Jelly Roll Shaves His Beard, Gets Emotional Over Grammy Nominations: “I Look Like a Ninja Turtle”

Jelly Roll has had a week, the kind that hits on every emotional frequency at once. The country star picked up three Grammy nominations, and in the middle of celebrating the biggest milestone of his career, he also decided to shave off his beard for the first time in years… revealing a fresh face he immediately described as looking like a “Ninja Turtle.”

In a new YouTube video (posted on November 20), fresh off his Australian/NZ tour which he admitted he couldn’t wait to get home from (due to illness and a difficult time while visiting Louis Vuitton in Sydney), Jelly lets fans tag along as he razors off the beard with his wife Bunnie XO helping out, once the trims are done, he heads outside for a quiet moment and that’s when things get raw.

Getting Real About His New Look

Jelly joked that the beard had become a shield for him, especially before his recent weight loss.

“By now, you have probably figured out that I look like a Ninja Turtle,” he said. “I was so obese, it was easier to cover what was happening here [with a beard].”

It’s what Jelly Roll is all about, self aware, unfiltered, and still letting you in deeper than most artists ever do.

Tears Over Three Grammy Nominations

The emotional centre of the video hits when he talks about his 2026 Grammy nominations:

• Best Country Duo/Group Performance — ‘Amen’ with Shaboozey
• Best Contemporary Country Album — Beautifully Broken
• Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song — ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’

Jelly fights back tears repeatedly, stopping to breathe, visibly overwhelmed.

“When I look at these nominations, all I see is God,” he says.

Then he drops one of the most honest takes we’ve heard from any artist during awards season:

“I don’t care what artists say… There’s not an artist in the world that didn’t grow up watching the Grammys and rehearse their speech.”

He reflects on his story, the setbacks, the messiness, the redemption arc that’s defined his last few years and how surreal it feels to stand here now.

“God will take something that’s either abnormal and make it extremely abnormal… or take something already incredible and make it absolutely mesmerizing.”

For Jelly Roll, these nominations feel like both.

With Beautifully Broken pushing him into a new era and a beard free face entering the chat, Jelly’s clearly in a moment of transformation.