See Jelly Roll React to His PEOPLE Cover on the CMA Awards 2024 Red Carpet: 'This Is Unreal!'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jelly Rollwas in for a surprise at the2024 Country Music Association Awards!

While hitting the red carpet at the event in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the country star, 39, ran into a few PEOPLE reporters who hadhis cover story from this weekon hand.

With the magazine in hand, the “I Am Not Okay” singer told PEOPLE, “Every airport, every grocery store I think I almost ever went into has had one of these.”

Check out all of PEOPLE’sfull CMA Awards coverage here.

He guiltily admitted that he didn’t always buy the magazine, but “I’d always thumb through them. You can catch me in public to this day getting the scoop, right here with PEOPLE.”

Jelly continued to joke about the starry faces that surround him on the cover, saying, “Who would have thought I would be on the cover of something and theDuke of Sussexwould be in the corner of that cover?”

The Grammy nominee added: “This is unreal. I am honored.”

After expressing incredulity and gratitude for hisrecent weight loss, the star also revealed that he was “so nervous” he “almost vomited” while in dress rehearsal for the show.

“I got so overwhelmed with what was happening. I’m afraid it’s gonna happen again when I walk out there,” he said, later adding, “Thanks PEOPLE for taking the time to share my story… I hope this is a beacon of hope to second chance people everywhere. Whatever your second chance is.”

Jelly Roll attends The 56th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 9, 2022 in Nashville.Sara Kauss/FilmMagic)

Sara Kauss/FilmMagic)

In the cover story, Jelly spoke about the healing nature of music and how that has been an inspiration for him while writing songs. In October, he released his 10th studio albumBeautifully Broken,which peaked at No. 1 on theBillboard200 chart.

“Every album is a labor of love, and the day they’re not, I’ll quit. It’s that easy,” he said. “Admittedly, there are things that I do in my career that feel like work, and I don’t like that word. That’s why I got in the music business! But going to write a song has never been one of those things. Never one time have I looked at my calendar and seen ‘Songwriting session’ and been like, ‘F—, I’ve got so much other s— to do today.’ Normally I’m like, ‘Oh yes, I can exorcize some of these demons.’ "

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Jelly isnominated for a total of three awardsat the CMAs, including entertainer of the year, album of the year for his 2023 LPWhitsitt Chapeland male vocalist of the year.

The 58th Annual CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on ABC. The show streams the following day on Hulu.

source: people.com