoyed the five-song set, as sport news agency Marca pointed out, Australians largely found the show underwhelming and "too American."
According to Marca, fans were baffled by the NFL's decision to tap the Jonas Brothers as the headliners for the historic day, instead of inviting local talents like, say, Kylie Minogue or AC/DC.
“Can someone please explain to me how @nfl came up with the Jonas Brothers to play halftime in Australia?” one tweeted on X, as quoted from news.com.au.
But their John Farnham tribute at least earned the Jonas Brothers their warmest reviews of the day. Citing Fox Sports, among those loving the performance were ESPN NFL analyst Peter Schrager and First Coast News sports reporter Rachael Phillips.
The Jonas Brothers were first announced as headliners for the NFL Melbourne halftime show in August. “We couldn’t be more excited to perform at halftime during the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Australia,” the Jonas Brothers said in a statement, as quoted by Rolling Stone.
The group at the time said they "can't wait" to be part of the historic moment and said playing at the MCG is an "incredible honor."
Meanwhile, for the game itself, the 49ers won 27-7 over the Rams. The NFL Melbourne is part of the league's bid for global expansion, with several cities across the world joining Melbourne to host American football games this season, including London, Madrid, Mexico City, Munich, Paris and Rio De Janeiro.
Read: NFL Melbourne Debut Draws 100,021 Fans as 49ers Defeat Rams
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