Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll Light Up CMA Fest With Powerful, Faith-Filled Duet

Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll lit up CMA Fest (quite literally) with a moving performance of “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”

In the center of Nissan Stadium in the heart of Nashville, the artists teamed up to deliver a stirring performance of the collaborative track, prompting fans to praise God for his unwavering love and grace. 

“I’ll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt/ Been-through-hell hallelujah (ooh, ooh)/ And I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail/ Story-to-tell hallelujah, oh/ ‘Cause God, You’ve been patient/ God, You’ve been gracious/ Faithful, whatever I’m feeling or facing/ So I’ll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, it-is-well hallelujah, whoa-oh/ Hallelujah (ooh, ooh), hallelujah,” they sing. 

During the worship song, Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll paused to direct the crowd’s attention above the stage, where a surprise drone show lit up the sky in the shape of a giant cross. The crowd erupted in cheers, creating a powerful and emotional moment in the middle of the performance.

“Hard Fought Hallelujah” is already certified platinum and is featured on Lake’s latest album, King of Hearts, which was released just days after CMA Fest. 

Ahead of his CMA Fest performance, Lake opened up about the song and how Jelly Roll landed on the collaborative version. 

“I wrote the song with some friends of mine last year, and then I released it and just thinking about the lyrics of this song, I knew it would resonate with Jelly Roll, and I thought it might be a long shot, but we reached out having no idea that Jelly Roll had already heard the song on TikTok a week before he threw his phone away and switched to a flip phone,” Lake recalled. “So he was like, I love this song. My team reaches out and is like, ‘Hey, would you jump on this song having no idea what’s going on. He was like, automatically was like, ‘a hundred percent yes, I love this song.’” 

The pair instantly became friends and the rest is history. 

“First time we talked on the phone for like an hour and it was just about life and being dad, husband and traveling and all those kinds of things. So a real brotherhood started and it’s just grown and grown,” the five-time GRAMMY winner explained. “It’s like he’s truly, he calls me all the time and we just talk and he’s like a brother.”

Having the opportunity to perform  “Hard Fought Hallelujah” in the middle of Nissan Stadium is something that was truly a “dream come true” for Lake. 

“This is about to be crazy. And we’ve got a little secret up our sleeve to make it really, really special. So we’re really pumped.”

Hosted by Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde, “CMA Fest presented by SoFi” also featured performances by Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, BigXthaPlug, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Jordan Davis, Riley Green, Cody Johnson, Marcus King, Ella Langley, Carín León, Ashley McBryde, Parker McCollum, Scotty McCreery, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, Rascal Flatts, The Red Clay Strays, Darius Rucker, Dylan Scott, Shaboozey, Blake Shelton, Zach Top, Travis Tritt, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman.  

The three-hour event aired Thursday, June 26 at 8/7c on ABC and next day on Hulu.