Country star Jelly Roll is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, sometimes moved to tears when fans say he’s inspired them to better their lives. That was the case when the newly-appointed artist-in-residence at “American Idol” discovered a meaningful note left on his truck four years ago, he told John Cena on his new Roku show, “What Drives You,” in late January 2025.

Pointing out the Post-It note that still sits on the dashboard of his Ram 1500 Laramie, Jelly Roll asked Cena to read the note aloud.

“Your music saved my best friend’s life,” Cena read. “Thank you for being unapologetically you and doing what you do. -A.”

When Cena asked who the note was from, Jelly Roll told him, “You know, the cool thing is I don’t know. They left this note on my window four years ago and I sobbed in the parking lot reading this note.”

Jelly Roll Says He Hopes to Be a Voice for Those Who’ve Never Had Anyone

During his episode of “What Drives You,” Jelly Roll and Cena had a heartfelt discussion about his passions and the sense of purpose he’s gained since transforming his life. Once drowning in a shadow world of drugs and crime, Jelly Roll was in and out of prison from ages 14 to 24, he told CBS Sunday Morning.

Now 40, and with two 2025 Grammy nominations under his belt, Jelly Roll told Cena that messages like the anonymous one he found stuck to his truck in 2020 — the same year his song “Save Me” became his first huge hit — tell him his messages of hope are getting through.

“Knowing that I am able to be a voice for a group of people that have not had a voice for them, probably ever,” he told Cena, “I just want to make sure that I’m giving these people exactly what they need.”

Jelly Roll took Cena on a ride in his “dream truck,” a Father’s Day gift from his daughter Bailee and his wife Alyssa “BunnieXO” DeFord in 2019. When they first met, he told Cena, he had a truck he’d put 200,000 miles on, so it was incredibly meaningful to receive — and for their family to afford — the fully-customized Ram 1500 Laramie.

“So this was my daily driver forever,” he told Cena, recalling how his wife and daughter surprised him at the recording studio with it. “She customized every piece on this, blacked it out, jacked it up. Dude, she made it my dream truck.”

Jelly Roll Says He Doesn’t the Time People Spend Listening to His Songs for Granted

In a clip shared on Roku’s Instagram page, as Jelly Roll and Cena drove around Nashville in his truck, he said that he views his songs as messages that have the potential to reach people at just the right moment.

“Here’s how I look at a song, John,” he said. “I have been blessed to have three minutes with you in what could be the absolute darkest moment of your life. I have been blessed to have three minutes with you in what could be the greatest moment of your life. I could have three minutes with you on just a day you need to not think about nothing.”

“But I get to share those three minutes with you,” Jelly Roll continued, “and I take that job serious, you know what I mean? ‘Cause I know three minutes can change people.”

Moved by Jelly Roll’s words, Cena replied, “Dude, yes. A lot of the stuff you say, I need a second. I need to take a breath. It’s powerful. It is.”