Jelly Roll won Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Digital-First Performance of the Year at the CMT Awards 2023.
The Son of a Sinner singer, 38, and first-time nominee also took to the stage at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas to perform Need A Favour.
The tattooed crooner became emotional during the ceremony as he thanked the country radio industry for its acceptance and shouted out to those who felt like him.
He said: ‘You can be whatever you want to be. I promise you that. I told them that I wanted to be a country singer and I am standing here at the CMT Awards.’
But who is Jelly Roll? MailOnline reveals everything you need to know about the American convict-turned-country singer who is married to Bunnie XO.
Who is Jelly Roll? Jelly Roll, 38, won Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Digital-First Performance of the Year at the CMT Awards 2023
Country star: The Son of a Sinner singer and first-time nominee also took to the stage at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas to perform Need A Favour
What is Jelly Roll’s real name and why is he called Jelly Roll?
Jelly Roll’s real name is Jason DeFord. He was born on December 4, 1984 in Nashville, Tenessee.
Jelly Roll is not his legal name. The singer has previously revealed that it was the name his mother gave him when he was a young, ‘chubby kid’ and it stuck.
The rapper-turned country singer was incarcerated on and off for nearly a decade until 2008 when his first child was born.
What was Jelly Roll’s debut album?
Jelly Roll’s debut album, Year Round, was released on April 19, 2011 via the label Hypnotize Minds.
His most recent album, Ballads of the Broken, was released on September 17, 2021 via the label BBR Music Group.
Jelly Roll’s upcoming album, Whitsitt Chapel is slated for release on June 2, 2023 via BBR Music Group.
Wife: Jelly Roll is married to Bunnie DeFord aka Bunnie XO, 42, is a model, podcast host and YouTuber who owns Dumb Blonde Productions
Who is Jelly Roll’s wife?
Jelly Roll is married to Bunnie DeFord aka Bunnie XO.
The 42-year-old is a model, podcast host and YouTuber who owns Dumb Blonde Productions, and self-proclaimed ‘trailer park Barbara Walters.’
The couple met at Fremont Street in Las Vegas at the Country Saloon back in 2015, when Bunnie was a high-end escort while Jelly Roll was broke and living in a van.
They tied the knot on August 31, 2016 in Las Vegas on the same day that the singer got down on one knee.
Jelly Roll proposed to Bunnie on stage at a Yelawolf/Deftones concert, with the pair heading straight to the courthouse where they married that night.
Does Jelly Roll have any children?
Jelly Roll has two children from a previous relationships: daughter Bailee Ann DeFord, who was born on May 22, 2008, and son Noah Buddy DeFord, who was born in August 2016.
At the time that Bailee Ann was born, her father Jelly Roll was in prison, but vowed to turn his life around for his daughter.
The Son of a Sinner singer previously revealed: ‘I was incarcerated when a guard knocked on my cell door and delivered the news that my daughter had been born.’
Bailee Ann’s mother is Jelly Roll’s ex Felicia, a former drug addict who has also been in and out of jail.
Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie helped Jelly Roll get custody of Bailee Ann in 2016, and the pair have raised her together ever since.
Bailee Ann often joins Jelly Roll onstage to perform Tears Could Talk, and appears on the studio version of the song, and has also written a verse on Sunshine After the Rain.
Some reports claim that Jelly Roll is the biological father of four children in total.
Father: Jelly Roll has two children from a previous relationships: daughter Bailee Ann DeFord, who was born on May 22, 2008, and son Noah Buddy DeFord, who was born in August 2016
Family: Bailee Ann’s mother is Jelly Roll’s ex Felicia (pictured front left), a former drug addict who has also been in and out of jail. Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie helped Jelly Roll get custody of Bailee Ann (pictured front right) in 2016
Why was Jelly Roll in prison?
According to Readers Digest, during his teenage years and early twenties, Jelly Roll was in and out of jail for numerous minor offenses.
According to Everything Nash, he also spent time in prison for aggravated robbery and drug possession with intent to deliver.
Jelly Roll spent time in prison for various offenses, including aggravated robbery and drug possession.
The former convict left his life of crime for a career in music, and has now released a wide variety of music for over a decade.
Although Jelly Roll has written, recorded and performed rap, rock and more, he now made his mark with his own version of country music.
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