Jelly Roll, Brandon Lake Deliver Stirring ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’
Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake introduced Hard Fought Hallelujah to a national audience Thursday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, performing a song that has topped charts thanks to a collaboration between two popular artists in their respective genres.
Jelly Roll, a country artist, and Lake, a Christian singer, released the collaborative record in February.
“I love the story of how this song came together,” Kimmel said on the broadcast.
Jelly Roll was listening to Hard Fought Hallelujah even before he was given the chance to team up with Lake.
“I was just such a fan of the song -- and I didn't know [he] was a Christian artist, by the way, or I might not have been as confident in calling him,” Jelly Roll said, smiling.
“My manager sits me down one day, and he goes, ‘Yo, there's a Christian artist. Are you interested?,’” he said, remembering the conversation about a potential collaboration. “I was like, ‘Maybe.’ And he was like, ‘It's a guy named Brandon Lake.’ I was like, ‘Is it the Hard Fought Hallelujah song?’
“I was like, ‘We have to do that song.’ I mean, I felt like it was God in every way it could be. This man has been such a mentor to my life, such a minister. Brandon Lake is the real deal.”
The song has topped multiple Billboard Christian music charts.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, previously said the song helped bring him closer to God. He is a four-time Grammy nominee and eight-time Country Music Association (CMA) Awards nominee who won New Artist of the Year for 2023. Much of his music weaves in themes of fall, redemption, and grace.
“The first time I heard Hard Fought Hallelujah, I haven't had a record touch me like that in so long,” Jelly Roll said in a video posted on both singers’ social media channels earlier this year. “It's been years since I worshiped the way that I worshiped to that song. Because I carry my faith with me, but I'm also struggling, and very honest and open about that.”
Lake is a five-time Grammy winner and 10-time Dove Awards winner.
“I've been so bitter and hurt by the church and their dogma that I created my own now,” Jelly Roll said. “Because I believe music meets us where we are. I needed that record when I heard it, but then to double back and be like, ‘Yo, there's a chance you could work on this record with this guy, and I'm like, Whoa, God sends me the record for me.’ Not only does He want me to listen to it and worship, He wants me to live with it and learn.”
Photo Courtesy: ABC/screen grab
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published April 25, 2025.
