Jelly Roll was in tears after one ‘American Idol’ performance — and the reason hit close to home
Rapper Jason Bradley DeFord, or professionally known as Jelly Roll, has been mentoring 'American Idol' Season 23 contestants for the first time under his new role as artist-in-residence. Roll became emotionally involved, especially during the 'Hawaiian' practice session rounds, while working with contestant Gabby Samone as she honed her skills for Celine Dion's 'It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.' Before belting out the number for mega mentor Ashanti and Roll, Samone shared her struggles and tough upbringing, which brought the two music legends to tears. “It’s a pain I understand,” the 'Son of a Sinner' rapper expressed with wet eyes. “You keep singing with that ‘why.’ You keep sharing that ‘why.’ I know how uncomfortable it is to be that vulnerable in front of all these people on TV, but man, it’s special.”
Samone revealed that she belonged to a huge family of eight, and being the youngest sibling, she wanted to pave the way for the rest of them to realise their dreams. She confessed to facing tough times with poverty and wished to retire her parents early by achieving success through music, as per Entertainment Now. “I just feel like I have always been the glue of the family, and sometimes I feel weak,” she expressed emotionally. “It’s just been a lot,” she added. “There is no reason a girl from Baltimore can’t be the next American Idol,” Roll encouraged her while struggling to control his tears.
During her main performance on Hawaiian Night, Roll once again couldn't hold back his tears as he watched Samone from the audience. "Your voice is so powerful, but you have so many nuances in it that it's like just when I think you're going to, like, wallop us over the head with some giant, full, belting note, you pull back and flip up into your head voice and it's-- there's something so sweet and tender about it, and it's completely unexpected," Carrie Underwood gushed. "And it's such a treat for our ears, and it makes it so much more emotional," she added.
"The dynamics of that song are so--I don't even know how you go about tackling that song. And throughout the whole thing, you just felt like a big star. That was just so impressive, what you did," Luke Bryan lauded next. "There are only 12 notes, right? I don't know what that note was at the end. Oh, my god. Thank you. You just sang a Celine Dion song and Gabbarized it," Lionel Richie applauded. However, amid all the praise, Samone expressed gratitude towards Roll and Ashanti for guiding her.
"I struggle with being vulnerable and just telling my story. But Jelly Roll and Ashanti-- during this mentoring process, they helped me be vulnerable. There are so many people out there just like me that's gone through things, and they need a shoulder to cry on, and they need to know that it's OK to cry and it's OK to be vulnerable. So that's-- that's what I'm doing," she said. Roll was caught silently wiping his tears while acknowledging Samone's words in the crowd. After rendering an electrifying performance of Mariah Carey's 'Hero', Samone has secured a spot in the top 7 of 'The American Idol'.