What is Jelly Roll's net worth? Celeb mentor admits he wants a permanent role on 'American Idol'
ABC's 'American Idol' Season 27 bid farewell to the fans with Jamal Roberts winning the title. Undoubtedly, the season grabbed major headlines for its stellar vocal lineup, which was consistent with the praiseworthy performances. A key contributor to the show's success has to be Jelly Roll's mentorship. While the singer also guided contestants in Season 22, he recently expressed interest in taking on a permanent role on the show. Not only that, the country singer's growing fortune has also become a hot topic of conversation, with many fans curious about just how much the artist is really worth.
Born as Jason DeFord, Jelly Roll has built an impressive fortune and a powerful redemption story through music. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the singer is worth approximately $12 million. Since rising to mainstream fame just a few years ago, he's estimated to be earning around $3 million annually. While his criminal record limits opportunities, such as traveling internationally, he's still built a successful career and income, especially considering his troubled beginnings.
Jelly Roll opened up about his troubled past, saying, "I got baptized in here some 20 years ago and have since done nothing but go to prison, treat a bunch of people wrong, make a lot of mistakes in life, turn it around, [then] go on to be a f*****g multimillionaire and help as many people as I possibly can," Jelly Roll told Billboard in June 2023. "It's the f*****g wildest story ever to me, maybe because I'm the one f*****g in the middle of it, but that s**t's crazy."
Growing up in Nashville, Jelly Roll reportedly faced a turbulent childhood with a mother battling addiction and mental illness and a father juggling work as both a bookie and a meat salesman. As a teen, he reportedly began selling drugs, sometimes even tucking in CDs with his stash. At age 16, he was arrested and charged as an adult for aggravated robbery and marijuana possession with intent to sell. "I never want to overlook the fact that it was a heinous crime," he admitted, as per MSN. "This is a grown man looking back at a 16-year-old kid that made the worst decision that he could have made in life, and people could have got hurt and, by the grace of God, thankfully, nobody did."
Although he faced up to 20 years in prison, Jelly Roll served one year and received seven years of probation. Due to Tennessee's zero-tolerance policy, the felony remains on his record. After turning his life around post-prison, Jelly Roll built his music career from the ground up, starting by selling mixtapes from his car. His 2010 breakout came with 'Pop Another Pill,' a collaboration with Lil Wyte that earned over 6 million YouTube views.
In 2013, he released 'Whiskey, Weed, & Waffle House,' which was later renamed 'Whiskey, Weed, & Women' after Waffle House issued a legal threat. Despite being a millionaire, Jelly Roll's criminal record still poses barriers. He only recently obtained a passport to buy a home in a gated golf course community. "My money was welcome, but I wasn't, all because of something I did [almost] 24 years ago," he said.
Jelly Roll recently became American Idol’s first-ever artist-in-residence. As a fan of the show, he's pushing for that title to become permanent, as he said, "What I want to do is get a permanent artist-in-residency there," he told Entertainment Tonight. "That's my dream right now ... it never could be anybody but me, and American Idol signs a lifelong contract for Jelly Roll to be the mentor artist-in-residence."