It feels good to be Jelly Roll. And now, he's ready to win a Grammy
[December 13, 2025]
By MARIA SHERMAN
New York (AP) — Jelly Roll is catching his breath.
It's not a metaphor. He's running up a hill in South Texas when he
answers The Associated Press' phone call, part of his ongoing health
transformation journey. “Endorphins are flying. I feel great,” he
cheers. “It’s time to win a (expletive) Grammy!”
He's got a lot to train for: This week, he was invited to become a
member of the Grand Ole Opry. And last month, Jelly Roll learned that he
was nominated for three Grammys in 2026, marking his third year in a row
receiving nods. Two of those are new territory for him. He's up for his
first contemporary Christian music (CCM) award, for “Hard Fought
Hallelujah,” his collaboration with Christian singer Brandon Lake. He is
also up for his first award in the inaugural contemporary country album
category. That's for “Beautifully Broken.”
“It's definitely the greatest honor,” he says. “Everybody wants to be
nominated for a Grammy.”
Since its release in 2024, Jelly Roll's album “Beautifully Broken” has
connected with his passionate audience, those who view his music as both
representational and aspirational. “God wanted people to know you can
still be beautiful and broken,” he says of the album's Grammy
recognition. “It’s truly my most meaningful album.”
Much of his work has become associated with overcoming adversity. Take,
for example, the song “Winning Streak,” which tells the story of
someone's first day sober, which he debuted on “Saturday Night Live.” Or
the direct-and-to-the-point, “I Am Not Okay.” Even though his life looks
pretty great right now, Jelly Roll's no stranger to struggle. He's been
incarcerated a few times, most seriously at age 16 when he was tried as
an adult for aggravated robbery. At 23, he was arrested for drug
dealing.
“I'm never disconnected from it,” he says of his past. It has informed
his philanthropic efforts, which often focus on mental health, recovery
efforts and include not infrequent performances in prisons.
“When I first started doing this, I was just telling my story of my
broken self,” he says of his career. “By the time I got through it, I
realized that my story was the story of many. So now I’m not telling my
story anymore. I’m getting to pull it right from the crevices of the
people whose story’s never been told. Right from them.”
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Jelly Roll performs "Heart of Stone" at the 60th annual Academy of
Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas on May 8, 2025. (AP
Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
 He jokes, “I have a nobody cries
alone policy.”
Jelly Roll says God has been the force driving his year and
receiving a Christian music Grammy nomination is just further proof
that “He's got my back,” the singer says. And while Jelly Roll
rejects the idea of crossing over into CCM — “I definitely live a
little too secular to be releasing Christian music” — the
recognition of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Lake is just further
proof that “God knows my heart,” he says.
“Country is largely about faith, freedom and family, and those are
all things I believe in,” Lake told AP. Collaborating with Jelly
Roll, an artist he loves, was natural. “I believe we can change even
more millions of people’s lives through these songs.”
Jelly Roll agrees, “It's well intentioned.”
Beyond that, he sees a world that is searching for messages of hope
— in his work, in country music, in Christian music and beyond. “I
think there really is a revival happening in America right now where
people are being re-presented the gospel in a digestible way. And it
doesn’t seem as finger waggy and ‘You’re all going to hell,’ you
know?”
“I really don’t care when the organized religions wave their finger
at me,” he continues. “I’m just glad to see the message, the gospel
getting presented.”
At the end of the day, he says, “I’m a broken dude that came from a
broken place and like Humpty Dumpty, they put me back together,
baby.”
He hopes his music can help others do the same.
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