Jelly Roll had a special connection to Taylor Swift long before their paths ever crossed — and at the 2024 Grammys, he finally got to tell her about it.
In his People cover story published Wednesday (Nov. 20), the 39-year-old country star opened up about feeling flustered when the “Anti-Hero” singer made her way over to meet him at the February ceremony. “My wife [podcaster Bunnie XO] said, ‘I think Taylor’s coming over to holler at you,’” he recalled. “It was like the Red Sea parted for her.”
Jelly went on to explain his personal attachment to Swift, which involves his now 16-year-old daughter, Bailee. “I take a ridiculous, probably abnormal, amount of pride in being from Nashville, so anytime I can link a Tennessee connect, it tickles me,” he told the publication. “Taylor lived in Hendersonville for a while, and she had bought a playground. I used to push Bailee on that swing set that Taylor donated to Hendersonville.”
However, the “Son of a Sinner” singer says he was “so nervous” when he was actually face-to-face with the pop star, he “couldn’t even remember what swing set it was.” “I’m looking at Taylor Swift, and I have a reason to explain to her why I like her so much, and I’m going, ‘You built the swing set somewhere, my daughter, I pushed her on it,’” Jelly said. “I did so bad! Definitely was at a loss for words in that moment.”
Even so, Swift looked thrilled to meet her fellow Tennesseean in a video Bunnie posted at the time. After snapping a picture with Jelly, the “Karma” artist wrapped him in a big hug.
“When your hubby gets to meet his crush finally,” the Dumb Blonde host captioned her clip.
That night, Swift won album of the year for her Billboard 200-topping album Midnights, while Jelly was nominated for best new artist (but ultimately lost to Victoria Monét). Both artists are nominated for more awards in 2025, with the Eras Tour headliner up for song, record and album of the year thanks to “Fortnight” and The Tortured Poets Department, while Jelly is in the running for best country song and best country solo performance for “I Am Not Okay.”
Since this year’s Grammy night, Jelly has nabbed his first-ever No. 1 album with October’s Beautifully Broken. He’s currently touring in support of the record and, as announced Tuesday (Nov. 19), he’ll soon join Post Malone on the road for a North American stadium tour kicking off in April.
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