Jelly Roll on How Music ‘Saved’ Him and the ‘Hopeful’ Message He Wants to Send Fans With New Album (Exclusive)

Music has always been a source of solace for Jelly Roll. With his music, especially his latest album, he aims to be a comfort in the lives of others.

The 38-year-old singer spoke with ET’s Kevin Frazier and Rachel Smith at Top Golf in Nashville to reveal his debut country album. Whitsit Chapeland his emotional raw Hulu documentary, Jellyroll: Save me.

For this famous and fast-growing artist, music has been a lifeline and best friend during life’s tremendous trials and tribulations.

“I think at some point in my life I was disappointed in just about everything in my life. But music has always been there for me,” he shared. “When I had nothing else, I had a boombox. When I was in prison, I had headphones and a little radio.”

Jelly Roll has had a tumultuous life, from addiction to street thieves to prison, but he hasn’t shied away from it. He embeds his emotions in his music.

“At my father’s funeral, music helped me bounce back in the darkest moments of my life,” he recalls. “Music has always held me, so I just want to do it for people.”

“I always write songs to show people that it’s okay to be halfway through,” Jelly Roll said of his approach to songwriting. talked about “But this time I wanted to add a hopeful atmosphere and tempo. I changed some tempos.

for Whitsit Chapel, what’s coming out now, Jelly Roll decided to move away from “sad and daunting songs” and instead wanted to record music that would “give people a reason to move around”.

For Jelly Roll, connecting with audiences and making a difference is the ultimate reward.

“No matter how much celebrity or money you have, that woman from Antioch, Tennessee I saw in a parking lot asked me to take a picture and told me her simple story and how she overcame it. There is nothing more meaningful in life and how I was inspired by it,” he said. “Billions of dollars thrown at me will never do as good as that feeling when a fan tells you that your music helped them.”

And now fans can get a better perspective with a new documentary Jellyroll: Save meStreaming on Hulu.

Looking back at the documentary, Jelly Roll admitted that there were parts of it that made him “uneasy” when rewatching it.

“Looking back, I was like, ‘Oh, I was really raw,’ and I had these people shoot the real thing, and I was kind of nervous and uncomfortable,” he says. said. “Because we believe that change is only created when something is a little uncomfortable.”

“There is a famous saying in recovery that the power to change is only gained when staying the same hurts more than it takes to actually change.” he added. “So it was cool to see that, and I think that honesty is what ties this documentary together, because I think they’re seeing something real, up close, raw. ”