Robbie Williams called out a crowd member for their lack of rhythm during his New Year's Eve performance in Sydney, Australia, blaming them for ruining the intro to one of his songs.
The British star headlined the New Year’s celebrations outside the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday evening.
During his much-anticipated set, he performed some of his biggest hits, including Let Me Entertain You, Rock DJ, and the romantic ballad Angels, which he chose as his final song of the year.
Highlights
- Robbie Williams scolded a fan for singing "in the wrong place" during his New Year's Eve concert in Sydney.
- The incident occurred during his performance of 'Me and My Monkey,' when the fan began singing at the wrong time.
- He was also criticized for promoting his new biopic, 'Better Man.'
Robbie also performed two covers: Wilson Pickett's Land of 1000 Dances and Chris Thompson's You're The Voice.
Robbie Williams had an awkward interaction with a fan during his New Year's Eve performance
Image credits: David Benito/Getty Images
However, one of the most talked-about moments of the evening came during his third song, Me and My Monkey, which the 50-year-old entertainer hadn't performed since 2016.
Instead of starting to sing at the right time, Robbie missed his cue and scolded a reveler for the mistake.
"You made me come in in the wrong place," he said, pointing to the fan as the band played along.
"Can you stop doing the lyrics to the song, then I don't get it wrong."
"Now, okay?" the hitmaker instructed before continuing with the 2002 song.
Image credits: Pick Six Productions Xtra
All up, the British pop star appeared on stage for about 40 minutes, clearly in a good mood as he reintroduced himself to the crowd of NYE revelers, 7 News reported.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. This is my band, this is my a*** and you better be good. Because I am phenomenal," he said.
Viewers have also criticized the government-funded broadcaster ABC Television for allowing Robbie to promote his new biopic, Better Man.
Directed by Michael Gracey, the musical comedy-drama follows Robbie from his early rise to fame in the pop group Take That to his solo career, in which he's portrayed as a CGI-animated chimpanzee.
Robbie headlined the New Year's celebrations outside the Sydney Opera House
Image credits: Pick Six Productions Xtra
Image credits: Pick Six Productions Xtra
Before he sang Better Man, the Brit Award winner launched into a promotion of the film, saying, "Some critics are calling it the movie of the century! Not my words, except they are because I just made that up."
He then explained that the film had been filmed in Australia and asked the audience if anyone had seen it.
Robbie also changed the lyrics of his song of the same name as he continued to promote the movie.
"So go watch my movie; it's full of drugs and sex; I've got my own biopic; I'm not even dead," he sang.
At one point during the show, he called out a crowd member for singing ahead of time and blamed them for missing his cue
Image credits: Pick Six Productions Xtra
Many viewers were annoyed by Robbie's constant self-promotion during his set.
"Robbie Williams is busy posing & promoting himself, how about singing a song," one user said.
"The taxpayers funding Robbie Williams is an odd way to end and start. Absolutely f**ked," another viewer wrote.
"Never seen anything like that a new low for the #abc,” a third commented.
"Did my tax dollars pay for this lazy Robbie Williams set? What the f*ck. PR for a movie during a set as well?!" wrote a separate social media user.
"We're gonna get just 25-30 minutes of Robbie Williams. How much and who's paying??" asked somebody else.
Image credits: Pick Six Productions Xtra
Another group defended the star, saying his performance was more entertaining than previous acts.
"Stop complaining about Robbie William, we've had to put up with years of ABC crap acts for many many years on NYE and finally we have someone decent," wrote one fan.
Others pointed out that the biopic was made with Australian talent. "Imagine being so sooky on New Year's Eve that you get offended about Robbie Williams plugging his movie that was shot and directed by Australians."
Taking to his Facebook page, Robbie wished his fans a happy new year after the show, writing, "Happy New Year everybody! All the best for 2025. New Year's resolution suggestion for you: go to the cinema to watch Better Man Lots of love, Rob x."
Director Michael Gracey, who previously made The Greatest Showman, shared that the decision to represent Robbie as a computer-generated chimpanzee was inspired by conversations with the star where he described himself as a performing monkey.
Robbie further explained: "I've been a cheeky monkey all my life. There's no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie."
"We care for animals more than we care for humans, most of us. I guess there is a removal, as well. It's very much a human story but if you're watching it and someone's playing Robbie Williams, you're thinking: Does he look like him? Does he act like him? Does he talk like him?"
Robbie also used the event as an opportunity to promote his new biopic, Better Man
Image credits: Kevin Payravi/Wikimedia Commons
Its song Forbidden Road has earned a Golden Globes nomination for Best Original Song.
The film stars Jonno Davies as Robbie’s chimpanzee form—the character is portrayed by Jonno using motion capture and voiced by both Robbie and Jonno—as well as Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, and Raechelle Banno.
The film stars Jonno Davies as Robbie’s chimpanzee form—the character is portrayed by Jonno using motion capture and voiced by both Robbie and Jonno—as well as Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, and Raechelle Banno.
The hitmaker also performed on Graham Norton's New Year's Eve special and faced criticism for making the crowd sing in his place
"Ever since I first arrived here on my solo tour in 2003, Australia accepts me for who I am, and that's the best feeling.
"So, it was truly an honor to entertain the nation in front of the iconic Sydney Harbour counting down to New Year's Eve."
"He was absolutely joking," a reader said of the fan interaction
