Jelly Roll could end this weekend with two new trophies. The former inmate is nominated for two Grammy Awards, both for the all-genre Best New Artist, and for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, for his “Save Me” collaboration with Lainey Wilson.

Even Jelly Roll’s biggest dreams, dreams he had while still incarcerated, didn’t quite include his music being nominated for the highest honor in music.

“It’s the ultimate ultimate,” Jelly Roll tells Audacy’s Katie & Company. “When you get nominated for a Grammy, every other accolade you had takes a backseat to just the nomination. You know what I mean? Like, it’s crazy that I was, in this weird way, I was only the CMA New Artist for a day, because nobody can introduce me that way. Now I’ll forever be introduced to the Grammy-nominated Jelly Roll.”

Ironically, it was seeing Taylor Swift cheering on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce at the Kansas City Chiefs’ game that made Jelly Roll realize the significance of the Grammy nods.

“What reminded me of that was seeing that picture of Taylor Swift, the first time she was at the first Chiefs game,” Jelly Roll recalls. “She’s the new Michael Jackson. I don’t know why they had to put any accolade under her anyway, but they put Taylor Swift, and under it, it said, ‘15-time Grammy award winner’…That’s all it had to say was that she’s won 15 Grammys. It’s like, that alone is the thing. It’s when you become king, there’s nothing more than king.”

Jelly Roll turned 39 years old shortly after winning the CMA New Artist of the Year trophy. The unexpected trajectory of his life, from a life of crime to being one of country music’s leading artists, only makes him want to do more to give others a helping hand.

“It’s crazy to be nominated for New Artist at the GRAMMYs and win it at the CMAs going into the year I’ll be 40, It’s insanely unreal ….my thing is how can I continue to help people? I heard a quote one time a couple years ago that changed the way I looked at life. ’It said, ‘It is mighty narcissistic of us to think that the purpose of life is to be happy. The purpose of life is to be useful.’ When I heard that, it really, really resonated with me. It gave me a lot of perspective on what I was seeking. I just want to be a man of service more than anything.”

The 2024 Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 4, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will also air live at 8:00 PM ET on CBS, and will also stream on Parmount+/.

Find all of Jelly Roll’s music and upcoming shows at JellyRoll615.com.