Jelly Roll’s ‘I Am Not Okay’ Leads Country Airplay Chart: ‘I Believe in the Power That Music Has to Connect With People’

Jelly Roll banks his sixth No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “I Am Not Okay” rises a rung on the Nov. 9-dated ranking. It increased by 12% to 33. 8 million audience impressions Oct. 25-31, according to Luminate.

The Nashville native (born Jason DeFord) co-authored the inspirational song with Casey Brown, Ashley Gorley and Taylor Phillips, and Zach Crowell produced it. The track is the lead single from Jelly Roll’s LP Beautifully Broken, which bowed at No. 1 on Top Country Albums and the all-genre Billboard 200 dated Oct. 26 with 161,000 equivalent album units, marking his initial leader on each list. His preceding set, Whitsitt Chapel, entered and peaked at Nos. 2 and 3 on the charts, respectively, in June 2023.

“I believe in the power that music has to connect with people, and being able to see the response out on the road touring and seeing and hearing from people about this song – it’s been unreal,” Jelly Roll tells Billboard. To fans and programmers, he added, “Thank you for continuing to shine a light on therapeutic music.”

All six of Jelly Roll’s Country Airplay entries have reigned, marking the second-longest active No. 1 run. On the Oct. 26 chart, Kane Brown added his seventh consecutive leader with “Miles on It,” with Marshmello.

Jelly Roll previously topped Country Airplay as featured on Dustin Lynch’s “Chevrolet,” for a week in September, and as a lead artist with “Halfway to Hell” (one week, June); “Save Me,” with Lainey Wilson (two weeks, December 2023); “Need a Favor” (four, beginning in August 2023); and his debut entry at the format, “Son of a Sinner” (one week, January 2023).

Birge Moseys to Top 10

Plus, George Birge achieves his second Country Airplay top 10 as “Cowboy Songs” trots two spots to No. 10 (16.4 million, up 10%). The Austin, Texas, native’s “Mind on You” hit No. 2 in January.

Per his current hit’s traditional title, it joins 10 prior top 10s, dating to the chart’s 1990 start, with “cowboy” in their titles. Chris LeDoux lassoed the first with the No. 7-peaking “Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy” in 1992. Most recently, Jon Pardi’s “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” hit No. 3 in 2020.