Jelly Roll was hoping to bring his mom to the 2024 Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 4) — they even talked about getting her a new outfit for the occasion! — but ultimately, she didn’t make it to Los Angeles for the event.
Still, the singer’s mom, Donna DeFord, was tuning in from home, Jelly told ET on the red carpet before the show.
“She’s watching, dude,” he affirms.
“She wanted to come, but we just couldn’t find … I was worried, her having a wheelchair and getting in and out on the carpet and stuff,” Jelly explains. “But she’s watching from home, man. And she’s FaceTimed me 10 times today already. She’s fired up.”
At the reporter’s suggestion, right there on the spot, the country star whipped out his phone and made it 11: He called up his mom via video chat so he could still take part in all the red carpet excitement.
“I wished I could’ve been there too,” Donna says over the phone.
“She says, ‘She’s in Nashville holding it down,'” Jelly continues, repeating some of the less-audible things his mom was saying over FaceTime.
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Sunday night’s show marked the first time that Jelly has been nominated for a Grammy or attended the awards show. He was up in two categories, including the all-genre Best New Artist category.
Though he didn’t win either trophy, Jelly said the event was still a huge career highlight: He even got to meet his celebrity “crush,” Taylor Swift.
