Why Jelly Roll Canceled His ‘The Voice’ Finale Performance
The celebrity lineup of The Voice's Season 24 finale on Tuesday night (Dec. 19) was just a little bit less star-studded than originally intended: Jelly Roll withdrew from the bill shortly before show time.
Originally, Jelly was booked to sing his mega-hit "Save Me," a Whitsitt Chapel album track and duet with Lainey Wilson that topped country radio charts this year. But he never made it to the stage. Instead, on Tuesday evening, Jelly shared a statement on Facebook explaining that he was "extremely sick and unable to perform.
"I'm sorry if I have disappointed anyone — if there was even a slight chance I could perform I would be on that stage tonight," the singer continued. Though it wasn't the news fans wanted to hear, Jelly Roll did add a silver lining to his Voice cancellation, saying he's already made plans for a make-up appearance.
"The Voice has been kind enough to have me back in May next year and I look forward to giving y'all the best performance of my life," he went on to say. "Thank y'all for all of your love and support!"
Tuesday night's episode would have marked Jelly's The Voice debut; in other reality television news, he performed on a season finale episode of American Idol back in May. Though he hasn't yet performed on The Voice stage, this season's contestants certainly know his music: Finalist Jacquie Roar and previously eliminated contestant BIAS sang his "Need a Favor" during a Battle Rounds face-off earlier this season.
The Voice's Season 24 finale went on without Jelly, featuring star appearances from Keith Urban, Dan + Shay, Earth, Wind & Fire and more. Of course, no finale episode would be complete without a performance from the coaches, and this year's four — Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan -- performed a festive gang rendition of "Let it Snow."
Of course, the most-anticipated moment of the night was the big reveal: Which contestant won this season? This year's winner is rocker Huntley, a contestant on Niall Horan's team. Ruby Leigh — the country favorite to win, and a member of Team Reba — placed second, and she and McEntire sang a rendition of Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" during the live finale.
The Voice airs on NBC.
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Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak