Judd admitted why she “just held on for dear life” during the rendition of “Need a Favor”
Wynonna Judd still gets nervous about performing on stage. Shortly after joining Jelly Roll onstage at the 2023 CMA Awards for a duet of his song “Need a Favor,” Judd addressed concerns from fans after they noticed that she gripped onto Jelly Roll during the entirety of the performance.
“Okay, so they say don’t read the comments – I’ve read the comments,” she said in the video. “I’m just gonna come clean with y’all: I was so freaking nervous. I got out there, and I looked at Jelly Roll; I wanted it to be so good for him.”
“I could cry right now, but I’m not going to, because I’m such a fan of his, and he asked me to sing and I said absolutely,” she continued. “I got out there and I was so nervous that I just held on for dear life. And that’s the bottom line.”
Judd shared she was heading straight to Texas from Nashville to resume her Backy to Why Tour. “All is well,” she added with a sigh.
Jelly Roll did double duty on CMA night. Along with opening the show with Wynonna, he joined K. Michelle to sing the Judds‘ “Love Can Build a Bridge” for the finale. Their studio version of the song appears on a new tribute album to the mother-daughter duo of Wynonna and Naomi Judd.
Roll also took home the award for New Artist of the Year, beating out Zach Bryan, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, and Hailey Whitters. He was also nominated for four other awards.