Jelly Roll’s role on 'American Idol' has fans making one big demand for future seasons: 'Give him a...'
It appears that the 'American Idol' fans can't get enough of the country star Jelly Roll, who recently served as an artist in residence on Season 23 of the ABC singing competition. Throughout the course of the show, the 'All My Life' hitmaker worked closely with the contestants and provided them with valuable advice as they navigated the journey. Before this, Roll made several guest appearances on the beloved singing competition. Roll was previously seen on Season 22 of 'American Idol,' where he served as a mentor to the remaining contestants in Honolulu. Then, Roll serenaded the fans with a beautiful rendition of his hit track 'Halfway to Hell.'
And right now, the die-hard fans of the singing show want Roll to be on the judging panel of 'American Idol.' An X user suggested that Roll should serve as one of the esteemed judges alongside Fantasia Barrino, who won the third season of 'American Idol' way back in 2004, and urged, "Give him a judging chair along with Fantasia." Followed by a second user who penned, "I think Jelly Roll should replace Luke."
A social media user took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Please have @JellyRoll615 on every season as an advisor on #AmericanIdol as he brings genuine heartfelt feedback and is a joy to watch!" Another user echoed the same sentiments and quipped, "Yeah, he does. I like him." One fan had a simple request for the longtime judge Lionel Richie, and they vented out their thoughts by writing, "May I request that Lionel always refer to him as 'Mr. Roll'?"
In February 2025, 'American Idol' announced that Roll will be playing the role of the first-ever artist in residence through an exciting video featuring Roll and the show's host, Ryan Seacrest. In the video shared, Roll said, "I'm American Idol's 'Artist in Residence!'" Later in the video, when Seacrest asked Roll about his new role, the latter replied, "It feels good." As per People magazine, Seacrest stated that it feels like Roll is "shaping America's future." In his response, the 'Son of a Sinner' crooner said, "And I feel like I'm giving them the energy they need. I'm uplifting and trying to get 'em goin'!"
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Roll mentioned that he's thrilled to be the first artist-in-residence. "What I want to do is get a permanent artist-in-residency there. 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," Roll told the media outlet. Along with this, he also revealed that he secured the newly created position by "just fanning my way into the job ... proving how much I know and love about 'American Idol.'"
Jelly Roll further added, "Music changed my life. Before I wrote a song ... music changed my life. These kids are on the verge of having their lives changed. Every time I leave there, I feel wrong that, like, they let me do that, you know what I mean? ... Like, I can't believe they let me do that on TV. It's crazy." Then, Roll described the judges Luke Bryan and Richie as "the funniest" and stated that new judge Carrie Underwood is "killing' it."