22. May 2025
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Media Review

Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Jelly Roll - Beautifully Broken

Jelly Roll - Beautifully Broken
4.8

Rating

 4.8/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very truthful and relatable songs
  • Personal album
  • 11 new songs (just 3 previously released)

The Grammy Awards nominated him as Best New Artist, the People’s Choice Awards chose him as The Male Country Artist of the Year. Jelly Roll’s 2024 is definitely a year of success. On 11th October 2024, he added his sophomore album Beautifully Broken to his discography. Let’s see if it can connect to his country music debut Whitsitt Chapel.

 

Jelly Roll – About The Artist

Jason Bradley DeFord, using the artist name Jelly Roll, started his career as a rapper. The 4th December 1984 born artist from Antioch, a Nashville suburb, released eight albums in that genre before the 2023 Whitsitt Chapel was his first country music release. Especially his sixth solo album, A Beautiful Disaster, was rather successful and lead to an RIAA golden record. His other rap releases popped up in US genre-specific album charts, but typically not in top positions. Nonetheless, Roll was very active in this time and was also part of numerous collaborations.

This changed drastically, when he shifted the genres. His debut country single, the 2022 Son of a Sinner, topped the US Country Airplay Charts. This is especially remarkable, as the song was part of the 2021 Ballads of the Broken album, his last rap record so far. Chart-topping singles like Need a Favor (2022), Save Me (with Lainey Wilson, 2023) or Halfway to Hell more and more established him in the country music scene and made him become very popular in a comparably short time.

 

Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken – Track by Track

The standard version of the album I review in here features 14 songs and lasts 42 minutes. The extended version adds eight tracks and lasts 64 minutes.

1. Winning Streak

Jelly Roll starts with a smashing song into his second country music album. Especially the energetic and hymnic  chorus works out great, even additionally powered by his background singers. Really good work by the Tennessee artist and his team.

2. Burning

The second song Burning goes for a very different style. The song is quicker, comes with playful melodies. On top, the lyrics feel so personal, so relatable, so true. When you look at his biography, being imprisoned multiple times in his twenties, songs like this become even more impressing.

Don’t leave me burning here
In the fire all by myself, oh
God knows I’m hurting here
When I’m crying out for help
Don’t leave me beggin’ for my life
‘Cause I’m runnin’ out of time
I’m just trying to find some kind of way to stay between the lines
I’m burning here

3. Heart of Stone

At least for now, Lord, I ain’t losin’ hope
That somehow you can make a heart of gold
From this heart of stone

The third song comes with a typical contemporary country sound. However, Jelly Roll impresses with his that-straight and truthful lyrics. The beginning of his sophomore country record is definitely very promising.

4. I Am Not Okay

With some 50 million streams on Spotify, the ballad I Am Not Okay has been the most successful single release before the album. Again, there is hardly any artist currently who is doing the Three Chords and the Truth country music better than Jelly Roll. This song again deals with his thoughts and feelings during his difficult times. I almost stayed in bed, had the devil on my back and voices in my head. Nonetheless, the song gives an optimistic view on life, like the key phrase underlines – It’s not okay, but we’re all gonna be all right.

5. When The Drugs Don’t Work (feat. Ilsey)

Beautifully Broken also features some remarkable collaborations. This one is with Ilsey (or Ilsey Juber), a British-US-American singer and songwriter, currently based in Los Angeles. The rough voice by Jelly Roll, which here and there feels to lean towards his rapper years, and the fine vocal sound by his female guest musician, feel to be a perfect match.

6. Higher Than Heaven (feat. Wiz Khalifa)

The album presents another musical guest right in the next song. This time, Jelly Roll joins forces with US rapper Wiz Khalifa. Now, Jelly Roll is doing the melodic part, while his partner is going for the rap parts. The times, they are changing – and they work out really well in this track again.

7. Liar

The second already already released song on Beautifully Broken is Liar. The song is about all the people who try to turn Jelly Roll down. You ain’t nothing but a liar – this song and the songs on his 2024 show who clearly feels being on the winners’ side in this regard.

8. Everyone Bleeds

In between two feature singles, Jelly Roll adds Everyone Bleeds. Stylistically, the song combines the “old” and the “new” Jelly Roll, adding rap parts to the country music groove. This song, however, is definitely leaning towards the rap side. It suits well into the context of the album.

9. Get By

There is a bit of pop, a lot of rhythm, quite some groove and even a bit of gospel feeling in this song, Get By. These 2:40 minute feel very uplifting and energetic. They also illustrate that Jelly Roll is serving a quite wide range of music.

10. Unpretty

I hate the man I used to be
But he’ll always be a part of me
Right now, looking at my past
I know it’s unpretty
Can’t hide the pain that I’ve been through
I wear my scars like my tattoos
The man who I was, was wrong
But he’s the one who built me
Said, I am nothing without my sins
I can’t pretend
I’m not unpretty

Wow, that’s one of the strongest statements on Beautifully Broken. Accepting your story, saying your sorry for it and still being strong within one songs is simply fascinating. The song does not need much more than the organ, Jelly Roll’s voice and some backing singers. The focus is on the message.

11. Grace

We find love in the heart of the darkness – this song is even more spiritual than many of the songs before have been anyway. The song is also slightly leaning back into the country music sphere – but who cares about the genre label if the songwriting is so good?

12. What It Takes

There’s a silver-tongued devil
Telling me that I’ll never
Make it out the hole that I’m in
I’m running out of options
Once it starts, I can’t stop it
It’s just a means to an end

The amazing, straight storytelling by Jelly Roll and his team, paired with country-rock elements, leads to a very straight and good listen of What It Takes. Great listen.

13. Hey Mama

The song starts with a phone call of Jelly Roll and his mother. The song is a thanks to his parent, who had a difficult mental time as well. Hey, Mama, don’t you know that my lonely needs you to hold? A beautiful country music track which is with a lot of harmonic feelings.

14. Time of Day (feat. mgk)

For the last song of the (standard version of the) album, Jelly Roll works with mgk – or Machine Gun Kelly, which might still be his more common artist name. If you expect a country-rap collaboration in here, you are absolutely wrong. The song is a beautiful country-style piano ballad collaboration. Such a beautiful way to finish Beautifully Broken. 

 

Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken – Spotify

Here is the (extended version of the) album on Spotify:

 

Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken – My View

This album is heartwarming, truthful, catchy. It is straight and you enjoy listening to Jelly Roll’s stories. He is a special artist in the rather streamlined US country music industry – and that’s exactly what turns Jelly Roll into a very unique position. Beautifully Broken is just a 14 song proof for that.

Favorite Song: Unpretty

 

Music Postings related to Nashville

Here are all my Music & Media postings related to Nashville:

 

Concerts (All Around Cologne)

Here are all my Concerts postings related to the Greater Cologne area:

 

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