Separately, Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll are two of the hottest artists in country music today. Together, though, they are a force to be reckoned with. Their collaboration “Save Me” is proof of that. It has brought the unlikely duo several awards. Tonight, they continued their winning streak at the 2024 ACM Awards. “Save Me” brought them the trophy for Music Event of the Year.
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Jelly Roll penned “Save Me” with his longtime friend and musical collaborator David Ray. Previously, he released it as a solo single and didn’t see much success with it. Then, he re-released it with Wilson as a single from Whitsitt Chapel and it became an award-winning No. 1 hit. Wilson’s powerful vocals were the secret ingredient.
[RELATED: Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson Reflect on the Surprise Success of Their No. 1 Hit “Save Me”]
Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson Win Music Event of the Year for “Save Me”
Wilson and Jelly Roll took the stage to accept the award and Wilson looked like two old friends. Knowing that her duet partner was about to deliver the acceptance speech of the night, the ACM Female Artist of the Year kept her acceptance speech short. She knew he was about to “preach” and he did.
“Lainey Wilson, everybody! Lainey Wilson, one of the best to ever do it,” Jelly Roll began. Then, he delivered yet another fiery speech.
“I’m going to try not to get emotional,” he said. “But, no pun intended. Seriously. This song saved me. I was in a dark place. I wrote it from my soul. And I knew people would connect with it,” he added.
“One year ago, Lainey Wilson and I stood on this stage and debuted it. This song is a triple-Platinum record. I wrote it with a high school friend,” he said choking back tears. “We never thought we’d be songwriters. I never thought I’d be standing here. I thought I would die or go to jail and I’m standing here an ACM Award winner. Do you hear what I’m talking about, Texas?”
The cheers from his peers and fans in the crowd were enough to let everyone know that they did, indeed, hear what Jelly Roll was talking about.
Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
