Jelly Roll joins Brooks and Dunn to sing ‘Believe’ at the 2024 CMA Awards

Jelly Roll is one of 18 artists singing Brooks & Dunn songs on the duo’s new album Restart II. On Wednesday, the former rapper joined Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks on stage at the CMA Awards to perform his version of “Believe.”

Like B&D’s original from 2005, Jelly Roll’s version on Restart II is rich in gospel accents—onstage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, he was accompanied by a nine-piece choir as he traded verses with Dunn. A 16-piece orchestra also helped turn the ballad into a magnificent production.

Jelly Roll is nominated for several awards at the 58th CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for 2023 Whitsitt Chapel. In October, Jelly released the follow-up Beautifully broken.

“I knew early on in this project that this was my exploration of mental health, this was my exploration of addiction, and this was my exploration of detox,” Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord, told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “That was the emotion that seemed to surround what we wrote. I was very proud of the top line of this album, every song I fought for. It took me 18 months to write this album. I have a lot of music, man . I wrote a lot of songs.”

Brooks & Dunn, meanwhile, were surprise winners of the CMA for Vocal Duo of the Year, an award they have now won 15 times. Along with Jelly Roll, Restart II includes artists like Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen and hard rock band Halestorm covering B&D classics like “Play Something Country,” “Neon Moon” and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.”