The Surprise You Missed in Korn’s 1997 Track "A.D.I.D.A.S."
Jonathan Davis explains how his son’s voice made it into the recording.
- Jonathan Davis’s son Nathan can be heard cooing during the breakdown of Korn’s 1997 track “A.D.I.D.A.S.”
- Davis calls the song “dumb” and reflects on its immature themes, fitting the band’s mindset at the time.
- Korn finally collaborated with Adidas after years of rejection, despite seeing their fans wearing the brand at shows.
Ever really listened to the breakdown in Korn’s 1997 track “A.D.I.D.A.S.”? And I mean actually listened—ears glued to every sound, every tiny layer. There’s a surprise in there you probably missed. In an interview, Jonathan Davis dropped a little-known fact: his son Nathan makes a surprise appearance.
Yep, you read that right. During the breakdown, if you focus, you’ll hear Nathan cooing in the background. Turns out, when Davis was recording vocals, Nathan was right there. And, like any kid would, he made some noise. Guess it’s never too early to steal the spotlight.
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“It was just a dumb song,” Davis said, cutting straight to the point. “Nothing deep. Just came from a riff we were playing around with for our second record. The acronym? ‘All Day I Dream About Sex.’ Could’ve been ‘sports’ or anything else, but let’s be honest—when you’re 24 and in a rock band, your brain’s on one track. Immature? Sure. But it fit where we were.”
Here’s where it gets weird. While laying down vocals, Nathan—his firstborn—was chilling between Davis’ legs. “Listen close,” he said. “You can actually hear him cooing during the breakdown. He was right there in the room, just hanging out.”
Fast-forward a couple decades, and Korn finally teamed up with Adidas for a clothing line. Sold out in a blink. Ironic, considering Adidas had given the band the cold shoulder for years. In a 2021 interview, Davis didn’t hold back about the frustration. Imagine seeing crowds full of kids in Adidas at your shows, but the company still acts like you don’t exist.
“Get this,” Davis said. “They told us, ‘Adidas is a sports company. We don’t do music.’ Total BS. Then later they’re giving Kanye and everyone else custom shoes. What the hell, right?”
Korn eventually moved on to Puma—not about the money, just about getting some respect. “They offered to put us in a commercial, throw us a little cash. We were like, ‘Hell yeah!’ Way more than Adidas ever did for us.”
There you go. A bit of baby cooing, a beef with sneakers, and a band that always kept things… interesting.
They are planning a special event for their debut album’s 30th anniversary at LA’s BMO Stadium.
