These days Jelly Roll has a legion of fans calling his name, but a surprising A-lister became a fan of the singer when he was up and coming. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson personally contacted Jelly Roll to tell him how much his music meant to him.
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Speaking with GQ, Jelly Roll opened up about how important Johnson was to keeping him moving forward. The singer realized that if his music impacted the actor in such a profound way then he must be doing something right.
“I told him recently: ‘DJ, you don’t know this, but there were so many times that your friendship alone was my anchor,’” Jelly Roll said. “I was like, There’s no way one of the most famous people on earth is seeing something that everybody else can’t.”
Johnson also spoke about how Jelly Roll’s music inspired him in its own way. The actor discovered the artist during a rough period in his life. “I was first moved by his music in 2017,” Johnson told the outlet. “I was going through a rough patch at that time, dealing with stuff on the personal side — I was doing my best not to let anybody know.”
Over the years, the two have struck up a friendship. Jelly Roll told Taste of Country that Johnson has become one of the first people he messages about life events. Both connected over a shared commonality with Johnson previously attending the same high school that some of Jelly Roll’s family also did.
Jelly Roll Talks Friendship with The Rock
“Dwayne Johnson reached out to me, I’m gonna say probably in 2016 or 2017,” Jelly Roll explained. “He just said, ‘Hey, I just want you to know that I love the music. This song really helped me through a tough time in my life.’ And from then ’til now, every major or minor thing that’s happened in my life, Dwayne Johnson has been the first person to send me a message.
In an interview with ET, Jelly Roll stressed how important his friendship with The Rock has been through the years. The singer hopes to collaborate with the actor one day on a song.
“I’m not making this up. The Rock was listening to Jelly Roll music when Spotify numbers said only 30,000 people were listening to Jelly Roll,” the musician tells ET. “He’s really been with me from the beginning. I don’t share what that story is, but he has a story that the music was there for him at a moment when he needed it. And that was awesome to hear from him. This is … seven, eight years ago even and we’ve kept in touch. He was the first person to congratulate me on my Grand Ole Opry debut; first person to congratulate [me], and when I played at the [Nashville staple] Ryman [Auditorium]. The first DM I got when I announced [the historic] Bridgestone [Arena show in 2022]. I mean, these pinnacles in my career. He’s always the first person in my messages.”
(Photos by Hector Vivas/Getty Images & Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
