Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson’s stormy, soul-stirring collaboration, ‘Save Me’, has hit No. 1 at Country Radio. The hugely popular duet originally appeared on Jelly’s 2023 album, Whitsitt Chapel.
‘Save Me’ serves as a reimagined recording of Jelly Roll’s 2020 solo version, which featured on the genre-blending maverick’s 2020 rap-leaning project, Self-Medicated.
Now that ‘Save Me’ has surged to the top of the Mediabase chart, the star-studded link-up becomes Lainey Wilson’s sixth No. 1 at Country Radio and Jelly Roll’s third country chart-topper.
It continues an impressive streak of dominance over the airwaves for both Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson, with ‘Save Me’ having secured the covered No. 1 spot in under three months, after being officially shipped to Country Radio on September 5.
The momentous achievement follows the bizarre wave of online speculation that Jelly Roll’s wife, Bunnie XO, was jealous of Jelly and Lainey Wilson’s close friendship. She took to her Instagram stories on Monday, November 27 to shut down those rumours, joking, “It’s actually me that wants Lainey, so do better research. LMAO”.
The news that ‘Save Me’ has reached pole position at Country Radio arrives a matter of weeks after Lainey Wilson notched her fifth No. 1 single, ‘Watermelon Moonshine’, in October. The 2023 CMA Entertainer of the Year is widely expected to pick up her seventh No. 1 in the coming weeks, with her new single, ‘Wildflowers and Wild Horses’, continuing to scale the Country Radio rankings at breakneck speed.
Jelly Roll’s previous country No. 1, ‘Need A Favor’, was another blockbuster lead single from his celebrated Whitsitt Chapel project, with the spiritual, introspective anthem hitting the peak of the Country Radio chart towards the end of July.
Lainey Wilson made a surprise appearance during Jelly Roll‘s sold-out headlining concert at Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin, Texas on Thursday (Sept. 21) to perform their chart-climbing collaboration, “Save Me.”
Jelly Roll kept Wilson’s appearance a complete surprise. He sang the first verse alone and Wilson later joined in, completely unannounced.
Entering from stage left, the Bell Bottom Country queen shocked fans as she casually made her way to the center to join the genre-bending star.
Fan Video
As the audience erupted in cheers at the sight of Wilson, the pair of superstars joined together in harmony to finish out the song as gold sparklers showered down from above.
“It’s Electric”
During a recent interview with Pure Country, Jelly Roll admitted that “it’s electric” when he and Wilson get to perform “Save Me” together live.
“When we look each other in the eye on that ‘all of this drinking’ part, man, I see her soul,” he added. “I see every painful thing she’s been through in her life and her eyes at that moment. It’s insane.”
Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson debuted the collaborative version of the song at the 2023 ACM Awards in what became one of the most buzzed-about moments of the evening. The artists joined forces once again during the Season 21 Finale of American Idol for another televised performance of the song.
While chatting with the outlet, the genre-bending star also opened up about creating a new version of the tune with Lainey Wilson.
Teaming Up With Her Was A ‘No-Brainer’
“It was a no-brainer,” Jelly Roll said of adding Wilson to the track. “Lainey’s like a sister. I think she’s got one of the best voices in country music, and we’re already friends so it was just such an easy collab. Now, admittedly, what I didn’t think about at the exact time, the first thought was just like, ‘Man, wouldn’t this be cool to do a real duet?’ But I didn’t realize how much of an impact the song was going to have on me when I heard it from the perspective of a woman.”
Jelly Roll also shared that Wilson gave the song a whole new life.
“I tell Lainey all the time, she’s like, ‘This song is doing incredible.’ And I was like, ‘It has nothing to do with me, Lainey.’ I’ve already put this song out,” he continued. “I was like, ‘People are hearing this from the perspective of a woman right now, and it’s putting a whole different energy into the universe from this song.’ You know what I mean?”
Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson; Photo Courtesy of Sebron Snyder for PMC
The 38-year-old singer/songwriter also showcased gratitude for Wilson, who has already found success with collaborations alongside HARDY (“Wait In The Truck”) and Cole Swindell (“Never Say Never”).
“I’m sure there was somebody in her camp going, hold on, we don’t need another duet right now,” Jelly Roll mused. “You know what I mean? You know how this business is. And Lainey was just like, ‘No, I’m doing it.’ She’s scorching hot on just red fire right now.”
“She’s coming off the biggest TV show on Earth,” he continued, referencing Wilson’s first-ever acting role on Yellowstone. “You know what I mean? Everything about it. She had a thousand reasons not to do it and one reason to do it, and that was liking me, you know what I’m saying? And she picked the one over the thousand. That’s who Lainey Wilson is.”
