When Jelly Roll and Josh Groban collaborated on “American Idol” season 23, sparks were flying. The show’s artist-in-residence and Groban, who served as a guest mentor, hit it off immediately. Find out what they said about their “Idol” bromance.
Jelly Roll Says His ‘Idol’ Bromance With Josh Groban ‘Was Really Cool’
In an April 2025 interview with Billboard, Jelly Roll dished on his time working with Groban on “American Idol.” The singer shared how he and Groban had a blast together.
“‘The Jelly & Josh Show’ should be a show. You’re talking about an unlikely couple,” he explained. “You know what I’m saying? We instantly had a bromance. It was really cool.”
Jelly Roll continued, “I knew who Josh was. Who doesn’t? What an iconic voice. All the Broadway stuff. Just what a big deal. But I didn’t know at which intersection we would meet and it happened immediately, dude.”
He noted, “We were great mentoring together because Josh is a true classically trained musician. I mean his instrument, his voice, is one of the best ever. He hears things totally different. His ability of range singing, how to get people in and out of stuff with that is great. That’s a skill set I don’t have.”
The singer called himself “an energy guy” and a “story guy.” He connects with the “Idol” hopefuls and learns their stories.
“I feel like I’m in their backyard with them where they grew up,” he added. “I’ve talked to them about that so much. It added a really cool thing for him and me.”
Jelly Roll also shared that there were more fun moments with Groban “that probably won’t make the air where we just laugh uncontrollably for a few minutes.”
He explained, “We would start feeding off each other and doing bad jokes and they kept getting worse and worse. He’s a really fun guy.”
Josh Groban Calls Jelly Roll ‘An Inspiration’
During the April 14 episode of “American Idol,” Groban performed “Be Alright.” After the performance, host Ryan Seacrest chatted with the singer about his time working with Jelly Roll.
“Josh and Jelly, I did not see that on my 2025 bingo card,” Seacrest said.
“That is very true … yeah, we are the odd couple that people didn’t know they needed,” Groban said as Jelly Roll grinned in the audience.
He continued, “But, honestly, working with Jelly has been such an inspiration. He’s such an incredible artist, got such an amazing heart, and gives such amazing advice.”
Groban added, “To team with him for a group of talented finalists, it just absolutely blew our minds. It was an awesome experience.”