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.”

Just like the B&D original from 2005, with the Jelly Roll version Restart II is rich with gospel accents – on stage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, he was accompanied by a nine-piece choir as he exchanged verses with Dunn. A 16-piece orchestra also helped turn the ballad into a grand production.

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Jelly Roll has been nominated for multiple 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 successor 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,” shared Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord. Rolling stone earlier this year. “These were the feelings that seemed to surround what we were writing. I was very proud of the top line of this album, of every lyric I fought for. It took me 18 months to write this album. I got 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. Together with Jelly Roll, Restart II includes artists such as Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen and the hard rock band Halestorm with B&D classics such as ‘Play Something Country’, ‘Neon Moon’ and ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie.’

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