Jelly Roll Endorses Lainey Wilson for CMA Entertainer of the Year During Nashville Concert

Jelly Roll took a moment during a recent Nashville concert to deliver a powerful endorsement of fellow country star Lainey Wilson, publicly voicing his belief that she deserves the upcoming CMA Entertainer of the Year award. The moment followed their joint performance of the 2023 hit "Save Me," which the two artists performed live to an enthusiastic crowd at Bridgestone Arena.

"I want you to know, as a girl dad, what you mean to my family and my daughter and all these little girls in this building. The inspiration. You are the role model us parents were praying for to encourage these young women to be brave, be bold and share their testimony across the globe. You did that, girl. You brought the bell-bottoms back in style, girl. You made country music cool again," shared Jelly Roll. "A 66-city' Whirlwind Tour' sounds like Entertainer of the Year to me. I love you, Lainey Wilson."

The Nashville concert was part of Wilson's ongoing Whirlwind World Tour, which has traveled across the U.S. and will wrap up in November. Her performance featured several surprise guests, including Ella Langley, who performed "Good Horses," ERNEST, who joined Wilson for "Would If I Could," and Jelly Roll for their GRAMMY-nominated duet "Save Me."

Wilson's tour follows a milestone year in her career. She won four ACM Awards in May — Entertainer, Female Artist, Artist-Songwriter, and Album of the Year for her latest album, Whirlwind. Wilson has already won two consecutive ACM Entertainer of the Year awards, and she is once again a contender at the CMA Awards against Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson, and Luke Combs.

Wilson will also be the host of the CMA Awards in November 2025, which demonstrates her growing influence within country music. As her tour is concluding and the CMA Awards are approaching, fans and other artists are still supporting her as one of the most exciting country music artists today.