Emerging from the shadows into the spotlight, Jason Bradley DeFord, known as Jelly Roll, finds himself in awe of his meteoric rise within the country music industry. Once a name few knew, Jelly Roll has now etched its mark on the country music scene, earning Grammy nominations, winning multiple People’s Choice Awards, and winning three wins Sunday at the CMT Awardsincluding video of the year.
Amid his growing fame, he has maintained a down-to-earth attitude, which his fans have grown to love.
“None of that convinced me. I’m the most average guy ever,” Jelly Roll told Gayle King on CBS Mornings on Monday, the day after his CMT victory.
His performance at CMT Price, electric and full of emotion, left the audience and Jelly Roll himself impressed by the intensity of the moment.
“Feeling them and being able to give a speech and try to speak directly and pour out into someone’s living room, it turns me on in a way, man. I think it’s God,” did he declare.
By the time he accepted his first award for Performance of the Year, Jelly Roll had been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment.
“I was overwhelmed with emotions. I started crying because I thought about the whole year…from that point on,” he said. “It’s amazing what God can do in a year.”
In a moving moment during his acceptance speech for Male Video of the Year, Jelly Roll addressed youth in detention, drawing on his past struggles with the law in Tennessee, including his arrests for marijuana possession and his attempted theft that put him in and out of prison. .
“I just want them to know that you really can overcome this. This is just a moment in your life and who you were is not who you are, and that you can change at any time with the changes that are coming for all of us. I truly believe that I embody that as much as I can,” Jelly Roll said.
Jelly Roll’s unique blend of country music with a gritty hip-hop-like sound, as well as his distinctive tattoos – some of which he humorously regrets – have set him apart in the industry. He’s not the only one bringing a distinctive sound to country. Artists like Lainey Wilson and Cody Johnson are also making names for themselves, with support from Jelly Roll.
“They’re like my friends. They’re people that flow into me,” he said.
Jelly Roll will be busy this summer as he prepares to embark on his Beautifully Broken tour.
As he looks forward to his first arena tour, including performances at iconic venues like New York’s Madison Square Garden, Jelly Roll reflects on how far his dreams have gone and how far they will go. “My dream was too small. Now I have to dream new dreams, I dream bigger,” he said.
Analisa Novak
Grub5
