Wynonna Judd Speaks Out After Performance with Jelly Roll at CMAs Sparks Concern: ‘I Could Cry Right Now’

Wynonna Judd is comforting fans after her performance at the CMA Awards sparked concern. 

The country singer surprised the audience as she joined Jelly Roll on stage for the award show’s opening performance, and the two sang a passionate duet rendition of the rapper’s hit single, “Need a Favor.”

Afterward, fans and viewers expressed their concern on social media about Judd, 59, as they noticed her gripping her duet partner’s arm during the performance and appearing less comfortable than she usually is on stage.

The “No One Else on Earth” singer took to Instagram after the show to address the concerns, as she spoke out from aboard a plane as she left Nashville for an upcoming show in Texas. 

“Okay so they say don’t read the comments – I’ve read the comments,” Judd said in the video posted early Thursday morning. “And I’m just gonna come clean with y’all – I was so freaking nervous. I got out there and I looked at Jelly Roll, I wanted it to be so good for him.”

She continued of her pre-show nerves, “I could cry right now, but I’m not going to, because I’m such a fan of his, and he asked me to sing and I said absolutely.”

Addressing fans’ concerns about her gripping onto the country star, she said, “I got out there and I was so nervous that I just held on for dear life. And that’s the bottom line.”

The Country Music Hall of Famer concluded the video by sharing that she was en route to Texas for a show on Thursday night on her Back to Wy Tour, which sees Judd revisit her first two solo albums: Wynonna and Tell Me Why. 

“I’ll be on stage tomorrow night with the people I love the most, and with you, the fans I love the most,” she said. “And all is well.”

In August, Judd spoke to PEOPLE about the upcoming tour as she revealed that performing live is “one of my absolute favorite things to do.”

"Coming out of The Judds tribute tour, for me, it was time to get back to the intimacy again. It's years celebrating not only being in country music for 40 years, but me as a soloist — I have so much to celebrate."

Judd’s slew of solo shows comes a year and a half after the death of her mother and former partner, Naomi Judd.

The two released music and toured as The Judds for years before Wynonna released her debut solo album in 1992, which was followed by another full-length project in 1993. 

She recalled the time when she was first embarking on a solo career as akin to “feeling all the feelings that one feels when you move away from home and go to college.”

"You're out on your own and all of a sudden you don't have the comforts of home. I went through that professionally as well as personally."

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She added that she placed a lot of pressure on herself at the start of her solo career, as she felt she had to “prove” herself. Now, she gets to “enjoy.” 

"Now I don't have that kind of pressure. I don't have that on myself,” Wynonna shared. “I just want to enjoy myself and enjoy it with the fans because they're my family. Especially now that Mom is gone, I rely on the fans more than ever."