"I Am Not Okay" is a song by American singer Jelly Roll, released on June 12, 2024, as the lead single from his tenth studio album, '' Beautifully Broken''. It was written by Jelly Roll, Taylor Phillips,

Ashley Gorley Ashley Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 81 number 1 songs and has over 400 songs recorded by artists including Luke ...

, and Casey Brown, and produced by

Zach Crowell Zach Crowell is a songwriter and record producer who was born and raised in Nashville, TN. Crowell is involved in a joint admin agreement with Sony Music Publishing. He has written/produced over 30 number one songs and is a three-time Grammy A ...

Background

Jelly Roll debuted the song at the

season 25 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

finale of '' The Voice'' on May 21, 2024. He also performed it at the CMA Fest on June 8, 2024, prior to releasing the song, and again during the In Memoriam segment at the

76th Primetime Emmy Awards The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2023, until May 31, 2024, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards ceremony was held live on September 15, 202 ...

. When announcing the release on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, he wrote the song is "for everyone going through something".

Composition and lyrics

Jelly Roll wrote "I Am Not Okay" with Taylor Phillips,

, and Casey Brown, while on tour in North Carolina in October 2023. After witnessing the crowd's emotional reaction, Phillips remarked that attending Jelly Roll's concert was akin to going to church, which prompted Jelly Roll to say that he was making it "OK for people not to be OK", which inspired the song's hook. Gorley noted that he had hoped to develop a song about depression, spurred in part by Phillips' annual benefits to honor his friend, Brian Kindle, who died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Produced by

at Saxman Studios, the instrumental starts with the plucking of acoustic guitar during the opening verse, before being joined by drums, synthesizers and orchestra. Lyrically, Jelly Roll revolves around his emotional pain and struggles with

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

, mentioning having sleepless nights, voices in his head, good and bad days, and not wanting to be out of bed. In the chorus, he acknowledges there are others in a similar position and encourages hope.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Jelly Roll 2024 singles 2024 songs 2020s ballads Jelly Roll (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Zach Crowell Songs written by Jelly Roll (singer) Songs written by Ashley Gorley Songs about mental health Country ballads Republic Records singles