Pop star Olivia Rodrigo recently revealed that her mother skipped her headline set at Lollapalooza to attend Korn’s concurrent performance, as shared in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Rodrigo explained that while the scheduling of two acts on opposite stages was seen as a natural split for different fan bases, her own mother turned out to be the unexpected exception.
“My mom likes so many crazy metal bands, which you would never guess just looking at her,” Rodrigo said. “I headlined Lollapalooza last year, which was so awesome and such a dream of mine.”
She went on to describe the situation that unfolded on the night of the festival.
“But they have like headliners go at the same time. So, like on this specific day, it was me and Korn headlining at the same time on like opposite stages,” she continued. “And everyone’s like, ‘Oh, that’s perfect. You know, the Olivia fans will go see Olivia, the Korn fans will go see Korn. You know, there’s really no overlap.'”
Rodrigo then revealed the one surprising exception to that assumption.
“But there was one overlap, and it was my mom,” she said. “My mom skipped my show to go see Korn! I let her do it, I’m happy she got her night.”
Rodrigo took the situation in good humor, showing no hard feelings toward her mother’s musical priorities.
The anecdote offers a rare and candid glimpse into the family dynamic behind one of pop music’s biggest stars — and it turns out Sophia Rodrigo’s love of heavy music is no secret to those close to Olivia.
A clip shared by The Tonight Show on TikTok showed Rodrigo describing her mother in strikingly similar terms on another late-night appearance, saying, “My mom is, like, a 3rd grade teacher from the Midwest, and she’s very sweet, but, like, her favorite music is, like, death metal and, like, punk.” The contrast between Sophia’s wholesome day job and her after-hours musical tastes has clearly become a recurring and beloved talking point for Olivia.
Brand.org reported that Sophia Rodrigo has played a significant role in shaping Olivia’s musical identity. Her own tastes and experiences left a lasting imprint on her daughter’s songwriting and artistic sensibilities. While Olivia has built her career on emotionally charged pop and pop-punk, the heavier edge of her sound can at least in part be traced back to her mother’s influence.
As B2Brazil noted, Sophia Rodrigo works as a teacher. That background makes her passion for death metal and punk all the more unexpected to outside observers — though clearly not to her daughter, who has spoken about it with affectionate amusement on multiple occasions.
The Lollapalooza moment, while lighthearted, underscores just how genuine Sophia’s love of heavy music is. Rather than standing in the front row for her daughter’s landmark headline performance, she chose to spend the evening in the crowd at Korn. Olivia has embraced that decision with characteristic warmth and humor. It is a reminder that even at the peak of pop stardom, family dynamics have a way of keeping things refreshingly grounded.
