Jelly Roll humorously admitted that he was ‘lost’ during a live teleprompter blunder with host, Kelsea Ballerini, during the 2024 CMT Music Awards in Austin on Sunday.
The Need A Favor singer, 39 – who won three trophies during the ceremony which included Video of the Year – also appeared shocked earlier in the night when Ballerini, 30, jokingly compared him to ‘Weird Barbie.’
At one point, the songstress – who was hosting the event for the fourth time – gave ‘bad news’ to the celebrity guests in the crowd and revealed that there would be no gift bags.
‘We have something way better I can give out right now. A hug from Jelly Roll,’ she said while walking up to the music artist.
The pair shared an embrace and Ballerini gushed, ‘Best hug ever. It really is,’ with Jelly Roll also adding, ‘Yes!’
Jelly Roll, 39, humorously admitted that he was ‘lost’ during a live teleprompter blunder with host, Kelsea Ballerini, 30, during the 2024 CMT Music Awards in Austin on Sunday
The Need A Favor singer also appeared shocked earlier in the night when Ballerini jokingly compared him to ‘Weird Barbie’
‘It’s an award in itself. Does anyone else want in on this action?’ Kelsea continued, with other stars such as Ashley McBride and Gayle King also receiving hugs from the singer – whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord.
While holding a microphone as well, Jelly Roll said, ‘Yes! This is awesome. Anyone else want a hug? I’m giving away hugs for free.’
He then faced forward with Ballerini close by on the stage and began, ‘Listen, let me tell y’all something. I’m excited to tell y’all right now…’
However, Jelly Roll abruptly paused and quietly sent a look towards Kelsea, with the audience also becoming silent.
‘I’m lost,’ he then revealed, with Kelsea quickly jumping in to explain, ‘We have a friend coming out to perform.’
The Miss Me More songstress then looked over her shoulder off camera to call out, ‘We are off prompter, help.’
With the teleprompter still not running correctly, Jelly Roll continued to improvise and added, ‘I just wanted to hug somebody again!’
‘Okay, we are going to hug each other through this,” Kelsea said, draping her arm over his shoulders. ‘Because one of our friends is about to perform an absolutely…’
‘We have something way better I can give out right now. A hug from Jelly Roll,’ she said while walking up to the music artist
The pair shared an embrace and Ballerini gushed, ‘Best hug ever. It really is,’ with Jelly Roll also adding, ‘Yes!’
‘It’s an award in itself. Does anyone else want in on this action?’ Kelsea continued, with other stars such as Ashley McBride and Gayle King also receiving hugs from the singer – whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord
While holding a microphone as well, Jelly Roll said, ‘Yes! This is awesome. Anyone else want a hug? I’m giving away hugs for free’
He then faced forward with Ballerini close by on the stage and began, ‘Listen, let me tell y’all something. I’m excited to tell y’all right now…’
‘I’m lost,’ he then revealed, with Kelsea quickly jumping in to explain, ‘We have a friend coming out to perform’
The Miss Me More songstress then looked over her shoulder off camera to call out, ‘We are off prompter, help’
Ballerini paused, waiting for Jelly Roll to continue the sentence, but he added, ‘We both love her to death.’
The pair then both spoke into their microphones to excitedly announce, ‘Here with Country’s Cool Again, give it up for… Lainey Wilson!’
The humorous blunder was soon forgotten as Wilson performed the hit track which dropped earlier this year.
Earlier in the ceremony, Kelsea appeared on stage while wearing a cowgirl Barbie outfit which was also one of the costumes Margot Robbie wore in the 2023 film directed by Greta Gerwig.
She admitted to the audience, ‘It’s been a huge year for music, but it was also a huge year for movies. I don’t know about you, but I’m still clearly not over Barbie.’
‘I’ve watched it so many times! I need a sequel, and I think I have the perfect idea for it. I want to see country Barbie!’
‘Obviously, it’s between me and Dolly Parton for the lead, because we’re both blonde and sing country music,’ she jokingly added.
‘But, honestly, a lot of people would be really great for this role,’ Kelsea continued, and began listing names, such as: ‘Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney…Philip Sweet.’
With the teleprompter still not running correctly, Jelly Roll continued to improvise and added, ‘I just wanted to hug somebody again!’
‘Okay, we are going to hug each other through this,” Kelsea said, draping her arm over his shoulders. ‘Because one of our friends is about to perform an absolutely…’
The pair then both spoke into their microphones to excitedly announce, ‘Here with Country’s Cool Again, give it up for… Lainey Wilson!’
The humorous blunder was soon forgotten as Wilson performed the hit track which dropped earlier this year
She admitted to the audience, ‘It’s been a huge year for music, but it was also a huge year for movies. I don’t know about you, but I’m still clearly not over Barbie’
Behind her on a large screen in the Moody Center, Sweet could be seen in a picture with a photoshopped Barbie outfit.
She also hinted that Cody Johnson would be great for the role of Ken. ‘You know, he’s really got that Cojo Kenergy.’
‘And, of course, we need everyone’s favorite, Weird Barbie.’ A picture of Jelly Roll then appeared on the big screen and the camera jumped to show the singer’s shocked reaction at the comparison.
But after a few moments, he burst out laughing while his wife, Bunnie Xo, also had a big smile on her face.
‘That feels just about right. See, y’all, I’m telling you – Country Barbie is gonna be the next big thing,’ Ballerini added before jumping into the next award presentation.
Social media users offered their reaction to the joke, with one fan penning on X, ‘Jelly Roll as Weird Barbie got a cackle out of me.’
Another wrote, ‘Bwaahahahahaha! Jelly Roll as Weird Barbie was funny,’ while one added, ‘She did Jelly Roll so dirty LMFAO.’
The night was a big one for both Kelsea and Jelly Roll, with Ballerini hosting the CMT Music Awards for the fourth time and also receiving three nominations.
Jelly Roll dominated the wins and received a total of three trophies – including Video of the Year, Male Video of the Year and Performance of the Year.
‘But, honestly, a lot of people would be really great for this role,’ Kelsea continued, and began listing names, such as: ‘Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney…Philip Sweet’; Sweet seen above reacting to Barbie skit
‘And, of course, we need everyone’s favorite, Weird Barbie.’ A picture of Jelly Roll then appeared on the big screen
The camera jumped to show the singer’s shocked reaction at the comparison
But after a few moments, he burst out laughing while his wife, Bunnie Xo, also had a big smile on her face
Social media users offered their reaction to the joke, with one fan penning on X, ‘Jelly Roll as Weird Barbie got a cackle out of me’
Another wrote, ‘Bwaahahahahaha! Jelly Roll as Weird Barbie was funny,’ while one added, ‘She did Jelly Roll so dirty LMFAO
The singer was bowled over as he accepted the final award of the night before delivering a barn-burning performance that put the audience members on their feet.
Jelly Roll was as gracious as he was exuberant, and he took time to praise his fellow nominees Cody Johnson and Kelsea Ballerini. He also included a special shoutout for his ‘beautiful wife, Ms. Bunnie DeFord.’
‘I am blessed to have you as a best friend. I am blessed to have you as a partner,’ he said sweetly as she watched from the audience.
Then the singer vowed to ‘set the stage on fire’ with his concluding performance, and he joked that he was going to be ‘a little late in the morning’ for his already-scheduled interview with Gayle King.
Jelly Roll also had a fun moment when he marveled that the writer, director and actor Billy Bob Thornton had been the one to present him with the final award of the night.
He got another blast of star power when Minnie Driver presented him with his second award of the evening.
Jelly Roll referenced his past run-ins with the law while offering hope to incarcerated teens as he delivered his acceptance speech after winning Male Video of the Year.
He was previously charged with aggravated robbery at 18, and he faced a potential 20-year prison sentence, though he ended up serving around a year in prison and over seven years of probation afterward.
Jelly Roll dominated the wins and received a total of three trophies – including Video of the Year, Male Video of the Year and Performance of the Year
The singer was bowled over as he accepted the final award of the night before delivering a barn-burning performance that put the audience members on their feet
Jelly Roll was as gracious as he was exuberant, and he took time to praise his fellow nominees Cody Johnson and Kelsea Ballerini. He also included a special shoutout for his ‘beautiful wife, Ms. Bunnie DeFord’
The tattooed hitmaker’s voice began to crack when he accepted his first award for CMT Performance of the year, which was for his performance at the 2023 CMT Awards. He praised his fans for how they had cemented his success.
‘What I am emotional about is, in the last year, you have changed my life in every way I would have never thought my life could be changed,’ he said, growing hoarse with emotion.
Jelly Roll also noted during his Performance of the Year Award acceptance speech that the CMT performance that earned him the award marked the first time he had ever been invited to perform at an awards show.
He also gave a shout out to his ‘beautiful wife’ Bunnie XO, who stood in the audience proudly beaming at him, as well as his daughter back at home.
