The addition of Keith Urban makes everything better.
An argument can be made that no artist is enjoying more of a hot streak lately than Jelly Roll. Fresh off a recent fantastic performance on the Season 25 finale of The Voice and in the middle of a whirlwind cross-country tour, it makes sense that the red-hot country music star would be prominently featured during CMA Fest 2024 — and he teamed up with one of our all-time faves in the process.
On June 8, Jelly Roll capped off the evening’s festivities in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium with a set for the ages. However, one moment has stood out for fans: his unforgettable performance of “Halfway to Hell” featuring one of the best to ever do it, Keith Urban.
There are no words much sweeter than, “I would like to bring to the stage, my buddy, Keith Urban” for country music fans, is there? We don’t know who was more pumped up about Urban adding his talent for “Halfway to Hell” — the sold-out Nashville crowd or Jelly Roll himself, who looked like he was living a dream on stage! Urban’s lead guitar soared as he played over one of the most infectious (and personal) songs in Jelly Roll’s catalog.
Let’s face it: Nashville is the place for music fans to experience one-time-only moments! (Just ask the fans who were floored by an impromptu Post Malone/Blake Shelton duet a few weeks back.)
Watch the performance, below:
Here’s everything to know about “Halfway to Hell”
Reaching number-one on Billboard’s U.S. and Canadian Country Airplay charts, “Halfway to Hell” was released in 2023 as the lead track off Jelly Roll’s 2024 LP, Whitsitt Chapel.
With poignant, introspective lyrics and a driving beat that encourages head nodding at every opportunity, the song helped propel Jelly Roll into the stratosphere in 2024. Speaking to Country Now, Jelly Roll revealed why he made “Halfway to Hell” and justified its placement on his latest album.
“I wanted to start this album with something hard, and something that meant something, and something that felt something,” he revealed. “And something that was about that constant duality of life that I love to write songs about. Being somewhere between right and wrong.”
Fans of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon surely recognize “Halfway to Hell”: Jelly Roll memorably performed it in October 2023!
