Jelly Roll Announced As Guest Mentor On ‘American Idol’

Author Lauren Hoffman

February 7th 4:59 PM

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 04: Jelly Roll attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Jelly Roll is a force to be reckoned with in the country music community and beyond, which is why it’s no surprise to see that he will be a guest mentor on the upcoming season of American Idol hosted by Ryan Seacrest and judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie.

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The “Halfway To Hell” singer will be joined by another mentor, Tori Kelly, who made it to Hollywood Week on American Idol in 2010. According to ET, Jelly Roll’s episode will be taped at the Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, in Hawaii.

The reboot of American Idol aired in March of 2018, and the show has since crowned winners of the show, including William “Iam” Guy Tongi, Noah Thompson, Chayce Beckham, Just Sam, Lainey Hardy, Maddie Poppe, and more.

Jelly Roll released his debut country album this past summer titled Whitsitt Chapel. The 13-track collection includes “Need A Favor,” “Dancing With The Devil, “She,” and “Hungover In A Church Pew,” among other hits.

The Nashville native and multi-platinum singer-songwriter will most certainly be an asset to American Idol while being a guest mentor this year. Jelly Roll previously performed on the season 21 Idol finale back in May.

“I love this stuff. I love people. I love writing songs. I love singing it. I feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life. I’m having the time of my life out here,” Jelly Roll recently told Backstage Country.

The season premiere of American Idol is scheduled for Sunday, February 18 at 8 pm ET on ABC.

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The singer-songwriter has had a solid start to 2024. He attended the Grammys in Los Angeles last weekend. Two nights earlier, he performed at the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year, honoring Jon Bon Jovi. He performed Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine.”

Jelly Roll: 5 Songs You Need To Know From 'Whitsitt Chapel'

"The Lost"
An album cut that Jelly co-wrote with Miranda Lambert. In January, Lambert posted to Instagram that she made a new songwriting friend, Jelly Roll. By the looks of it, the two had a great time writing songs. Miranda posted a couple of photos to her Instagram, one with her, Jelly Roll, and a songwriter named Telenitry. She wrote, “Made a new friend this week! Jesse was right when he said we go together like biscuits and gravy! Loved writing a tune with @jellyroll615 and @telemitry.” See that post here.
"Halfway to Hell"
While this song has not been released as a single to country radio, it’s well-known by fans and got a massive response when Jelly performed it at his “Backroads Baptism Tour.” The song kicks off the album, starting with a clip of a church preacher preaching, “Just save you because he gave his only begotten son.” As the music starts, the preacher continues to preach; Jelly begins the song with the lyrics, “I’m a county jail revival / I’m a bottle and a Bible / I’m a rolling stone disciple / With a cross across my face.”
"Save Me" (with Lainey Wilson)
Little did Jelly know when he recorded this song with his friend Lainey Wilson that the collaboration would be nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The song was also recently nominated for Musical Event at the 2023 CMA Awards. In early December 2023, the song hit the top of the country music charts. They also performed the song at the ACM Awards in May of 2023.
"Need a Favor"
The first number-one country song from this project, but his second number one country song overall. The first number one was “Son Of A Sinner,” which was his first country single release before he released Whitsett Chapel. The powerful and relatable lyrics include, “I only talk to God when I need a favor / And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer / So who the hell am I, who the hell am I to expect a savior, oh / If I only talk to God when I need a favor? / But, God, I need a favor,”