Lainey Wilson Is ‘Proud’ To Work With Jelly Roll
Lainey Wilson‘s friendship with Jelly Roll is a very special one, to say the least. The country stars and labelmates are two of the most powerful voices in the country…
FRISCO, TEXAS – MAY 11: (L-R) Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll perform onstage during the 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star on May 11, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Lainey Wilson's friendship with Jelly Roll is a very special one, to say the least. The country stars and labelmates are two of the most powerful voices in the country genre and what brought them even closer was their now first-ever No. 1 hit together, "Save Me."
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"I love my Jelly. I'm telling you right now. I don't think I've met anybody who don't love Jelly. And if you don't love Jelly, something's wrong with you," Wilson expressed to Kelly Ford on Backstage Country.
The song, which was originally featured on Jelly Roll's 2020 album, Self Medicated, was re-released on his 2023 album, Whisitt Chapel, with Wilson. The newest arrangement of "Save Me" has even garnered them a nomination for Music Event of The Year at the upcoming 2024 ACM Awards on May 16.
"I'm proud to be in this generation of country music with him. It's so important that we add Jelly to the mix. I mean, he's he's got a story and at the end of the day, he's connecting with people who feel like they have not had a voice in a long time, if ever. And so that's pretty special," Wilson said.
She continued, "I've been a fan of the song 'Save Me' for a long time because he had put it out a while before he asked me to be on it. I think it's so cool that you kind of get to hear it from both a man's perspective and a woman's perspective. It's a really powerful song. It stood the test of time. I feel like this song has had a lot of different lives. I'm very thankful that I got to experience one of those."
Jelly Roll's "Save Me" was his third consecutive top-charting single last year, following "Son Of A Sinner" and "Need A Favor."
Wilson will hit the road next month for her headlining 2024 Country’s Cool Again Tour with supporting acts Jackson Dean, Ian Munsick, and Zach Top while Jelly Roll's headlining 2024 The Beautifully Broken Tour kicks off in August with Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay.
Jelly Roll is on fire these days, having just enjoyed his second number-one song on country radio, "Need A Favor." He is currently on his headling tour, "Backroad Baptism." It is his "moment" in country music, and he's been enjoying every second of it, as you can clearly see on his social media.
He recently revealed that during his first performance at CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium in June, which was televised as a TV special on ABC, he was "trembling."
Jelly posted a video clip of the performance on his Instagram. He wrote in a lengthy caption, "If you listen closely, you can hear my voice shaking the first half of the song— I was trembling; I was so nervous. Sixty-five thousand people in my hometown stadium- the same stadium my father took me to every Sunday for Titans games. The same stadium I've been taking my daughter to since she was a baby."
He continued, "Thank you, CMA fest, for letting me be a part of your 50th anniversary - I have literally been going to 'Fan Fair' since I was a child. This night was unbelievable... to hear 65k people [sing] 'and God, I need a Favor' in unison like one voice. Speaking of 'NEED A FAVOR,' I can officially say it is the #1 song on Country Radio right now. There is no greater achievement in this town than being #1 in country radio. The fact this is my 2nd number one at Country Radio this year makes it almost unbelievable to me, to be honest - and this same song also held 3 weeks at number 1 on Rock radio."
Jelly concluded, "Just when I thought things couldn't get any wilder, y'all continue to amaze me. Thank y'all - this has been an unreal year."
We celebrate all things Jelly today as he shines in the country music spotlight. Let's take a look at the four songs that brought him to this place in music.
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"Save Me" (solo version) (2020)
Jelly first released this song in June of 2020. At the time, he said of the song's video, "This one is a bit of a curveball for me. I don't usually do these stripped-down acoustic videos, but writing this song made me feel something. I felt y'all needed some insight into the more vulnerable side of the music business." The song was later re-recorded as a duet with Lainey Wilson.
"Son of A Sinner" (2022)
This is Jelly Roll's first single released to the country music format. It is also his first number-one song on country radio. The song is about Jelly Roll's personal life as a traveling musician and his personal struggles with drug addiction. Jelly said that he was intoxicated while recording the vocal track.
"Need A Favor" (2022)
Jelly's second number-one song on country radio. It centers on a man on the verge of losing the love of his life and praying for God to do him a favor, admitting he does not deserve it, and hoping to repent for his past actions.
"Save Me" duet with Lainey Wilson (2023)
An official remix of the song with Lainey Wilson was released on May 12, 2023, as the second single from Jelly's album Whitsitt Chapel. Jelly and Lainey performed it together at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards and later at the finale of season 21 of "American Idol."
