Jelly Roll is no stranger to speaking openly about his relationship with God, often weaving his faith into both his music and public conversations. From his Christian-country collaboration, “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Brandon Lake, to the themes of spiritual struggle explored throughout Whitsitt Chapel, faith has become a defining part of Jelly Roll’s brand.
The year 2026 is shaping up to be a transformational one for the 41-year-old artist. In addition to losing nearly 300 pounds, Jelly Roll recently expanded his résumé by joining Netflix’s revived talent competition Star Search as a main judge. Originally launched in 1983, the iconic series was rebooted by Netflix, with its first episode airing Tuesday, January 20, followed by night two on Wednesday, January 21.
Seated alongside fellow star judges Chrissy Teigen and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jelly Roll (born Jason Bradley DeFord) experienced an especially emotional moment during the second live taping. One of the night’s contestants was TikTok creator Bear Bailey, who’s gained a following via his “gas station” concerts. Fittingly, Bailey chose to perform Jelly Roll’s own faith-driven anthem, “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”
Moved by the performance—and hearing a song he was featured on delivered with such conviction—Jelly Roll stood for the entire performance, praising and singing along. When it came time for critiques, he was visibly overcome with emotion. Fighting back tears, he told the room, “I prayed this morning, I said, God, give me an opportunity to talk about you.”
He went on to reflect on the previous night’s taping, admitting he felt unfulfilled despite the show’s success. “Night one was great, but I didn’t get to my purpose yet, you called me here to talk about you.” He added that Bailey’s performance created a powerful moment in the room, saying, “And what I just seen was a room full of people that might not have ever felt it before, but that was the Holy Spirit God.”
If there’s one other consistent truth about Jelly Roll, he’s not afraid to also loop in his troubled past with addiction struggles as well as time in jail. Recognizing a shared history with Bailey, he offered an empowering message to Bailey. “Let me tell you something about the Holy Spirit God, he don’t care anything about your past, he doesn’t care what you been through, he doesn’t care about your drug addiction. He is your father.”
The audience erupted in applause as Jelly Roll continued, speaking directly to millions of viewers watching at home. “He is here so you can stand here and sing his name on the biggest streaming service in the world on night two Star Search live on Netflix.” He proclaimed, “Can I get an amen?” He even jokingly shouts out his fellow collab artist, “I know Brandon Lake’s crying somewhere right now.”
Thanks to Bailey’s touching performance and the overwhelming response from both judges and viewers, he earned a combined score of 4.6 out of 5 during the solo music round. The judges awarded scores of 5 from Jelly Roll, 5 from Sarah Michelle Gellar, and 4 from Chrissy Teigen, alongside a 4.5 viewer score. Bailey officially advanced to the next round, which will air Tuesday and Wednesday next week at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, exclusively on Netflix.