Highlights
- Jelly Roll values his fans and appreciates their support, often taking time to connect with them on a personal level.
- Despite his success, Jelly Roll remains humble and is grateful to his friends who have supported him since before he was famous.
- Becoming a father has motivated Jelly Roll to become a better person and musician, transitioning from rap to country music.
Jelly Roll is considered one of the nicest guys in the music industry, and he has many fans because of who he is and his tremendous talent. This is to say that over the years, he has had many encounters with his fans, but there is one that continues to stand out. “Last year in Las Vegas, there was a veteran in his 70s with his wife — I knew he was a veteran because the hat he was wearing said so, he was very proud,” the Need a Favor musician told Us Weekly in a recent interview.
“Seeing that man and his wife enjoy the concert was one of the most surreal moments of tour — I was proud to have him as a fan. I asked security to bring him backstage, and we talked for close to an hour — it really meant a lot to me.”
What Did Jelly Roll Say About His Interactions With His Fans?
Despite landing gigs and getting award recognition for his work, Jelly Roll (whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord) is still getting used to the attention. He told Us Weekly that he thinks it’s “crazy” how fans “come to my shows and are in the front row singing every single word along with me.” In the same interview, he also discussed the song that means the most to him (and he has several really popular tracks).
“The fans sing [Save Me] back every night. It’s also incredible to see the impact of radio and how the fans sing back Need A Favor — the connection the music continues to have and reaction from people for any of my songs is something I never take for granted,” he shared.
Jelly Roll cares about his fans, but he also cares about the people he surrounds himself with. In November 2016, he made a Facebook post praising his friends, who were with him long before he was famous. “God blessed me with a group of guys that have known me way before the music was relevant, that have always had my back and always kept me humble and inspired!” he wrote in the post.
“Rell and Jerry have been rocking with me since before the first video ever hit YouTube. We was hustling dreaming about this sh**, and now it’s really coming true,” he said of how far he had come. He also discussed why he started “this journey in the first place,” telling fans it was never for money or fame. “It was to tell the story for those unable to tell the story themselves. I didn’t get into this business to befriend any other rappers or in hopes of getting recognized by my peers,” he said. “I got in this sh** to share the story of my people!”
What Has Jelly Roll Said About Being Famous?
Jelly Roll has been honest with fans about how his life changed once he became a father. “A guard knocks on my cell door mid-afternoon during lockdown,” he told Billboard in an interview in 2023 of his daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord’s birth (he is now a father to two children). “He goes, ‘You had a kid today.’ I’ve never had nothing in life that urged me in the moment to know that I had to do something different. I have to figure this out right now.” He has come a long way since his felony charge as a teenager.
Jelly Roll worked hard to become a better person and also a great musician, transitioning from rap to country music. He has also been recognized for his talents. In 2023, he was nominated for several CMA Awards and won New Artist of the Year. Earning the title means something to him; he shared this in an interview with ET.
“It was the nod of approval I prayed for,” he said of the nominations. “I knew that we were selling tickets, I knew that fans were with us, I knew that we had people that were getting moved by the music, but I wasn’t really sure what Nashville thought of me, you know?”
Source: NewsFinale
