Rumours emerge that Katy Perry will play secret show in Melbourne ahead of her AFL Grand Final headline gig

American hitmaker Katy Perry is rumoured to be playing a 'secret show' ahead of her AFL Grand Final headliner next week.

Insiders are saying that the 39-year-old I Kissed a Girl singer, who arrives Down Under next week, is planning a show at a Melbourne night spot.

There is speculation that Katy, who has a major gay following, will be heading to the Poof Doof club in South Yarra on Thursday to launch her new album.

The club, which is a popular LGBTQ venue, is well-known to visiting overseas artists, reported the Herald Sun on Friday.

Katy's new album 143 is scheduled to drop on September 20.

The pop superstar was confirmed to perform at the 2024 AFL Grand Final earlier this year.

The singer will headline the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment at the big match on Saturday, September 28.

'I'm so excited to be back in Australia and back at the mighty MCG to perform in front of 100,000 of the best and loudest fans in the world at this year's Toyota AFL Grand Final ,' Katy said in a statement.

'See you in September Oi Oi Oi!' she joked.

AFL Executive General Manager Customer and Commercial Kylie Rogers also said the AFL was thrilled to have her perform.

'Katy Perry is an international music icon who has been entertaining fans with her chart-topping hits for many years.

'The AFL is delighted to have her join us at the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final in what will be a spectacular Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment performance,' Rogers said.

'The AFL continues to attract world class artists to our game , and we're honoured to have Katy Perry on board to entertain a full house at the MCG and the millions of fans tuning in across the world.'

The announcement comes after DailyMail.com revealed Katy is 'pointing the fingers at everyone but herself' after her comeback single, Woman's World, failed to set the charts alight.

The feminist anthem managed to reach number 63 on the US Billboard Hot 100, before disappearing quickly from the chart altogether.

Insiders claim she is desperately scrambling to devise a new plan to save her musical comeback.

The singer released the lead single from her forthcoming seventh studio album 143 last Thursday, but the track - billed as an empowering feminist anthem - was quickly dismissed as unoriginal, hypocritical and formulaic.

The Teenage Dream hitmaker also faced criticism for the sexualised nature of the accompanying video, as well as her decision to work with music producer Dr. Luke, 50, after his highly publicised legal battle with Tick Tock singer Kesha, 37.

With the single plummeting down the US iTunes chart less than a week since its July 11 release, Katy is said to be 'freaking out' and demanding that her team go 'back to the drawing board' to save her album from suffering the same fate.

Meanwhile, Katy copped heat from her US fans after being announced as the 2024 AFL headliner who called the gig a 'step down'.

Some baffled American fans some even went so far as to call the Grand Final a 'made up event'.

The barrage came after Pop Crave posted the announcement to X on Thursday along with a promo photo of Katy holding an AFL ball.

'Katy Perry to headline the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment at the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final on September 28th.'

However US fans were quick to admit their bewilderment over the announcement with one fan commenting: 'Katy = unknown made up event' and pointing out that her pop rival Lady Gaga is widely-tipped to perform at the Paris Olympics.

Similarly, another shared a gif of Seinfeld's George Costanza squinting with the caption: 'What kind of obscure sportsball event is this?'

One commenter took a dig at the lacklustre performance of Katy's recent singles, such as Woman's World with: 'She will be performing all her songs prior to 2018 because the general public doesn't know anything recent.'

Despite the AFL Grand Final being one of the most popular events on the Aussie sporting calendar, one follower suggested that the booking was a further sign of downward trajectory for the singer.

'This is a step away from opening car dealerships,' they wrote.

Australian Rules footy fans likewise flocked to social media on Thursday to slam the AFL after their announcement that Perry will perform.

News that the Roar hitmaker would be heading to Australia for the September clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was met with a chorus of disapproval from fans, with many asking why the AFL needed to import overseas talent.

"AFL Grand final should be about giving Australian bands some exposure. Let do it again they were awesome when they did it," one fan commented on X.

Another chimed in with a similar sentiment, suggesting that the overseas performers recruited for the Grand Final were often past their used-by date.

'The AFL continuing their long standing practice of hiring foreign performers a decade or two after they were popular,' the commenter wrote while another chimed in with 'this would have been huge a decade ago.'