Jelly Roll Soars To His Feet For Singer’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah” Cover On “Star Search”
on Jan 22, 2026
Jelly Roll Is A Judge On The Star Search Reboot
“Hard Fought Hallelujah,” the Grammy-nominated collaboration between Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake, was featured during a powerful moment on the January 21st episode of Star Search.
Alongside Chrissy Teigen and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jelly Roll serves as a judge on the Netflix reboot of Star Search. The competition series originally ran from 1983 to 1995, and again from 2003 to 2004.
22 years after its last episode aired, Star Search returned with a new season premiere on January 20. The episode highlighted contestants in the Junior Music, Dance, Variety, and Music Group categories.
Competitors in four additional categories performed on Wednesday night’s (January 21) episode. Each category featured a face-off between two performers to see who would earn the most stars and win the round.
Star Search allows viewers to vote in real-time for their favorite contestants. Their votes, combined with the judges’, calculate an average number of stars for each competitor.
Star Search Contestant Bear Bailey’s Soul-Stirring Performance Of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” Takes Jelly Roll To Church
Star Search hopeful Bear Bailey made an instant impression with his cover of “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” Bailey, whose parents worked as security guards in a state prison in Louisiana, channeled passion and pain into his cover of the faith-based hit.
As one of the artists behind “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” Jelly Roll was deeply moved by Bailey’s performance. He soared to his feet and raised his hands in the air as he soaked in every note.
There wasn’t a dry eye in sight once Bailey finished taking everyone to church. The judges showered him with compliments:
Teigen said, “It was a thing of beauty for everyone to hear.”
Gellar remarked, “We came to ‘Star Search’ to find a star. We just found one. I don’t know what was more beautiful: Watching you sing, or watching [Jelly Roll] watch you sing.”
Jelly Roll said, “You took my song and made it yours.” He also thanked Bailey for giving him the opportunity to speak about his faith that day. He said he prayed to God that morning that he’d get such a chance.
Teigen awarded Bailey 4 stars, while Gellar and Jelly gave him 5. After adding in viewers’ votes, Bailey’s total averaged 4.6 stars (the highest number on the show so far). His competitor, Issy Saadeh, earned 2.9.
Bailey’s soul-stirring cover of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” helped him win the face-off! Watch his performance below.
