NEW YORK – 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!”
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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.”
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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The 68th Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For more coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards.