Jelly Roll is speaking out after Kelly Clarkson put her own spin on one of his biggest, and most recent, hits. Clarkson covered Jelly Roll’s “Save Me,” as part of her Kellyoke segment on her award-winning The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“I would’ve never believed you if you would’ve told me that I’d write a song so impactful that incredible Kelly Clarkson would deem it worthy to cover,” Jelly Roll said. “Thank you Kelly- wow – I’m honored in a way I can’t even describe – I cried watching it.”
I would’ve never believed you if you would’ve told me that I’d write a song so impactful that incredible Kelly Clarkson would deem it worthy to cover . Thank you Kelly- wow – I’m honored in a way I can’t even described – I cried watching it @kellyclarkson
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) February 16, 2024
Jelly Roll, who was recently announced as a guest mentor for the upcoming season of American Idol, has had plenty of highs in recent weeks, including attending his first Grammy Awards ceremony as a nominee. Although he didn’t win, being nominated for both the all-genre Best New Artist, and for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, for his “Save Me” collaboration with Lainey Wilson, was plenty of validation for him.
“It’s the ultimate ultimate,” Jelly Roll said on Audacy’s Katie & Company. “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.”
The Nashville native praised the New Artist winner, Victoria Monèt, for taking home the trophy.
“Just so we are clear- Victoria Monèt deserved that award,” Jelly Roll posted on social media. “She is incredible. She has been writing hits for everyone else for a long time, and she deserves every bit of this award. We come back next year stronger more nominations – I’m inspired.”
In a by now well known story, Jelly Roll spent a lot of his teenage and early adult years in and out of prison, and is still plagued by a felony conviction. But with so much success already behind him, the 39-year-old is even more optimistic about his future, thanks in large part to the work he has done on himself.
“[I’m] taking the time to love myself,” Jelly Roll explained on Comedy Central‘s The Daily Show. “Learning to listen to myself. Working …I go to therapy. I take it very seriously. My relationship with God. I’m an old-school Southern man. I’m just really rooted in my faith, and more than anything, I search for purpose. I quit searching to be happy and I started searching to be useful, and that’s when everything changed for me.
“Because to me, I wanna be a man of service,” he continued. “I wanna help people. I want to lead people in the right direction. And I know that when this is all said and done, the jokes we make will come and go, but two things that will stand are how [I] made people feel, and what music was made. And that’s what’s important. I want to lift people up. I tore people down, for decades. I just want to lift us all up.”
Find all of Jelly Roll’s music and upcoming shows at JellyRoll615.com.
