'American Idol' mentor Jelly Roll jokes to Mia Matthews: 'Thanks for making me cry. I hate you.'
When Mia sang "Daddy's Hands," Jelly Roll — who lost his own father in 2019 — had a tear coursing down his tattooed cheek.
Through the magic of editing, just one night after sweeping the CMT Awards for the second year in a row, national treasure and all-around American hero Jelly Roll was in Hawaii Monday to guest-judge and mentor the American Idol top 24. And within minutes of taking his seat next to Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, the universally appealing country-rap crossover sensation was already electrifying the small screen.
"I've having so much fun sitting next to Jelly Roll!" Lionel beamed, while Luke wanted "Jelly Roll to record my morning alarm clock" after the affable motivational speaker caffeinatedly shouted some galvanizing words of wisdom and encouragement at the episode's first performer. And Jelly Roll's appearance Monday definitely should have been a wakeup call, so to speak, to Idol producers: With Katy leaving the show after this season, this guy needs to permanently join the panel and occupy her seat. Jelly's Monday appearance basically served as a two-hour Idol screentest, and he proved he is the man for the job.
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