Olivia Rodrigo speaks out for the first time on ‘terrifying’ Melbourne onstage incident
US pop star Olivia Rodrigo has spoken out for the first time since she was left “shaken up” following her Melbourne concert earlier this month.
Olivia Rodrigo has spoken out for the first time since suffering a dangerous fall at her Melbourne concert earlier this month.
The US pop star was in town for her Guts World Tour to play four sold-out shows when she fell through a hole on the stage at Rod Laver Arena, drawing in a collective gasp from the crowd.
Without missing a beat, Rodrigo continued to perform, reassuring the crowd she wasn’t hurt.
“Oh my God, that was fun,” she joked onstage. “I’m OK. Sometimes there’s just a hole in the stage. That’s all right. Where was I?”
Fortunately, the Drivers Licence singer did not suffer any injuries and was able to continue her tour in Sydney, where she also performed another four sold-out shows, this time at Qudos Bank Arena.
But the onstage incident still left Rodrigo “shaken up”, and she admitted for the first time that it “was really scary”.
“Watching the video back, it’s pretty terrifying,” she nervously giggled during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday. “I mean the show must go on, that’s showbiz, baby.”
But the three-time Grammy winner said that a “beautiful thing” happened after her fall when she was taken to the hospital after her show just as a precaution.
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“It was actually kind of a beautiful thing and I’m really happy it happened in hindsight,” said Rodrigo, who is half-Filipino.
“So I had just been to the Philippines. That was my next stop, Australia, after the Philippines. And I was thinking about my family and my heritage and my relatives and I fell and I was like all shaken up,” the musician said.
“And I went to the hospital after. Nothing happened but they just wanted to make sure I didn’t have a concussion.”
She said that the nurse who took care of her happened to be Filipino and also shared the same name as her late grandfather, “who just passed away a few months ago”.
“And so I was like wow that was him looking out for me,” she added. “Making sure I didn’t get hurt and so I’m really happy it happened. I think it’s a beautiful story.”
It was in Sydney that Rodrigo wrapped up her Guts tour, after performing almost 100 shows across North America, Europe, Asia and South America.
“That’s a wrap on the GUTS World Tour!” she wrote in a handwritten letter posted to Instagram. “95 shows, 22 countries, and a few matching tattoos!”
The singer added that she will “never forget this experience” and the memories and fans she met since kicking off her tour in February this year.
“Thank you so much to everyone who bought a ticket and sang and screamed and jumped with me,” she continued. “Sharing these nights with y’all has been a real honour.”