When is Australia just going to bite the bullet and make Robbie Williams at least an honorary Australian.
The pop icon has continued to prove he absolutely loves Australia on his current XXV Tour, having signed off his final Melbourne stadium show with a bang.
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Having played Allianz Stadium in Sydney before back to back nights at AAMI Park on Wednesday and Thursday, Williams has again proven our love affair with the former Take That star is more than reciprocated.
The highlight of the night was Williams donning a Shane Warne ODI jersey with the famous No. 23 as he covered Aussie legend John Farnham’s You’re The Voice.
It was a tribute to the legendary Aussie singer who underwent mouth surgery to remove a tumour shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2022.
He has since revealed he is “all clear” of cancer.
Williams has paid tribute to Farnham throughout the tour, “sending love” while he was in Sydney.
But it was the Warnie jersey that stole the show.
The pair were friends and Williams recorded a special version of Angels that was played at Warne’s funeral last year.
Williams was also wearing the jersey when he sang the song on Thursday, dedicating the song to the woman who died after falling down six rows of seats during his Sydney concert.
Williams, who rocked the MCG at the 2022 AFL Grand Final in one of the great pre-match performances, dedicated the same song, announcing he was singing it for “one of Australia’s greatest rock stars”.
At the time of Warne’s shock death, Williams shared with ABC News Breakfast just what Warne meant to him.
“I don’t think words do death justice, and words could never do the passing away of such an icon justice,” he said at the time.
“I won’t even attempt them, but I will say this, and I mean this with a 1,000 per cent sincerity: There is a lot of tribalism in sports, it is what it is all about. Seldom does somebody transcend their sport and transcend that tribalism because it’s genetically encoded in us to hate the other lot.
“With Shane, he belonged to everybody.
“He belonged to England, he belonged to Australia, he belonged to the world.
“And he did that thing, and he had that thing, that quality, that just lifted him several levels above everybody else as a personality, as a heart, and as a soul.”
He added Warne’s death made him reassess his own life.
So it was perfect that he farewelled Melbourne on Twitter with an absolutely perfect image.
While paying tribute to two of the legends of Australian culture was one thing, Williams also proved he know just how deep the local tribalism goes, making a lyric change to his song Better Man.
With the help of the crowd, Williams sang: “Lord, I’m doing / all I can / To be a … Carlton fan.”
He then flipped off the crowd to their delight.
At one stage, he also asked how many Carlton fans there were in the crowd, laughing hysterically at the divided reaction.
Williams is a diehard Blues fan, showing just how deep his love affair goes with Australia.
After the Blues won the AFL semi-final against the Demons this year, Williams, who has reportedly been a fan since at least 2012, changed the lyrics of John Paul Young’s Love is in the Air.
“De Koning’s in the air, everywhere I look around,” Williams starts.
“De Koning’s everywhere, leaving bodies on the ground.
“And he’s better than his brother, even better than his dad.
“There’s only one Thomas de Koning, and he’s the best one we’ll ever have.
“De Koning’s in the air! De, de, de, de, de, de.”
It came the week after he roasted the Swans when the Blues knocked them out of the finals.
Williams also brought back “De Koning’s in the air” earlier this week.
On Thursday, the club met with Williams as Blues president Luke Sayers, along with coach Michael Voss and De Koning himself met the popstar backstage, presenting him a bedazzled jacked and a jersey, announcing him as a “global ambassador” for the club.
“I take this role very seriously,’’ a smiling Williams said.
And this is not to mention Williams going viral for his Ange Postecoglou song.
Don’t worry Robbie — as much as you love Australia, our sports and our sportspeople, we love you right back!
While he’s done with the stadiums, Williams still has a few more shows remaining — one on Saturday November 25 at Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong, a show at the Adelaide 500 on November 26 and two shows on November 30 and December 1 at Nikola Estate, Middle Swan, WA.
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