Jelly Roll can’t miss. The “Save Me” hitmaker became a household name overnight with the release of his highly acclaimed country debut, Whitsitt Chapel. The wildly anticipated follow-up, Beautifully Brokendebuted last month atop the Billboard 200—a career first for the East Tennessee native. Now, the artist (born Jason DeFord) is celebrating his sixth consecutive No. 1 hit on country radio.
Jelly Roll Continues His Country Radio Reign
Jelly Roll rose to fame by tapping into universal human experiences, and “I Am Not Okay” is no exception. The lead single off Beautifully Broken is “for everyone going through something,” wrote the Entertainer of the Year nominee in a June Instagram post.
And this week (Nov. 9,) “I Am Not Okay” rises to the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart. This marks Jelly’s sixth consecutive time in this position, trailing only Kane Brown.
“I believe in the power that music has to connect with people, and being able to see the response out on the road touring and seeing and hearing from people about this song — it’s been unreal,” Jelly Roll told Billboard. To fans and programmers, he added, “Thank you for continuing to shine a light on therapeutic music.”
“I Am Not Okay” is all the more poignant because the “Need a Favor” singer drew inspiration from real-life stories fans shared with him. “I’m at gas stations and red carpets and I’m hearing life stories from people, really inspiring stories,” he told Taste of Country. “I’ve never wrote more.”
[RELATED: Watch Jelly Roll Invite Inmates Onstage During Virginia Show: “The Future Can Be So Much More”]
Jelly’s Powerful ‘Austin City Limits’ Debut
On Saturday (Nov. 2) Jelly Roll made his Austin City Limits debut. The three-time 2024 CMT Award nominee treated the audience to a six-song set, including “Need a Favor” and “I Am Not Okay.”
It wouldn’t be a Jelly Roll performance without an inspiring speech, and he certainly delivered.
“The thing about these shows are, is that it’s more than a concert, it’s more than music,” he told the crowd. “It’s bigger than me, it’s bigger than the music, it’s about the message. It’s about redemption, it’s about second chances, it’s about being OK with not being OK sometimes.”
Featured image by Rob Latour/Shutterstock
