Jelly Roll shattered two things at this year’s CMA Awards: expectations and his new artist of the year trophy.
According to a tweet shared by ABC’s On the Red Carpet — and reposted by the “Son of a Sinner” singer himself — the 39-year-old breakout country star barely got the chance to get acquainted with his honorary glass statue before it slipped out of his hands and broke into pieces on the floor at the ceremony held Wednesday (Nov. 8) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. “Don’t worry, he will get a replacement,” read the tweet, which included a photo of the ruined award.
Billboard has reached out to the CMAs — which aired live on ABC — for comment.
The bit of bad luck followed shortly after Jelly was announced as the new artist of the year, which he accepted with an emotional, inspiring speech to fans. “There’s something poetic about a 39-year-old man winning new artist of the year,” he said. “I don’t know where you’re at in your life or what you’re going through, but I want to tell you to keep going, baby.”
“I want to tell you, ‘Success is on the other side,’” he continued, raising his voice louder and louder. “I want to tell you, ‘It’s going to be OK!’ I want to tell you that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason, because what’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you!”
New artist of the year was just one of five awards that the “Save Me” musician was up for. He also received nods for single of the year and music video of the year for “Need a Favor” — which he performed at the CMAs with Wynona Judd — as well as male vocalist of the year and musical event of the year.
The singer-rapper is also a finalist in several categories at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, including the top new artist and top rock artist categories. The BBMAs will stream on BBMAs.watch and the Billboard and BBMAs social channels on Nov. 19.
See Jelly Roll’s shattered CMAs trophy below:
