NRL grand final entertainment: Teddy Swims pays tribute to AC/DC during his performance
Teddy Swims has paid tribute to Aussie icons AC/DC during his performance at the 2025 NRL Grand Final pre-show entertainment at Accor Stadium.
The 33-year-old singer impressed with his ripping vocals in front of the 80,000-plus crowd, kicking his performance off with his hit single Bad Dreams, followed by The Door, and his vocals sounded incredible. There was not a hint of the vocal problem that saw him cancel shows in Hawaii just a week ago.
He then launched into AC/DC banger T.N.T, igniting the crowd.
Swims spoke of his plan to pay special tribute to AC/DC, telling Today on Friday they were “one of my favourite groups ever”, adding that he was “really excited to hopefully do it justice and I know people are going to lose their minds”.
The singer ended his pre-show performance with his hit song, Lose Control. The crowed erupted into a rousing cheer when he belted out of the final lines of the popular song.
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He set the stage for what is no doubt going to be an incredible decider, where the Brisbane Broncos will take on the Melbourne Storm.
Swims will now embark on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The tour kicks off at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on October 14.
There had been doubts Swims would be able to perform at this year’s clash. The American singer and songwriter was forced to cancel shows in Hawaii last weekend after he lost his voice mid performance at a concert on Friday.
Swims took to Instagram to share the news with his fans.
“Honolulu, I’m so sorry to let you know that both tonight’s show (Saturday Sept 27th) and tomorrow’s (Sunday Sept 28th) rescheduled performance will not be taking place,” he wrote.
“My doctor has not cleared me to sing, and I need a little more time to recover before I can give you the show you deserve.”
“I hate to disappoint you and truly apologise for letting you down,” he continued.
“Thank you for your love, patience, and understanding. I can’t wait until I’m back and able to sing for you again.”
He’d flown all the way to Australia for the show
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo quickly assured fans Swims was on the mend and headed down under for the NRL Grand Final.
“We had confirmation that he’s making a great recovery and his voice is in great shape, so he’ll be good for Sunday,” Abdo told NewsWire.
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Swims joined Today on Friday to assure fans he was ready to take to the stage on field at Accor.
“I’m doing really well, we took some time and stepped everything back and I slept for three days, but I’m back to normal now, there is no way I wasn’t coming,” he said.
Swims revealed he had travelled to Australia with his girlfriend Raiche Wright and their three-month-old son.
Abdo had spoken of choosing Swims for the NRL Grand Final, saying they were “really excited because he’s an artist who appeals to so many different people”.
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“Just take my family for example. If he’s playing on Spotify, then everyone is enjoying his music.”
Swims is a Grammy nominated, multi-platinum chart-topping superstar, best known for his hits like Lose Control and Bad Dreams.
His music has been described as a blend of soul, country, and pop.
Swims originally began to attract fans by posting song covers on YouTube in 2019 and 2020 before hitting the big time in 2023 with the release of his debut studio album I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1).
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