Cody Johnson will soon have a new single out, this one honoring his wife, Brandi. The Texan announces the release of “The Painter,” written by Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins, out on August 11. The song is from Johnson’s forthcoming new Leather album, which he hopes to release in the next few months.
“My favorite lyric in ‘The Painter’ is ‘For every wall I built, she saw a canvas,'” Johnson says of the song. “If there’s anything that describes my marriage with my wife, Brandi, it’s that line. And that’s why we’ve been together for 15 years.”
Johnson hopes that “The Painter” impacts his fans the same way he was impacted when he first heard his new single.
“I hope my fans are encouraged to take the time to appreciate the people they have around them,” says the singer. “The ones who make their life beautiful and bring all the beautiful colors to their world when it could just be black and white and dark. Remember them and tell them you love them.”
News of “The Painter” comes shortly after Johnson revealed he had a duet on his next record with Carrie Underwood.
“I love Carrie’s music, but she wasn’t like — I don’t have her poster on my wall,” Johnson said earlier this summer (via iHeartCountry). “But when I heard this song, I heard her voice, and I just knew that it was going to work out. We had never sung together, so when we get in the room and we start singing together, it’s like family harmonies. The only way I can describe it is kind of like the way it was growing up, singing with my mom. It just instantly fits and it meshes.
“It’s really interesting to me, because my voice and her voice are really drastically different,” he continues. “But put together, they make a very, very unique sound. So I’m excited for it to come out. I’m not sure when it is. We’re kind of holding the ace card close to the sleeve.”
Johnson hasn’t announced a release date yet for Leather, but he does say he is incredibly proud of all of the songs on the project.
“This round of 24 songs I have to say is the best round of songs I have ever recorded, and I feel like that’s the way it should be,” Johnson previously told Audacy’s KMLE Country 107.9. “Each album should outdo the last one. There’s some fun stuff, I think the theme of this new album is fun. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a ballad or whether it’s tongue-in-cheek kind of fun. It all has to be fun, it all has to make you kind of want to move around and bob your head a little bit.”
Pre-order/pre-save of “The Painter” is available here. Find all of Johnson’s music and upcoming shows at CodyJohnsonMusic.com.