Backstage Country

Jelly Roll’s New Role On ‘American Idol’

Jelly Roll will appear on the new season of ABC’s American Idol as the show’s first-ever artist in residence. He is expected to make his debut during the show’s “Hollywood…

JellyRoll performs in a black shirt and black ball cap.
Mat Hayward/Getty Images

Jelly Roll will appear on the new season of ABC's American Idol as the show's first-ever artist in residence. He is expected to make his debut during the show's “Hollywood Week” episodes and continue to appear through the rest of the season, which launches March 9.

Jelly posted a video of himself with Ryan Seacrest on his Instagram. In the video, Jelly lifts Ryan off the ground and carries him across a room to show his "energy" and excitement for his new role.

He captioned the clip, "Had to lift up @ryanseacrest just like I’m gonna lift up the @americanidol hopefuls! Honored to be Idol’s first-ever ARTIST IN RESIDENCE—mentoring with heart, soul, and real experience! I join the show during Hollywood Week, watch it all starting March 9 on ABC & streaming on Hulu! #americanidol."

Jelly is trading the music stage for a role as a hospital orderly in CBS's hit show Fire Country when it comes back this winter.

A new promo video for the episode features Jelly Roll and series star/creator Max Thieriot. In the video, Jelly Roll said, "From the stage to the fire line, it's time to see if I can keep up," later turning to Thieriot, and saying with a chuckle, "Man, this is tougher than the Grammys."

Set in the fictional town of Edgewater in Northern California, the show follows an ex-prisoner looking for redemption through a firefighting program. Viewers will see Jelly's episode sometime on April 11.

As one of CBS's biggest hits, Fire Country mixes stories about second chances with intense firefighting action. The main character's journey to redemption drives the story.

CBS is following its usual playbook by bringing musicians to TV. The network has often featured country artists in its drama shows. Kane Brown appeared as a character in Fire Country in 2023.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.