The country artist’s recent album battled the pop star’s remix project for the No. 1 slot

Jelly Roll (photo by Amy Harris) / Charli XCX (photo via Getty Images)Jelly Roll and Charli XCX aren’t two names that you would expect to come up in conversation together. But in a recent interview on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, the country artist spoke about his belief that some “old-school dirty business” was taking place behind the scenes last month while both of them were vying for No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Jelly Roll released his new album, Beautifully Broken, the same week Charli XCX dropped the remix version of her explosive 2024 project, Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat. “I won’t say the artist’s name because I know that a lot of artists are disconnected from what’s happening in the business,” Jelly Roll said.

He continued by explaining that his team was keeping an eye on the numbers while he, Charli XCX, and rapper Rod Wave were locked in a battle for the top slot. “There was an artist where Hits Double Daily projected that they wouldn’t even be within 50, 60,000 albums of me and Rod Wave,” he recalled. “And then Thursday night, before the Friday count ends, 40,000 albums — [a] third-party aggregated site had that. And you’re looking and you’re just like, ‘Yo, that’s just slimy.’”

“Now Luminate, who is in charge of counting record sales, rejected these sales, which is how I ended up with the No. 1 album, so that’s the truth,” he added.

Charli ultimately landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 behind Jelly Roll at No. 1 and Rod Wave at No. 2. That being said, both Jelly Roll and Charli XCX are doing just fine, No. 1 album or not.

Jelly Roll is currently in the midst of the ongoing “Beautifully Broken” tour (grab tickets here). Elsewhere, Charli scored seven Grammy nominations this past week, including a nod for the coveted Album of the Year slot.

Watch the full interview below, and navigate to the 8-minute mark for Jelly Roll’s comments about the chart battle.