“Save Me” was a massive hit for Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson. The song topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart and went on to garner CMA and Grammy Award nominations. It’s an incredibly powerful and vulnerable song that stirs deep emotions in a wide array of listeners. Earlier this week Kelly Clarkson put her spin on the hit.
Videos by American Songwriter
Clarkson covered “Save Me” during the Kellyoke segment of a recent episode of the Kelly Clarkson Show. Sporting a vintage The Police shirt and wide-leg jeans, she applied her powerful vocals to the equally powerful lyrics.
[See Jelly Roll Live in 2024: Get Tickets]
“Save Me” is a song about the cycle of self-medicating with substance abuse. On one hand, drinking and using drugs is the only way the song’s narrator can feel any kind of peace. On the other hand, they know that it’s slowly killing them. Lines like All of this drinkin’ and smokin’ is hopeless / But I feel that it’s all that I need and I’m a lost cause. / Baby, don’t waste your time on me really drive home the feelings behind the song. Clarkson was able to wring every ounce of heartache and self-doubt out of the song in her abbreviated cover.
Kelly Clarkson’s Cover of “Save Me” Brought Jelly Roll to Tears
It’s hard to hear “Save Me” and not feel the despair in the lyrics when anyone sings it. However, Clarkson’s vocal delivery took those feelings to the next level. Jelly Roll took notice and posted about it on social media.
“I would’ve never believed you if you would’ve told me that I’d write a song so impactful that [the] incredible Kelly Clarkson would deem it worthy to cover,” he wrote in the post. “Thank you Kelly—wow—I’m honored in a way I can’t even describe,” he added. “I cried watching it.”
“Save Me” Had a Long Road to the Top
Jelly Roll initially released “Save Me” in 2020 as the sole single from Self-Medicated. At the time, the song didn’t chart. Then, he re-recorded the song with Wilson and released it as the second single from his debut country album Whitsitt Chapel. Only then did the song see the for which it seemed destined. It topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart and peaked at No. 6 on the publication’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
If you purchase through links on our site we may earn an affiliate commission.
