Jelly Roll opens up about how he landed the role as the first-ever Artist in Residence on American Idol and teases all the “fire” talent viewers can expect to see throughout the season.
While sitting next to fellow singer/songwriter ERNEST for an interview with Bussin’ With The Boys, Jelly Roll was given the opportunity to “shamelessly promote” his new gig. Fans saw the Tennessee native on Season 22 of Idol when he appeared as a guest mentor and performer during the show’s visit to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawai’i. He also previously performed his hit song “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson and teamed up with Season 21 contestant Oliver Steele for a rendition of “Need a Favor.”
Jelly Roll revealed that because of his past work with the contestants as well as his longtime support of the show as a fan, the network invited him to return in a more permanent fashion. This time, he will work closely with the contestants all season long, offering them advice and guidance as they navigate the journey.
“It is unbelievable…I got this gig the coolest way you can get it too. I hope they’re not mad at me for telling the true story, but they invited me. They do mentors every year in Hawaii and two different artists mentor a different group, and you mentor 12 kids. I had been a fan of the show, so I was always tuned in, sung at a couple of the finales and I was there for the Iam Tongi season, and so that’s how I got the mentorship job was just being a fan. And I did so good they called and was like, ‘I know this sounds crazy, but we want to create a position where you do that the whole season,’” he explained.
The eighth season of Idol on ABC, and the 23rd season overall, kicked off with a round of must-see auditions on Sunday, March 2. Viewers may have noticed that Jelly Roll did not make an appearance and that’s because his duties will begin at the start of Hollywood week, when the golden holders make their way to California and put their talents to the test on a real stage. He will continue to mentor the hopeful singer/songwriters until only one is left standing at the finale.
“I know the first three or four episodes I’m not in because they whittled it down to the top 48 or 50 and then I come in at the top 50 and start mentoring through the whole season. So I’m going to mentor from 50 to whoever wins this thing.”
With a few days of shooting already under his belt, Jelly Roll can confidently say that the season could be one of the toughest competitions yet as each singer is bringing something unique to the table.
“I’m already biased because I’m so involved in this season already,” he admitted. “There is so much fire on this season, dude, there is so much fire. There is so many just heart wrenching stories, there’s so many fun stories and happy stories, so many great voices. Never seen a wider range of talent on American Idol. I’ve watched every season for the last, since I’ve been home, and watched ‘em from Ruben Studdard Forward,” Jelly Roll added, referencing the second artist to ever win American Idol back in 2003.
One of his favorite parts of the experience thus far has been seeing the group of singers who have no background in performing whatsoever, break out of their shells and discover their true talents.
“Most of them live, more often than not, hours away from a metropolis, had to drive to that metropolis for their audition. They’re like closet singers, more often than not. They’re just great voices and this is such a culture shock for them, like the idea that ‘I tried out for American Idol, I was bold enough to do it, then I got picked and sent to Hollywood’ is crazy. So you’re catching a lot of people who are just, I always use the term green as a pool table twice as square, you know what I mean? They don’t know what’s going on.”
He concluded by saying that watching the show has always been a “secret pleasure” of his so to now get to be a part of the journey is “huge.”
The “Liar” singer’s arrival on American Idol marks a year of big changes for the show. Along with the addition of his new role, Carrie Underwood also joined as the first new judge in seven years. She is currently serving as Katy Perry’s replacement alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
American Idol Season 23 will continue to air every Sunday on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.
Overall, this year is shaping up to be huge for the GRAMMY nominee. Aside from taking on this major opportunity, he also revealed he’s working on a project that he considers to be “the biggest thing of my career.” He’s currently mapping out all the details for his next project using handwritten notes that seem to have taken over every corner of his house.
“If you go to my house right now, it’s like a mad scientist. It’s like handwritten notes all over my downstairs wall. I mean downstairs, my studio desk, my coffee table, my smoke room desk. It’s just, I look like a possessed man. I was taking a shower last night in the middle of the shower. I called my wife in and I was like, ‘text this to my computer right now.’ I was thinking about it in the shower. I’m obsessing about it that much, so I still hand write tons of stuff. I’m still old school even in that regard.”
In 2024, he headlined his biggest tour yet and while he had initially planned to take some time off the road in 2025, Post Malone came along and changed that. It has since been announced that Jelly Roll will join the “I Had Some Help” singer on The BIG ASS Stadium Tour on top of headlining an extensive run of shows throughout Canada this spring and several major festivals this summer.
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