Jelly Roll Is Beyond ‘Excited’ For The 57th Annual CMA Awards

Jelly Roll is ready to attend the CMA Awards today (November 8) in Nashville as the most nominated male artist and he told us that he's feeling like "Mr. Clean Fresh." We met up with the first-time nominee ahead of Country Music's Night and to say he's excited would be an understatement.

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The superstar landed five nominations including Single of the Year (“Need A Favor”), Male Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Save Me”), Music Video of the Year (“Need A Favor”), and New Artist of the Year.

"Listen. The 57th annual CMAs and Jelly Roll of all people was the most nominated male artist. The alien invasion is coming. This was in the Bible or something," Jelly Roll told hosts Jeff Kurkjian and Justin Franiak.

Kurkjian praised Jelly Roll for his vocals and the love he has shown everyone throughout his journey thus far. With that being said, there are no words to compare to the smile on his face in our exclusive interview below.

"I love this stuff. I love people. I love writing songs. I love singing it. I feel like I've never worked a day in my life. I'm having the time of my life out here."

Jelly Roll released his debut country album this past summer titled Whitsitt Chapel. The 13-track collection includes "Need A Favor," the fan-favorite track "She," and "Save Me" featuring labelmate Lainey Wilson.

The Nashville native and multi-platinum singer-songwriter also spoke to us about giving up his phone for the remainder of the year (except for CMA week), saying "It's incredible."

"I stole this from Ed Sheeran. Somebody said, Ed Sheeran doesn't do a phone and he carries a laptop. And he treats it like a business kind of. He'll check his emails in the morning or at night at a certain time," Jelly Roll said. "I've never been more in the moment."

Jelly Roll is set to open the 2023 CMA Awards with a performance of "Need A Favor." The 57th Annual CMA Awards hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning will air tonight, Wednesday, November 8 at 8/7c on ABC.

Jelly Roll won three awards at this year's (4/2) CMT Music Awards. The one-time rapper recently scored his first country music chart-topper "Son of A Sinner." Born and raised in Antoich (right outside of Nashville), Jelly Roll has won the hearts of his fellow country stars and the heart of country music fans worldwide.

He made his first on the CMT Music Awards performance, joined by a full gospel choir, with his song "Need A Favor." That was followed by an enthusiastic standing ovation by the whole house.

Jelly Roll's awards came before his new album, Whitsitt Chapel, was released on June 2. Titled after the church the Antioch native grew up attending, the debut full-length Country project on BMG/Stoney Creek Records features 13 tracks.

Before his current time in country music, Jelly was known as a Southern Hip Hop artist. Beginning in 2010, he collaborated with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, Yelawolf, Tech N9ne, and Ryan Upchurch. His 2010 collaboration "Pop Another Pill" with Memphis rapper Lil Wyte reached over 6.3 million YouTube views and started his career.

A record label executive in Nashville told me they were looking for the Post Malone of country music and found that in Jelly. His real name is Jason DeFord, and his Jelly Roll nickname comes from his mother, who called him Jelly Roll when he was a young, as he said, a "chubby" kid.

As Jelly's star continues to rise, we take a look at his last few years in the national spotlight.