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Jelly Roll had a big night on the CMT Awards stage on Sunday (April 7), but behind the scenes, Bunnie XO — who is the country star’s wife — got her moment as well. Backstage at the show – where the “Son of a Sinner” singer scored three major wins – the model brushed shoulders with actor-singer Billy Bob Thornton, leaving her totally in awe.
In a clip Bunnie posted to TikTok one day after the ceremony, the camera follows her as she walks up to the actor and gives him a big hug. “Hi, I’m Jelly’s wife,” she introduces herself, to which Thornton says, “I know. How are you, honey?”
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“Aw, it’s so nice to meet you,” the Goliath star adds.
“I almost fainted meeting Billy Bob Thornton because he knew who I was,” Bunnie wrote of the encounter, noting in her caption, “Ok this made me starstruck.”
That night, Jelly Roll took home video of the year, male video of the year and CMT performance of the year, all for his song “Need a Favor” — after which he closed out the show with a performance of “Halfway to Hell.” Later, Bunnie celebrated her husband’s achievements with an emotional post on Instagram, calling him “the maestro of misfits.”
“You are not an overnight success story, this has been 20 years in the making,” she added at the time. “Papabear your voice is an instrument of healing & the world is your choir. I LOVE YOU IN THIS LIFETIME & EVERY OTHER ONE IM LUCKY TO BE BY YOUR SIDE IN.”
As the Dumb Blonde Podcast host revealed in a TikTok a couple days before the CMTs, it’s a miracle she and Jelly even made it to the show at all. After their plane took flight en route to Austin, Texas, it suddenly turned around and made an emergency landing due to a malfunction, according to Bunnie.
“CMT i swear we’re coming 😭,” she captioned the clip.
Watch Bunnie XO meet Billy Bob Thornton below.
Kelsea Ballerini took the stage at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday night (April 7) to perform her throwback hit, “Love Me Like You Mean It,” but not everyone was a fan of her bold fashion choice. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 30-year-old country […]
Maren Morris was nominated for performance of the year with Hozier for their 2023 duet on his song “Take Me to Church” from CMT Crossroads at Sunday night’s (April 7) 2024 CMT Awards. But in a pair of Instagram Story videos posted earlier in the day the 33-year-old “The Bones” singer told fans she would […]
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To hear Jelly Roll tell it, the three prizes he took home at Sunday’s (April 7) 2024 CMT Music Awards don’t hold a candle to his ultimate reward: seeing Bunnie XO, his wife of eight years, getting all the shine she deserves.
In an interview with Billboard News’ Tetris Kelly on the CMT red carpet Sunday, Jelly Roll beamed when asked about how amazing it was to see Bunnie doing a hosting gig backstage and her other solo endeavors.
“The coolest moment I’ve had this entire process is … when I walked out, they had a placard with my name for where my seat was and then her placard,” Jelly said proudly. “I was like, ‘You’re not a plus-one no more, baby! You’re a seat!’”
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Jelly was the biggest winner at Sunday night’s CMT Awards, heading into the show with a leading three nominations and leaving with all three awards — his second year in a row to take home a trio of hardware at the CMTs. The singer/songwriter was especially honored to be facing some very friendly competition for video of the year in Cody Johnson and Kelsea Ballerini, the night’s host; Jelly Roll eventually took home the fan-voted top prize, for “Need a Favor.”
“The coolest part is, Kelsea’s my friend. Cody’s my friend,” he told Billboard News. “And I don’t mean in the way we say friends in the industry – because we’re all ‘friends’ here, right? – but in a real way, of like, I’ve spent real time with them. I’ve spent hours on the phone with Cody, multiple dinners, hung out with him multiple times. I’ve spent real time with Kelsea and Chase,” he said, referencing Ballerini’s Outer Banks star boyfriend Chase Stokes. “These are my friends. So it’s cool.”
Before setting out for his triple-win night, Tetris asked Jelly to describe his breakthrough year in one word.
“Unbelievable,” he said without hesitation. “I’m going to look back one day on all this and be like, ‘What the f— was going on in that decade?’”
Watch Jelly Roll’s interview below:
After a tumultuous youth that found him in and out of jail, Jelly Roll’s winning streak continued at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday (April 7) at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The country breakthrough took the stage three times during the awards broadcast to accept trophies, winning every award he was up for that night.
“I want to thank my beautiful wife and my daughter at home,” Jelly Roll said after winning his first on-camera award, for CMT performance of the year. “I sang ‘Need a Favor’ for the first time on national television right here… in that last year you have changed my life in every way I never thought my life could be changed.”
Later that night, Minnie Driver revealed Jelly Roll had won male video of the year for “Need a Favor.” Shaking his head in disbelief, Jelly Roll kissed his wife, Bunnie XO, hugged Cody Johnson (the two pals even kissed each other on the cheeks) and walked up to the stage as the crowd erupted in cheers.
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“My brother, Cody Johnson – ‘The Painter,’ that was one of the best music videos I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jelly Roll raved after besting Johnson for the award. “I’m having one of the greatest nights of my life,” he noted. But the hitmaker’s speech wasn’t just about himself. True to form, he gave an emotional shout-out out the current residents of one of the jails he spent time in growing up, as well as those doing time at Austin’s juvenile detention center. “It’s important that I stand up here tonight and represent those looking for second chances. The kids back in the Metro-Davidson Detention Facility and the kids down here in the Austin Juvenile Detention Facility watching this tonight, I’m cheering y’all boys on. You can be this guy. You can change. You can turn it around. I promise you can, baby.”
Jelly Roll was back on stage after winning the video of the year award, which Billy Bob Thornton handed to him.
“Billy Bob Thornton just gave me my third trophy of the night, y’all!” he shouted. “Cody Johnson, I’m not going to tell you anything up here I don’t tell you on the phone, but I love you brother. You are my favorite cowboy forever and ever and one of my best friends in the business. Kelsea Ballerini, you know what I think of you – you go baby.”
The star also thanked his manager, John Meneilly, his publicist, Jennifer Vessio, his label, Stoney Creek, and of course wife, Bunnie XO. “I am blessed to have you as a best friend, I am blessed to have you as a partner,” he said. He also provided a good-natured heads-up to Gayle King, who co-hosts CBS Mornings. “Gayle King, I’m gonna be a little late in the morning, because we’re gonna party, Austin.”
After that, he took the stage one final time to rip through a performance of “Halfway to Hell,” a top 15 Country Airplay hit from his album Whitsitt Chapel.
Dasha brought her viral hit “Austin” to the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday night (April 7) — and she admitted that it was the first time she had ever been in the song’s namesake city. The singer/songwriter gave the song its live television debut at Austin, Texas’ Moody Center, wearing double denim in a […]
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When Toby Keith died of cancer on Feb. 5 at the age of 62, the country world mourned the loss of one of its biggest stars. Notching 20 No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the Country Airplay chart, Keith was an uncompromising, often controversial figure who followed his own arrow and remained a consistent presence in the genre for three decades.
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So when the 2024 CMT Music Awards took over the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday (April 7), it went without saying that the planned tribute to Keith would be one of the evening’s highlights.
Led by Keith’s longtime friends Brooks & Dunn and Sammy Hagar as well as Lainey Wilson, whom Keith mentored, the tribute was supported by Keith’s longtime backing band.
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Baseball legend Roger Clemens introduced the performance, calling Keith “a true friend and patriot.” Clemens noted that in recent years, as Keith was “battling that damn C-word,” the singer “kept his sense of humor and his wit.”
Brooks & Dunn opened the tribute, delivering a rousing rendition of Keith’s breakthrough 1993 single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” as everyone in the crowd (especially Jelly Roll) sang along.
Then, Hagar turned up the adrenaline for a raucous take on Keith’s 2003 hit “I Love This Bar,” a song that ties into the franchise restaurant the country singer inspired, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, which opened in 2005. Introducing the song, the Van Halen legend noted that while it’s hard to get kicked out of your own bar, it’s a feat both of them managed over the years.
After an introduction from Lukas Nelson and Riley Green, Wilson closed it out with “How Do You Like Me Now?!”, the title track to Keith’s 1999 album. The Grammy winner put her whole heart into a joyful, bittersweet performance as Keith’s widow, Tricia Lucas, and children (Shelley Covel Rowland, Krystal Keith and Stelen Keith Covel) watched.
After the performance, a tearful Clemens took the stage and led the entire audience in a Red Solo Cup cheers to the legend: “Whisky for my men and beer for my horses!” he shouted, raising his cup up to the heavens.
While Jason Aldean’s performance at the 2024 CMT Music Awards was fairly straightforward for the country hitmaker, his appearance on the network’s signature awards show had some people raising their eyebrows. Singing “Let Your Boys Be Country,” a twangy rocker from his 2023 album Highway Desperado and top 20 hit on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, […]
