Why Wynonna Judd Hails Jelly Roll 'A Force To Be Reckoned With'
By Kelly Fisher
November 9, 2023
Wynonna Judd said she was “so nervous and so excited” to make her surprise appearance on stage with Jelly Roll to kick off the 57th annual CMA Awards on Wednesday night (November 8). Judd spoke afterward about the “powerful” moment on stage at Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
Backstage, Judd told media outlets that joining Jelly Roll for the moving rendition of “Need A Favor” was “definitely a ‘Top 10’ (moment) for me.” She said she met the Whitsitt Chapel artist after watching his perform at the 2023 CMT Music Awards earlier this year, and immediately knew that she had to meet him and his wife, Bunnie XO. On Wednesday night, Judd and Jelly Roll kicked off Country Music’s Biggest Night with a stunning performance, backed by a church choir under the glow of a stained-glass window.
“(Jelly Roll is) so powerful and great at what he does in a way that I was so nervous and so excited,” Judd said backstage at the CMA Awards. “I don’t know how many more of these moments I have left, but I can tell you this: that was definitely Top 10 for me. Jelly Roll is a force to be reckoned with, and he’s his own person. Getting to stand toe-to-toe with him was one of my favorite things I’ve ver done.”
Jelly Roll is one of many artists featured on the star-studded A Tribute To The Judds album, teaming up with K. Michelle and The Fisk Jubilee Singers to record a powerful rendition of “Love Can Build A Bridge,” the classic 1990 power ballad by the beloved mother-daughter duo. Jelly Roll returned to the stage to deliver a powerful acceptance speech when he won the New Artist of the Year award, and to close the show with K. Michelle, singing the powerful Judds anthem.
A Tribute To The Judds also included covers by Lainey Wilson and Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Carly Pearce, Jennifer Nettles, Gabby Barrett, Cody Johnson, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, and many others. Judd said backstage at Bridgestone Arena that it’s “bittersweet” to listen to the tribute album.
“The first word is ‘bittersweet.’ I’m still here on earth, so it does feel weird to hear the word ‘tribute,’ because I’m still here,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m at an age where that’s supposed to be happening, yet the legacy of The Judds music allows the next generation to hear these songs who didn’t get hear and see The Judds, so I’m ecstatic. I let Gwen and Blake both know that theirs is my favorite one (‘Love Is Alive’), and that I just feel really emotional about the whole thing, as you can understand, probably, why.”
Judd’s mother and duo partner, Naomi Judd, died unexpectedly in April 2022. She was 76. Judd and her sister, actress Ashley Judd, announced at that time that they’d lost “our beautiful mother” after a long battle with mental illness. Naomi did on day before The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jelly Roll was one of many artists to honor the legendary duo on A Tribute To The Judds, and Judd said she knew from the moment she first saw him perform that he’s “a force to be reckoned with.”
“I stood up out of my seat because he rocked my world, and I ran up to him and Bunnie afterward and said, ‘I need to know the two of you,’ and I just kind of threw myself at them and said, ‘I need to be a part of your world, and I don’t know what that looks like.’ So, here we are.”