To witness the physical transformation Jelly Roll has undergone over the last several years, look no further than his appearances on “American Idol.” On April 9, 2025, the country superstar said during a live appearance on Pat McAfee’s “Big Night Aht” show that he weighed 540 pounds when he began his weight loss journey and is down to 357 pounds, with more to lose.
“It looks like you lost a person,” McAfee told Jelly Roll, to which the singer replied, “I’m gonna lose another 100 pounds and go skydiving with my wife in Sweden, baby!”
Jelly Roll’s changing physique over is evident in clips and photos from his “Idol” appearances over the last three seasons, from his performance in 2023 to his role as a guest mentor in 2024, and now as the show’s first artist-in-residence.
Jelly Roll Said in Late 2022 He Wanted to ‘Finally Conquer the Demon’ of Obesity
Jelly Roll, a lifelong “Idol” fan, was thrilled to make his debut on the show during the May 2023 finale, when he performed on the season 21 finale with Lainey Wilson, a friend and fellow rising country star at the time. Finalist Oliver Steele got to sing a duet with the “Amen” singer, too, and called the performance “one of the funnest, most bad@ss feeling performances I’ve ever done!!!”
Photos and video of the performance show reveal Jelly Roll singing when he was much heavier. Months before, he told Music Mayhem that he was planning to start a weight loss program in 2023, telling the outlet, “I wanna finally conquer the demon.”
“I got a guy, man,” he told the outlet. “I’m (about to) start working with my boy, who owns a gym in Brentwood, and we’re (gonna) start getting after it at the top of the year.”
Jelly Roll Explains Why He Decided to Be Open About His Weight Loss Journey
EntertainmentNOW/DisneySince 2023, the superstar has upped the ante, sharing on social media the hard work he’s put in, training for a 5k race coming up on May 4. He’s also shared how much his diet has changed, hiring a personal chef to prepare meals for him on the road.
The results are evident in his recent appearances on “American Idol.” In the above photos, he’s seen with host Ryan Seacrest while serving as a celebrity guest mentor during season 22 episodes filmed in Hawaii in early 2024, and a year later back in Hawaii as the show’s new artist-in-residence.
In December, Jelly Roll talked about being open about his weigh loss journey on his wife BunnieXO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, explaining, “I did this publicly for a reason. I wanna be honest about my struggles with it with people. I wore it for so long.”
“I think that people that become as big as I became,” he continued, “when they lose the weight, they’re kind of ashamed. They’re so ashamed that they go hide and lose the weight, and then they come back out and they don’t really know how to interact with the world looking different or feeling different.”
Jelly Roll will work with contestants and guest mentors Ashanti and Josh Groban on the season 23 Hawaii episodes airing on April 13 and 14.
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Jelly Roll is Shrinking on ‘American Idol’: See His 200-Pound Transformation