Jelly Roll Loves Quokkas. But What’s A Quokka?

Jelly Roll has been selling out concerts nationwide. At a recent sold-out date in Oklahoma City, the venue donated to the World Wildlife Fund to protect one of Jelly's favorite animals: a Quokka.

The quokka is a small macropod (animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, and wallaroos) that is about the size of a domestic cat. The quokka's range is a small area of southwestern Australia. They inhabit some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia.

Jelly has a tattoo of the animal on his wrist. He read the sign on his Insta Stories hanging at the venue: "In honor of a Jelly Roll sold out show in Oklahoma City. Paycom Center made a donation to the World Wildlife Fund to protect the quokka species and their habitats."

After reading it, Jelly said, "This might be the sweetest thing anybody's ever done for me."

In June, before he performed at CMA Fest in Nashville, he told us of his love for the small mammal, "I am infatuated with quokkas. For those who don't know what a quokka is, Google 'Happiest animal on earth'; you will see a quokka. They are always smiling. They have no known predators on their island, and they live off of eucalyptus leaves, which means they are always high, which means they are always happy."

He grinned, "Anytime I get upset in life, I look down at my wrist. I think, "Just be a quokka: high and happy."

Jelly said earlier in July that he regrets most of his ink. He said in a recent interview, when asked about his tattoo regrets, "Oh, 96 percent of them. I have more tattoo regrets than 'Man, I'm glad I got this.'"

Jelly added, "How you think at 16 years old and how you think at 36 years old are so dramatically far apart from each other. It's embarrassing."

There are a few tats that Jelly doesn't regret, though. He noted that he would keep the "tour tattoos" because they do have a "cool story."

He also gave an example of one of his regrets, explaining, "I've got a Gerber baby smoking a joint tattooed on my arm. I don't know who authorized this in my life or who was around me at this moment, but I hate them."

Jelly Roll is on fire these days, having just enjoyed his second number-one song on country radio, "Need A Favor." He is currently on his headling tour, "Backroad Baptism." It is his "moment" in country music, and he's been enjoying every second of it, as you can clearly see on his social media.

He recently revealed that during his first performance at CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium in June, which was televised as a TV special on ABC, he was "trembling."

Jelly posted a video clip of the performance on his Instagram. He wrote in a lengthy caption, "If you listen closely, you can hear my voice shaking the first half of the song— I was trembling; I was so nervous. Sixty-five thousand people in my hometown stadium- the same stadium my father took me to every Sunday for Titans games. The same stadium I've been taking my daughter to since she was a baby."

He continued, "Thank you, CMA fest, for letting me be a part of your 50th anniversary - I have literally been going to 'Fan Fair' since I was a child. This night was unbelievable... to hear 65k people [sing] 'and God, I need a Favor' in unison like one voice. Speaking of 'NEED A FAVOR,' I can officially say it is the #1 song on Country Radio right now. There is no greater achievement in this town than being #1 in country radio. The fact this is my 2nd number one at Country Radio this year makes it almost unbelievable to me, to be honest - and this same song also held 3 weeks at number 1 on Rock radio."

Jelly concluded, "Just when I thought things couldn't get any wilder, y'all continue to amaze me. Thank y'all - this has been an unreal year."

We celebrate all things Jelly today as he shines in the country music spotlight. Let's take a look at the four songs that brought him to this place in music.

Jelly first released this song in June of 2020. At the time, he said of the song's video, "This one is a bit of a curveball for me. I don't usually do these stripped-down acoustic videos, but writing this song made me feel something. I felt y'all needed some insight into the more vulnerable side of the music business." The song was later re-recorded as a duet with Lainey Wilson.

This is Jelly Roll's first single released to the country music format. It is also his first number-one song on country radio. The song is about Jelly Roll's personal life as a traveling musician and his personal struggles with drug addiction. Jelly said that he was intoxicated while recording the vocal track.

Jelly's second number-one song on country radio. It centers on a man on the verge of losing the love of his life and praying for God to do him a favor, admitting he does not deserve it, and hoping to repent for his past actions.

An official remix of the song with Lainey Wilson was released on May 12, 2023, as the second single from Jelly's album Whitsitt Chapel. Jelly and Lainey performed it together at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards and later at the finale of season 21 of "American Idol."