Jelly Roll and Kelly Clarkson gushed about each other’s talents as they geared up to sing Jelly’s “I Am Not Okay” as a special duet edition of Clarkson’s Kellyoke performance series.
In a behind-the-scenes video showing how they organized the duet, the two stars revealed that they’ve been mutual fans since before they first met at the Grammy Awards in early 2024.
“I went and fanned out on her. She ain’t gonna say that part,” Jelly explains in one portion of the clip, as he and Clarkson are explaining to the camera how they first met. “… I said, ‘Miss Clarkson, I’m such a huge fan,’ and when she turned around she said ‘Hey, Jelly,’ I was like, ‘She knows me!'”
“Are you kidding?!” Clarkson joked back, making it clear that the fandom was mutual.
Elsewhere in the behind-the-scenes video, you can see the two stars making decisions about how to transform “I Am Not Okay” into a duet. They go back and forth over which parts to harmonize on, and in one spot, Jelly asks her to “Kelly Clarkson” a high run, saying, “you would make a dream come true.”
“I’m just a huge fan. I love authenticity, and I love real messages. I think that real s–t really matters,” Clarkson raves.
Ahead of the full performance on an upcoming episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson and Jelly premiered a snippet of the finished performance — including the big high note Clarkson contributed to the song.
Watch that preview below:
“I Am Not Okay” comes off Jelly’s new album Beautifully Broken, which arrived last week.