Jelly Roll Admits He Has ‘Big, Big Regrets’ Over His Extensive Tattoo Collection

Jelly Roll reveals he started collecting tattoos at just 14 years old, and now that he’s grown and in a completely different stage of his life, he’s feeling a heavy weight of regret towards the decisions he made at such a young age.  

While walking the red carpet at the 57th Annual CMA Awards as a five-time nominee, the “Need A Favor” stopped for a brief interview with Access Hollywood guest correspondent Emily Orozco. During their discussion, he explained that he regrets “93 percent” of the ink on his body. 

“I give a different number any time … Big, big regrets. It’s one of the few things in life I regret besides my criminal record. I got some of these when I was like 14. I had no business picking lifelong tattoos at 14.”

What Tattoos Does Jelly Roll Have On His Face?

Many of Jelly Roll’s tattoos represent a previous chapter of his life in jail. However, some of the ink holds significance to his current days as a hitmaking country artist, such as the music note near his right eyebrow and the apple core on his left cheek.

This piece of artwork is a tribute to his loyal fanbase, an unofficial group that calls themselves “the bad apples.” The idea for this name was pulled from Jelly Roll’s 2014 song, “Bad Apple.”

His face tattoos also include a rose, several crosses of various sizes, his son Noah’s name and the words “music man” written in a script font across his forehead. 

Despite the fact that he no longer holds the same connection to pieces of his extensive tattoo collection, the artwork is a part of who he is and remains one of the many things that fans love about him. 

Coming Off A Celebratory Week Of Major Award Wins And Nominations

Jelly Roll is coming off a whirlwind of a week that began with him winning the 2023 CMA New Artist of the Year award amid his five nods in the categories of Single Of The Year (“NEED A FAVOR”), Male Vocalist Of The Year, Musical Event Of The Year (“Save Me” with Lainey Wilson) and Music Video Of The Year (“NEED A FAVOR”).

A few days after the November 8 awards show, he earned his very first GRAMMY nominations. This year, he joins the elite list of singer/songwriters who have been added to the ballot for the 67^th annual Grammy Awards. 

The country star has been named one of eight up for Best New Artist, alongside Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, and The War And Treaty. Additionally, he earned a second nod for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with his chart-topping duet with Lainey Wilson, “Save Me.”

Upon hearing this milestone news, the Antioch, Tennessee native took to Instagram to share his completely unfiltered and emotion-filled reaction with his fans. 

“I am not sure if I’ll post this or not because I’m so emotional, but the greatest honor an artist can ever hear is that they’ve been nominated for a GRAMMY. I got to hear that this morning,” he said in the video, clearly so overcome with such emotion that it was difficult to get his words out. 

Jelly Roll went on to say that he hasn’t cried this much since the day his dad died and that he made seven attempts to film his reaction before finally just succumbing to the reality of his emotions.

“I love y’all man so f**king much,” he said in conclusion. 

In the caption, he admitted to feeling “embarrassed” to be so vulnerable, however, he was then reminded by his wife, Bunnie XO that his “honesty and rawness” is what has continued to take him far in his career. He then promised to share a “more complete thought” regarding the incredibly high honor once he wraps his head around something that he “never would’ve imagined” happening to him.

Upcoming Shows And 2024 Festivals

Jelly Roll is gearing up to bring his award-winning catalog of songs to major cities across the U.S. such as Dallas, TX, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, New York, NY and more as part of the annual iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour.

In 2024, he has also been tapped to appear at a number of fests and festivals including Crash My Playa, Stagecoach, Country Jam, Tailgate N’ Tallboys Iowa, and plenty more.