{"id":3695,"date":"2025-04-11T23:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T22:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/?p=3695"},"modified":"2025-04-19T23:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T22:44:30","slug":"award-winning-global-entertainer-jelly-roll-honoured-at-oxford-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/04\/11\/award-winning-global-entertainer-jelly-roll-honoured-at-oxford-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Award-Winning Global Entertainer Jelly Roll Honoured At Oxford University"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 4x GRAMMY\u00ae Nominee Made His First Trip To The UK To Receive The Global Literacy Award And To Address Attendees As The Keynote Speaker At The\u00a0World Literacy Summit 2025<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Announced As An Official Ambassador Of The World Literacy Foundation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Globally recognised award-winning musician\u00a0Jelly Roll<\/strong>\u00a0(Jason DeFord), whose groundbreaking meteoric rise in the industry has led to more than 50 international award nominations and wins in the last two years, has made an indelible mark on the music industry, despite early struggles with the law.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In recognition of his contributions to advocating for improving foundational literacy within the justice system domestically and internationally, especially among young offenders, through educational programs and resources, Jelly Roll was presented the\u00a0Global Literacy Award<\/strong>\u00a0at the\u00a0World Literacy Summit 2025<\/strong>\u00a0at Oxford University\u2019s Sheldonian Theatre on Tuesday. Jelly Roll was presented the award by the CEO of the World Literacy Foundation, Andrew Kay, and Board of Directors\u2019 member, Dr Donald Green, who shared,\u00a0\u201cwe are here to celebrate your advocacy for adult literacy and we say \u2018thank you\u2019.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Speaking to the attendees, which included representatives from the World Bank, HarperCollins and Penguin Books, Jelly Roll expressed,\u00a0\u201cWe’re in a room full of people who have dedicated most of their life to serving, helping, educating, and leading others. You know what I mean, like that’s what we were called to do. It’s not even what I was called to do. That’s why y’all are here right now. That’s what brought y\u2019all to Oxford for this week.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


The keynote address, which was also broadcast on a fully booked live stream, spotlighted Jelly Roll\u2019s remarkable journey and his continued dedication to empowering young people through education, from earning and receiving his GED while incarcerated, to his involvement with several grassroots efforts and larger institutions that encourage literacy and education, particularly those impacted by the justice system, through everything from songwriting workshops to continued education courses to certification and trade programs.
Jelly Roll\u2019s keynote address is available to view\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(Jelly Roll (R) with his Global Literacy Award at Oxford University alongside Greg Zaralides – Conference Director World Literacy Summit (L) \/ Credit: Andy Pollitt<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n


ABOUT JELLY ROLL:<\/em><\/strong>
Multi Award-winning, 4x GRAMMY\u00ae nominated Nashville native singer\/songwriter Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord) claimed the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 All Genre Chart with his critically acclaimed 2024 album, Beautifully Broken \u2014 which earned the highest critical praise of his career so far from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Associated Press, NPR and more. The release concluded his most successful year yet and followed his sold-out nationwide Beautifully Broken Arena Tour.

Just a year earlier, Jelly debuted in the Top 3 on the Billboard 200 All Genre Chart and #2 on the Top Country Album charts with his debut country album, Whitsitt Chapel (released June 2nd, 2023) – earning the biggest country debut album in Billboard Consumption Chart history.

Following his sweep at the 2023 CMT Music Awards, CMA Awards, People\u2019s Choice Awards, People\u2019s Choice Country Awards, \u201ccountry\u2019s \u2018most authentic\u2019 new artist\u201d (The New Yorker) continued his award-show domination into 2024, winning big at the iHeartRadio Awards and the ACM Awards, before scoring his first two GRAMMY nominations.

In 2025, the multi-genre phenomenon – currently nominated for three ACM Awards including Entertainer of the Year – cemented his rise, having already won Country Artist of the Year at this year\u2019s iHeartRadio Music Awards and notched two more GRAMMY nominations. Before hitting the road for Post Malone\u2019s 2025 BIG ASS STADIUM TOUR and BIG ASS WORLD TOUR, Jelly scored his seventh #1 at country radio with the six-week chart-topper \u201cLiar,\u201d bringing his career total up to nine #1s including: \u201cLiar\u201d (country\/rock radio), \u201cI Am Not Okay,\u201d \u201cChevrolet\u201d – Dustin Lynch feat. Jelly Roll, \u201cHalfway To Hell,\u201d \u201cSave Me,\u201d \u201cNeed A Favor,\u201d \u201cSon of A Sinner\u201d and \u201cDead Man Walking\u201d (rock radio).

Now, Jelly\u2019s spurring \u201cHeart of Stone\u201d – the third radio single from his Beautifully Broken record – is currently climbing the country radio charts.\u00a0

\u201cOne of Nashville\u2019s fastest rising stars\u201d (The New York Times), he continues to break boundaries. Not just an artist but a humanitarian, Jelly continues to resonate with fans on a global scale, while racking up numerous milestones – from playing his sold-out hometown show for 18,000 fans at Nashville\u2019s Bridgestone Arena to donating a recording studio at the juvenile detention center he served in as a teen, to the release of his record-breaking documentary by ABC News, Save Me – the most watched music documentary on the platform – to his visits with rehab centers and those incarcerated across the US.

Featured by Nightline, GMA, GMA3, The New York Times, GQ, LA Times, The Tennessean, Billboard, Variety, American Songwriter, CMT and more, his self-built, unconventional industry rise and unique fan connection has garnered praise from numerous outlets, with Variety noting, \u201cfor everyone who\u2019s facing the same struggles, Jelly Roll is their Springsteen,\u201d and American Songwriter echoing, \u201cwith a string of accolades and an extremely dedicated following, Jelly Roll has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.\u201d

KEEP UP WITH JELLY ROLL<\/strong>
WEBSITE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TIKTOK<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0YOUTUBE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/a>FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/a>X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 4x GRAMMY\u00ae Nominee Made His First Trip To The UK To Receive The Global Literacy Award And To Address Attendees As The Keynote Speaker At The\u00a0World Literacy Summit 2025 Announced As An Official Ambassador Of The World Literacy Foundation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/F5E0E431-BF42-4536-80B9-1E2DD73C66C5.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3698,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695\/revisions\/3698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmni.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}