If you watched the annual CMA Fest special Thursday on ABC, you got to witness Jelly Roll putting his “Hands Up” as he debuted his new radio single on national TV.
For the man born Jason Bradley DeFord, it’s an expression whose meaning has changed through the years.
“Man, this song is really just three snapshots of my life,” Jelly Roll reflects. “The first time I threw my hands up was at a concert as a kid, realizing music was bigger than anything I’d ever felt before. The second time was with a cop telling me to put ’em up because I was out there making some terrible decisions.”
“Then the third time was in a church,” he continues, “finally surrendering and giving God some things I couldn’t carry anymore. Same two words, hands up, but they meant something completely different in every season of my life.”
HARDY is one of Jelly Roll’s co-writers on “Hands Up.”
Jelly Roll’s most recent trip to #1 came back in March with Shaboozey and “Amen,” which spent two weeks at the top.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
