Among Texas born-and-raised entertainer Cody Johnson’s five nominations at the upcoming CMA Awards is an album of the year nomination for his 2023 Warner Music Nashville/CoJo Music project Leather, which spurred the No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit “The Painter” and the top five hit “Dirt Cheap.”
Just a year removed from that album’s release, Johnson is already building on that work with the Leather Deluxe Edition, featuring 13 more songs, out today (Friday, Nov. 1).
With Leather, Johnson aimed to create a work that represented his creative vision at that moment — a project worthy of an album of the year nomination — whereas the additional songs as part of the deluxe album offer Johnson a broader palette for exploration, musically and sonically, fusing elements of rock, ‘90s country, bluegrass and even blues.
“I wanted to have fun with Deluxe,” Johnson tells Billboard. “If you were to listen to one through 12 [on Leather] and then one through 13 [the deluxe version], it should all go together and it should make you feel like we put out two different things, but it should be something that’s kind of cohesive as one big piece.”
Even before partnering with one of Nashville’s powerhouse major labels in 2019, Johnson had already independently issued a half a dozen projects on his own CoJo label. He broke through to mainstream country radio success with 2018’s top 5 Country Airplay hit “On My Way to You,” rang the bell with his first Country Airplay No. 1 hit “’Til You Can’t” in 2021 and expanded on those laurels with Leather.
Along the way, pairing those releases and hits with steady-handed touring and his hard-charging, energetic stage show has aided in building Johnson’s reputation as one of traditional country music’s tip-of-the-spear torchbearers.
He’s also fast gaining prominence as a go-to artist for any songwriter with their sights set on potential awards recognition. The Johnson-recorded “’Til You Can’t” earned a Grammy for best country song. Two other Johnson-recorded songs, “Dirt Cheap” (written by Josh Phillips) and “The Painter” (written by Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins) are contenders for CMA song of the year (the honor goes to the writers).
On his deluxe album, Johnson contributed writing to a trio of songs, “The Mustang,” “Georgia Peaches” and “Country Boy Singin’ the Blues,” but as with his previous albums, he largely turned to Nashville’s top-flight songwriters. Whether he is a writer on a particular song or not, he delivers each with his straightforward candor.
Another standout on Leather Deluxe Edition is the cinematic “The Fall,” which lays out an arc of triumphs over setbacks, heartbreaks, and failures.
“You can visualize a movie in your head when you listen to it and everybody’s story is a little bit different…that’s kind of the story of my life,” Johnson says, quoting a few of the song’s lyrics. “’The ride was worth the fall. The fall was worth the smiles. The smiles are worth the tears. The tears are worth the miles.’ [Durango Artist Management’s] Scott Gunter played me the demo and I just had tears in my eyes. It made me sit down and listen, just visualizing things I’ve been through, the climb and the fall and getting back up again and persevering. It’s a very well-written song.”
“I’m Gonna Love You,” an eight-year-old song, had previously been pitched to Carrie Underwood, before it made its way to Johnson, who asked Underwood to collaborate on the song with him.
“I had no idea that she had even heard the song,” Johnson says, adding, “When I sent it over to them, she was like, ‘Well this is the second time this song has made its way into my life.’ I think it’s a God thing. I think we were meant to sing that song together and the timing was right. And it could almost be a pop crossover, it has that feel to it, but we’re singing it like a gospel song.”
Both Johnson and Oklahoma native Underwood possess powerful voices, but he says their work together laying down the lead vocals and harmonies was easy: “A lot of times when you get big singers in the same studio, it can turn into a ‘who outsang who’ thing, but this was not the case. And I have a lot of respect for her as a person and as a vocalist.”
His prolific release of songs over the past year does present the task of continually updating his setlist, especially as he will launch his Leather Deluxe Tour in 2025, which will includes shows in Australia and New Zealand.
“There are a few songs that have similar values,” he says. “To me, ‘People in the Back’ from Leather is a huge live song, the rock moment. ‘How Do You Sleep at Night’ from the deluxe edition has a lot of that same value. There will be sections of the set that I will move stuff in and move stuff out. Because my set list is very strategically organized as far as the feeling of the crowd. But then again, with songs like [2011’s] ‘Diamond in My Pocket,’ it’s hard not to play that song.”
Another fan favorite that occasionally makes it into Johnson’s setlist is a cover version of The Chicks’ “Travelin’ Soldier” — but while fans have regularly asked for him to release a recorded version of the song, Johnson says, “I kind of think just let it live in the moment. If you try to overthink it, sometimes it might not turn out the way you want. I think there’s a live version out there. Until people just absolutely beat my door down and say ‘You gotta put this on there.’ There’s a cover I have in mind for my next album and it’s probably something nobody’s going to expect, but that will be another moment. We may never do that one live and just kind of keep people guessing.”
Just how to work in the Underwood duet into Johnson’s solo headlining sets presents somewhat of a challenge for an artist who has fashioned a career dedicated to giving fans authentic musicianship.
“My band and I don’t run tracks. We don’t have a single track onstage,” Johnson says. “But I think this is a track that if we run a video wall [featuring Underwood] and have her voice there, I think that’s an obvious track. It’s one thing if you’re listening to a band, you hear fiddle and there’s no fiddle — that’s just a track, man, and we ain’t never doing that. But if you obviously know that Carrie Underwood is not there [at the show] … I think that that might be the one that we can pull it off and say, ‘Look, come on. Y’all knew she wasn’t here. We’re just doing this so we can play the song for you, and it’s going to sound really weird if I sing it by myself.’”
In 2021, the Shaun Silva-directed documentary Dear Rodeo: The Cody Johnson Story spotlighted his journey from professional bull rider and corrections officer to arena-headlining, country music hitmaker. More recently, Johnson has been in talks with Yellowstone creator/director Taylor Sheridan about upcoming projects. Though there is nothing official in the works at the moment, Johnson says he is interested in prospects as an actor.
“I think I could play the villain just as well as I could play the hero,” he says. “I love movies and cinema, and hunting for little Easter eggs in the movie. I think it doesn’t matter what kind of part I get, I’ll try my best in that role.”
For now, Johnson is focused on two of his first loves: music and roping. A few weeks ago, Johnson launched the inaugural CoJo Open Team Roping event in Belton, Texas.
“This will be an annual thing,” Johnson says. “I think it was a huge success, and it was important for me to have something like that in the western world to not only give back to charities, but to give back to the rodeo and a cowboy, western way of life for these guys that live the same life I do. I just happen to play music on the weekends and be on camera and go across the world doing all that stuff. But at my core, that’s who I am, is a cowboy.”
Whether onstage or in the riding arena, the father of two is mindful of the message of ambition, resilience, and a dogged work ethic he’s sending to the next generation.
“I think it’s also important for kids to see me on stage and on TV, but then watch me go out there and battle it out in the arena. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but [it’s about being able] to keep the same head on your shoulders and say, ‘Look, if we were roping tomorrow, I’d be back tomorrow competing.’”
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