Jelly Roll still can’t get over the fact that he was a part of the first ever concert in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. No matter how you slice it, 2025 has been a remarkable year for Jelly Roll. He’s as healthy and slim as he’s ever been, and rapper-turned-country-artist has hits on both the country and Christian charts. His collaboration with Brandon Lake on “Hard Fought Hallelujah” landed No. 1 on both of Billboard’s religious charts: Hot Christian and Christian Airplay. It was even crowned the top Christian song of 2025. The “I Am Not Okay” singer spoke about the impact that the song has had during his recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. Though most of the conversation revolved around his health journey, there were still a couple of big, music discussion moments… like Jelly Roll getting invited to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and the opportunity that Jelly had a couple of months ago to sing at the Vatican for the 2025 Jubilee Year celebration. The singer said it might have been his best vocal performance ever: “I got to sing it at the Vatican, Joe. I got to sing this at the Vatican. I sang in St. Peter’s Square. First live concert ever in St. Peter’s Square, right outside St. Peter’s Basilica. I will tell you, (and I’m biased), it might have been the best vocal performance of my career.” Jelly Roll was actually surprised by how well he sounded, considering how a) nervous he was and b) he couldn’t hold it together during soundcheck. Standing in the historical place and getting to be a part of St. Peter’s Square’s first ever concert was a bit overwhelming, especially when Jelly Roll thought about the religious significance of where they were all standing. And to add to all of that, Jelly found out he’d be performing by himself: “I went out to soundcheck. I couldn’t even get through soundcheck, I was crying so hard. (Then in the actual performance), I’m shaking. They called me to do this, and it was Pharrell and Andrea Bocelli who put this together. I get there and Teddy Swims is there and Jennifer Hudson is there. I get there and I’m like, ‘What’s the story here?’ Everybody was either singing with Pharrell or Bocelli, but me. I was the only person in that whole event that was singing alone. So I get super nervous. Brandon Lake couldn’t make it for some reason. I was like, ‘This is bad.’ I’m bawling crying, I had never been more nervous. When I go to do it, right before I go out, they come to me and go, ‘Hey, Jennifer Hudson is gonna come out at the very end and do Hallelujah with you. You just praise for a minute while she does it.'” So he was singing by himself… until the very end. Jelly Roll was very complimentary of the vocals of Jennifer Hudson (duh), calling her one of the greatest female vocalists of all time. He was already a bit shellshocked to be performing where he was, and now he learned that he’d share the stage with Hudson. Jelly said that Jennifer came up and asked him if he had any notes or suggestions for her. At first, he laughed at the very idea of giving direction to Jennifer Hudson, but then he said: “Then it hit me, and I looked at her, and I’ll never forget this moment. She said, ‘What do you think we should do?’ I said, ‘We give them Jesus. I think that’s why I’m here alone. I think I’m the one that’s supposed to bring Jesus here. It’s a Jesus thing, obviously. This is supposed to be the church we grew up in Jennifer.’ She was like, ‘That’s all I needed to hear.’ Just when I had the best vocal performance of my life, Jennifer Hudson comes out and takes them to church. It was full praise and worship at that point. Two hundred choir members with their hands up in the sky. We’re in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, they’re worshipping out there. Hands in the sky. It was… it’ll make you tear up a little. It was such a Jesus moment.” Can I get an Amen? What a cool moment, and a very fitting opportunity to give praise to Jesus. And in case you wanted to check out that very performance that Jelly Roll was alluding to, you can press play on the video below: “Hard Fought Hallelujah” – Jelly Roll & Jennifer Hudson (Live from St. Peter’s Square) The post Jelly Roll On How He Overcame The Overwhelming Feeling Of Holding Worship At The Vatican: “Give ‘Em Jesus… That’s Why I’m Here” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.