Jelly Roll’s Post After CMAs Snub Shows What Kind of Artist He Is

There’s no subtle way to put it: Jelly Roll deserved more at the 2025 CMA Awards.

When the nominees list came out on Monday (Sept. 8), he was shut out of every major category, despite the fact that his Beautifully Broken album was CMA-eligible, and he’s been touring and performing pretty much everywhere over the past year.

Even more shocking? The sharp decline from the 2024 CMAs, when Jelly was nominated for three trophies, including Entertainer of the Year.

Read More: 2025 CMA Awards: Biggest Snubs + Surprises

But the statements he’s shared since the CMA nominees list came out show what Jelly’s real fans already know: He’s more interested in hyping other people up than he is in dwelling on his own disappointments.

Was Jelly Roll Nominated for Any 2025 CMA Awards? 

Jelly scored one nomination in the Musical Event of the Year category, courtesy of “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” his duet with Christian artist Brandon Lake.

That’s a comparatively minor category for an artist who could (and if you ask us, should) be in the running for trophies like Male Artist and Entertainer of the Year.

But it was a special CMA Awards nomination, because it marked Lake’s first one ever.

Jelly recognized what a big deal that is, and he celebrated it. He posted Lake’s reaction video of himself watching the nominee announcements live and shared his duet partner’s excitement in the comments section.

“YEAHHH BUBBAAAA,” Jelly wrote.

Jelly’s said it himself: He’s all about supporting the underdog, and celebrating the milestone wins — including Lake’s official foyer into CMAs history.

How Did Jelly Roll + Brandon Lake’s Duet Come to Be?

This team-up happened pretty organically, and Jelly was so excited about the song that he once joked he wanted to stop promoting his own single just to focus on it.

Lake wrote “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” and he decided to reach out to Jelly to ask about a collaboration, simply because he thought Jelly would be a good fit for the song and subject matter.

At the time, they didn’t know each other.

But surprise, surprise: Jelly had already heard the song, which was going viral on TikTok, and he was a big fan.

Read More: Jelly Roll Says “Hard Fought Hallelujah” Changed Him: “I Needed That Record”

“I haven’t had a record touch me like that in so long,” he told Lake in an early-2025 promotional video for the song.

“It’s been years since I worshipped the way that I worshipped to that song,” Jelly continued. “Because, like, I carry my faith with me, but I’m also struggling and very honest and open about that.”

When you put it that way, a CMAs win for this song might just be Jelly’s most special trophy to date.

The 2025 CMA Awards will take place on Nov. 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.