JELLY ROLL IS ON THE TOP OF THE WORLD

WITH HIS DIFFICULT PAST NOW BEHIND HIM, THE COUNTRY STAR GETS CANDID ABOUT HIS UNLIKELY ROAD TO STARDOM

- RACHEL DESANTIS

It's four hours before showtime at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and Jelly Roll has The Waterboy playing in his greenroom. "Bobby Boucher, baby!" he says, referring to Adam Sandler's character in the 1998 comedy. "One of the greatest movies ever made." Jelly is, of course, a country singer, worlds away from a football water boy turned celebrated linebacker. But perhaps he sees in Boucher a kindred spirit. After all, they've both enjoyed a redemption arc for the ages, defying the odds to become major stars. And right now there are few stars shining brighter than Jelly Roll, who's mined a complicated life riddled with addiction and incarceration for life-affirming songs that fans say make them feel heard, sometimes for the first time. "This started as me just kind of venting and telling my story until I realized that I was telling the stories of tens of millions of Americans," he says. "This is so much bigger than my story."

If the accolades Jelly, 39, has amassed are any indication of his reach, he's right. In the past three months alone, the star-currently on a North American arena tour-released Beautifully Broken, his first No. 1 album; earned three Country Music Association Awards nominations, including Entertainer of the Year; ushered in Saturday Night Live's 50th season as musical guest; and notched two Grammy nominations. Then there are the personal wins, like fatherhood, his thriving marriage to wife Bunnie Xo and his recent 110-lb. weight loss. A TikTok he posted on Sept. 28 while en route to SNL with a police escort after playing the Global Citizen Festival about sums it up: "This is the most insane it's ever been," he says, laughing. "What the f---is happening in my life right now, y'all?"