Scotty McCreery Fights Back Tears During “Five More Minutes” After Losing Both Grandmothers

Scotty McCreery stepped onto the stage at Country Concert in Fort Loramie, Ohio, just hours after revealing that both of his grandmothers had died on the same day.

On July 10, 2025, the country singer and American Idol alum shared the heartbreaking news that his Grandma Janet and Grandma Paquita had passed away within hours of one another on July 9. McCreery said he was still processing the losses and asked fans to keep his family in their prayers.

“My heart is absolutely broken,” McCreery wrote. “Yesterday, both my Grandma Janet and my Grandma Paquita passed away. I think I am still in a bit of shock as I type this, but I’m choosing to remember the great memories we all made with both of them.”

He went on to reflect on the memories he shared with each woman.

With Grandma Janet, those memories included time on the family farm in Elizabeth City and trips to the Outer Banks. With Grandma Paquita, he remembered afternoons around the backyard pool in Pinehurst and visits to Puerto Rico.

“Both of them truly taught me what love is all about,” McCreery wrote. “I will miss them dearly.”

The loss came at an especially difficult moment for McCreery, who was scheduled to perform at Country Concert that same day. Rather than canceling, he took the stage in Fort Loramie and continued with the performance.

Then came “Five More Minutes.”

My heart is absolutely broken. Yesterday, both my Grandma Janet and my Grandma Paquita passed away. I think I am still in a bit of shock as I type this, but I’m choosing to remember the great memories we all made with both of them. [1/3] pic.twitter.com/EkHl6t2cLt

— Scotty McCreery (@ScottyMcCreery) July 10, 2025

“Five More Minutes” Took on a Different Meaning

The song has always carried a deeply personal meaning for McCreery. He wrote it following the death of his grandfather in 2015, and the song eventually became his first No. 1 hit.

Given what McCreery had experienced only hours earlier, the song’s closing moments were particularly poignant.

The final verse describes a family gathered around a dying grandfather, knowing that time is running out. The narrator wishes for just a few more moments with a loved one and longs for the ability to stop the clock.

As McCreery reached the end of the song, he struggled to hold back his tears. The emotion was evident as he sang about wishing for a pause button and having “five more minutes.”

It was a difficult moment to watch, but also an especially meaningful one. The lyrics about family, loss and wishing for more time carried an obvious weight under the circumstances.

McCreery could understandably have stepped away from the festival to be with his family. Instead, he performed for the crowd while grieving the loss of two women who had played an important role in his life.

For everyone watching, the performance became a quiet tribute to Janet and Paquita.

Jelly Roll Becomes Emotional After Seeing a Young Fan’s Heartbreaking Sign

McCreery’s performance was not the only recent country music moment in which grief and music collided.

At the Barefoot Country Music Festival in New Jersey on June 22, Jelly Roll was performing “I Am Not Okay” when he noticed a young girl in the audience holding a heartbreaking message about her mother.

The sign read:

“Jelly Roll, my mom died last August. She wrote your lyrics in her journal. If she could, she would be here!”

The venue cameras caught the message and displayed it on the big screen, bringing even more attention to the young fan.

She was visibly emotional as she sang along to the song. Her little brother appeared to be beside her, holding onto her arm. As Jelly Roll noticed what was happening, he also became visibly emotional and continued singing while directing his attention toward the girl.

The moment was particularly powerful because “I Am Not Okay” is a song built around the difficulty of admitting when someone is struggling.

The lyrics describe someone barely getting by, losing track of the days and struggling to sleep, while trying to hide how badly they are hurting.

For the young fan, the song had taken on an intensely personal meaning. Her mother had connected with Jelly Roll’s lyrics enough to write them in her journal before she died.

Jelly Roll appeared to recognize that connection immediately.

A Moment of Shared Grief

Jelly Roll has built much of his relationship with fans around his willingness to speak openly about hardship and vulnerability. He has previously described vulnerability as his “superpower,” and that openness has become an important part of how audiences connect with him.

Rather than presenting himself as someone who has everything figured out, he frequently draws on his own difficult experiences when performing songs about pain, recovery and perseverance.

That connection was especially visible during the Barefoot festival performance.

As the young girl stood in the crowd with tears running down her face, Jelly Roll appeared to struggle with his own emotions. He pointed toward her while continuing the song, creating a brief but deeply personal exchange between performer and fan.

The official Barefoot Country Music Fest account later identified the girl as Elena Rose and said that Jelly Roll told her, “I love you,” before reassuring her that it was okay not to be okay. The festival said he dedicated “I Am Not Okay” to her and told her that her mother was smiling down on her.

The moment resonated because neither the singer nor the young fan tried to hide the pain they were feeling.

For McCreery, “Five More Minutes” became a way to perform while mourning two beloved grandmothers. For Jelly Roll, “I Am Not Okay” became the backdrop for a moment of recognition between an artist and a young fan grieving her mother.

Both performances showed how deeply personal music can become when the words onstage suddenly mirror what someone is experiencing in real life.

Sometimes a song can provide the words people cannot find themselves. And on these two nights, those words offered a way to acknowledge grief, remember loved ones and remind someone in the audience that they were not facing their pain alone.