Jelly Roll Joins Kelly Clarkson For a Stirring Performance of ‘I Am Not Okay’: Watch
Jelly Roll is known for his lengthy list of collaborations with everyone from MGK to Lainey Wilson to Cody Johnson. On Wednesday (Oct. 16), the country star added another powerhouse vocalist to that list — Kelly Clarkson.
Jelly appeared on Wednesday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show to join forces with the host on a soulful version of Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay,” which currently sits at No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
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In an earlier video from the two artists’ soundcheck for the performance, they shared some light-hearted jokes as they rehearsed the song. “Kelly and Jelly, dude!” Jelly Roll said at one point. Clarkson also shared her excitement in getting to sing on the song. “This song is so good,” Clarkson said. “I’m so excited he’s allowing me sing on his song ‘I Am Not Okay.’ And it’s so, so good.”
She went on to add of Jelly Roll, “I’m just a huge fan. I love authenticity and I love real messages. I think that real s— really matters.”
The singer also sat down with Clarkson for an interview during his appearance, where he promoted his new album while opening up about lowering his defenses to write songs like “I Am Not Okay.”
“I think vulnerability is my superpower,” he said, revealing how he has changed over the years. “I was a typical, angry, alpha, always aggressive kind of guy for a long time, and I almost had a mean spirit about me and it didn’t serve me no good. I didn’t have any emotions, I was just very flat with everybody in life. My heart changed, man, I got a relationship with God, I had a child, I got married to a woman who’s just the greatest woman on Earth, and immediately it softened my heart.”
On Friday (Oct. 11), Jelly Roll released the 22-song album Beautifully Broken, including an extended version that added five more songs, including collaborations with Halsey, Keith Urban, Ernest and more.
Watch Jelly Roll and Kelly Clarkson’s performance below:
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