Jelly Roll just won his second CMT Music Award of the evening. The singer, who won the trophy for Performance of the Year earlier in the evening (for his performance of “Need a Favor’ at last year’s CMT Music Awards), just won Male Video of the Year, also for “Need a Favor.”
Jelly Roll praised one of his fellow nominees when accepting the CMT Music Award for Male Video of the Year.
“I love you,” Jelly Roll said. “Thank you. First of all, my brother, Cody Johnson, ‘The Painter,’ that was one of the best music videos I’ve ever seen in my entire life. That’s my brother in real life. I love you, Cody Johnson. Thank you to CMT. I couldn’t believe you all gave me a chance last year. I came back this year on fire. I’m having one of the greatest nights of my life.”
Jelly Roll also used his time on stage to offer words of inspiration to those incarcerated, as he was before he turned his life around.
“But speaking of chances, it’s important that I stand up here tonight and represent those that are looking for second chances,” Jelly Roll said. “The kids back in the Metro Davidson County juvenile detention facility, the kids down here in the Austin juvenile detention facility are watching this tonight. I’m cheering you boys on. You can be this guy. You can change. You can turn it around. I promise you can. I once heard a man say that you don’t change until the pain to remain the same is greater than the pain it takes to change, and that’s what it takes. I love you.”
It was Johnson who helped Jelly Roll achieve a career milestone earlier this year, when Johnson invited Jelly Roll to sing with him at RodeoHouston. The crowd of more than 73,000 people marked the largest crowd Jelly Roll had ever performed in front of, an honor he didn’t take lightly.
“Behind the scenes, Cody Johnson has been one of my best friends in country music,” Jelly Roll said before their joint performance. “Since I came to country music, he has been a mentor, he has been a big brother. He has been my favorite person to talk to at 2:00 in the morning.”
When accepting the CMT Music Award for Performance of the Year, Jelly Roll also praised the fans, who have helped him achieve success he once only dreamed about.
“This is a moment I want to take to thank the fans for everything they’ve done for me. I want to thank God. I want to thank my beautiful wife and my daughter at home. One year ago, I was invited to perform at my first awards show. And I walked on this stage and i sang ‘Need a Favor’ for the first time on national television, right here.
“And what I’m emotional about is in that last year, you have changed my life in every way. I would have never though my life could be changed,’” he added.
Find all of Jelly Roll’s music and tour dates at JellyRoll615.com.
Read ‘Jelly Roll: 11 Things to Know About the Reformed Singer’ here.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for CMT