Jelly Roll reflected on his health and fitness transformation as he debuted an inspirational anthem on Wednesday (June 24).

In a clip on Instagram on Tuesday evening (June 23), the Grammy-winning artist shared a glimpse of the first day of his fitness journey, walking in the pouring rain. He’d explained to Joe Rogan during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience in December 2025 that “every time I said I was gonna lose the weight, Joe, I said I lied to myself. I would tell myself, ‘I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna go do that,’ and then I’d go tell my family that.”

Jelly Roll predicted that someone listening to the podcast “wants to change some part of their life,” and tells themself, “I’m gonna start next Monday.” The Beautifully Broken star said it was raining “cats and dogs,” when the first Monday in his fitness plan arrived. “And I wake up and I’m like, ‘sh*t.’ My daughter was like, ‘just wait til the rain quits, or do it on the treadmill or something.’ but in my mind, I was like, ‘no, I’m going outside.’ You know? I’m done lying to y’all, and I’m done lying to me. I told y’all I was gonna go do this walk. I’m gonna go do this walk.’

Jelly Roll’s reel on Instagram transitions to a more recent glimpse of him “sprinting in the rain,” he wrote, “because one day, not that long ago, I stopped lying to myself. I’m alive today because I didn’t lose faith. F**k Monday. Start today.” He added in his caption as he announced the release of “Hands Up,” “Make the choice. You can do it.” Jelly Roll has since lost nearly 300 pounds in his fitness transformation.

“Everybody get your hands up/ Everybody put your hands up/ If you ain’t perfect but you try/ Put ‘em way up to the sky/ Touchin’ heaven kinda high/ Ain’t that where we wanna go when we die/ Whoa, whoa, whoa/ Just put your hands up/ Everybody put your hands up”

Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, wrote “Hands Up” with Michael Hardy (HARDY), Chase McGill, Joe Fox and Rocky Block. It’s the latest song to release from Jelly Roll since he teamed up with Carin León on “Lighter” on the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album. He also released “Thorns” and “I’m Good” earlier this year. Jelly Roll, amid his divorce from wife Bunnie Xo, took the stage with “Hands Up” before its release during a surprise performance at the Country Music Association’s CMA Fest earlier this month at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Riley Green and Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer will co-host the three-hour televised concert special. Artists who will appear in the special include Bailey Zimmerman, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Deana Carter, Ella Langley, Fetty Wap, Florida Georgia Line, Gretchen Wilson, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Jordan Davis, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Michael McDonald, Molly Tuttle, The Red Clay Strays, Ricky Skaggs, Riley Green, Russell Dickerson, Shaboozey, Shay Morgan, Stephen Wilson Jr., Tim McGraw, Tucker Wetmore and Zach Top. CMA Fest will air on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Thursday, June 25. The show will be available to stream the following day on Hulu.

Listen to “Hands Up” here:

Bob Delmont