Jelly Roll has another CMT Music Award to add to his collection. The Nashville native, who was the big winner at the 2023 CMT Music Awards, won his first trophy of the night, for “Performance of the Year,” for his performance of “Need a Favor’ at last year’s CMT Music Awards.
“I love you, Austin, Texas,” Jelly Roll said. “This is a moment I want to take to thank the fans for everything they’ve done for me. I want to thank God. I want to thank my beautiful wife and my daughter at home. One year ago, I was invited to perform at my first awards show. And I walked on this stage and i sang ‘Need a Favor’ for the first time on national television, right here.
“And what I’m emotional about is in that last year, you have changed my life in every way. I would have never though my life could be changed,'” he added.
Jelly Roll has indeed had a big year since last year’s CMT Music Awards, including winning the CMA Award for New Artist of the Year.
“There is something poetic about a 39-year-old man winning New Artist of the Year,” Jelly Roll said when accepting the CMA New Artist of the Year Award in November. “I don’t know where you’re at in your life or what you’re going through, but I want to tell you to keep going. I want to tell you, success is on the other side. I wanna tell you it’s gonna be okay. I want to tell you that the windshield is better than the rearview mirror, because what’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you.”
Jelly Roll was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, both for Best New Artist, and for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, for his “Save Me” collaboration with Lainey Wilson.
“It’s the ultimate ultimate,” Jelly Roll said on Audacy’s Katie & Company, speaking of being nominated for a Grammy Award. “When you get nominated for a Grammy, every other accolade you had takes a backseat to just the nomination. You know what I mean? Like, it’s crazy that I was, in this weird way, I was only the CMA New Artist for a day, because nobody can introduce me that way. Now I’ll forever be introduced to the Grammy-nominated Jelly Roll.”
Jelly Roll also won both Best New Country Artist and Best New Pop Artist at the recent iHeartRadio Music Awards.
“My mama always told me I had a face for radio,” Jelly Roll joked during his acceptance speech. “I remember being a kid sitting in the backseat of my car with my brothers. I had three older brothers and an older sister, and all we did was ride around and listen to the radio. We [sang] every single word. I never would have dreamed I would be one of the voices coming through your radio. And to be the Best New Country Artist, and to represent country music, and the Best New Pop Artist, you don’t know what this means to a kid like me.
“I was thinking about it: what does it mean when a guy like me has the opportunity to be the new Pop Artist of the Year, at iHeartRadio Awards?” he continued. “It means that God will always use the least likely messenger with the biggest message every single time. You can take it to the bank.”
Find all of Jelly Roll’s music and tour dates at JellyRoll615.com.
Read ‘Jelly Roll: 11 Things to Know About the Reformed Singer’ here.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for CMT
