Jelly Roll made his Emmys debut on Sunday night, singing his poignant song I Am Not Okay as the soundtrack to the ‘In Memoriam’ segment.
The country star took the stage at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre and introduced his song by saying, “I believe that music is therapeutic. I believe that music can heal. I also believe that storytelling is just as cathartic. I hope that this song can act as a healing moment for those mourning the storytellers that we have lost this year. If you are feeling lost or alone tonight, I want you to know that it’s OK to not always be OK.”
The Nashville singer wore an all-black suit and stood in front of a screen showing a rolling carousel of the famous names and faces we lost in 2023.
These included the likes of Richard Simmons, Martin Mull, Shannen Doherty, Carl Weathers, Richard Lewis, Donald Sutherland, James Earl Jones and Bob Newhart.
I Am Not Okay, which was released on 12 June, is the lead single from Jelly Roll’s upcoming 10th studio album, Beautifully Broken. The single peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. When announcing the release on Instagram, Jelly Roll wrote that the song is “for everyone going through something”.
