Jelly Roll may be named after a pastry, but his mom didn’t know that when she gave him the moniker — nor did she anticipate his future need for good SEO.
“My mother didn’t know there was a pastry called the jelly roll. So she just thought jelly donuts were like jelly roll,” the singer, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with Dunkin’ to ring in National Donut Day. “So that’s how I got the nickname Jelly Roll, because I loved jelly donuts.”
It wasn’t until years later, when his career as a country music singer had skyrocketed, that he ran into a hurdle with his name.
“I found out there was a pastry later in life and I had to fight for that real estate on Google,” quipped Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord.
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It was a difficult feat to make sure his name pops up in search results before the sweet treat.
“It took years for me to come up before the pastry,” he said. “You know how hard it was to beat the pastry in Google? It’s like when Pitbull had to beat the dog in Google. You know how hard it was for Pitbull to beat a whole breed of dogs in the Google search engine?”
With his Dunkin’ partnership aimed at getting people ready to celebrate National Donut Day on Friday, June 7, Jelly Roll noted that his life has been “so full circle.”
“Just to think my mother nicknamed me after a donut, and I would become famous enough that I’d have a Dunkin’ deal. You know what I mean?” he said. “Every time I think s–t can’t get any weirder or wilder for me, it does. It just keeps happening where you’re just like, that’s another full circle moment.”
As for whether there’s a right method when it comes to eating a donut, Jelly Roll noted there’s “no wrong way.” He added, “The only wrong way to eat a donut is don’t.”
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Since rising to stardom, the “Need a Favor” crooner has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, scored his first No. 1 song with “Son of a Sinner,” won New Artist of the Year at the 2023 CMAs and has been nominated for two Grammys.
While he’s had many fan encounters through the years, Jelly Roll exclusively told Us that there’s one that “still stands out” from the other interactions.
“Last year in Las Vegas there was a veteran in his 70s with his wife — I knew he was a veteran because the hat he was wearing said so, he was very proud,” he said in March. “Seeing that man and his wife enjoy the concert was one of the most surreal moments of tour — I was proud to have him as a fan. I asked security to bring him backstage, and we talked for close to an hour — it really meant a lot to me.”
With reporting by Mandie DeCamp
