Cody Johnson‘s Leather Deluxe Edition is out, but it’s the record that almost didn’t happen. The album  follows Johnson’s  Leather, released one year ago, although Johnson didn’t originally intend to create two different projects.

“Leather was supposed to be an album to follow up Human: The Double Album, but by the time I got through looking at all these songs that I just could not give up, that I had to have, there was like 24 or 25 of them,” Johnson recalls. “I’m going, ‘Well, I don’t want to do another double album. Like, how do we do this?’”

It was Cris Lacy, from his record label, Warner Music Nashville, who had the idea to split the new record into two, an idea that felt right to Johnson, once he considered all of his options.

“It was her idea,” Johnson says. “She said, ‘What if we release half, come back later with the deluxe edition, with the rest of it?’ and I was like ‘Man, I really don’t want to break this body of work up because I feel like all these songs complement each other.’ But after sitting down with a pen and a paper and really looking at separating, like, ‘This one’s kind of the same tempo, Okay, let’s separate those. This one’s kind of the same key, let’s separate these. That one’s kind of almost the same subject matter, let’s separate these.’

“And I looked, and I was like, ‘Wow, we have two albums here,'” he adds. “So, it was by accident. It was not a planned thing, and I really appreciate Cris bringing that idea to the table because it worked out pretty well.”

As with all of his other records, the 37-year-old created both Leather and Leather Deluxe Edition to play them live, which is by far his favorite part of the entire process.

“I’ll try not to get emotional, but it means the world to me, because at the end of the day, we’re all human, and we all have our struggles, and I do too,” Johnson tells his record label. “A lot as a person, as a dad, as a husband, as a CEO, but getting to bring music to people is what I do it all for.”

For Johnson, the thrill of playing his songs in front of a crowd is better than almost anything else he does, and why he spends so much of his time on the road.

“I’m not addicted to any drug in the world except that, and I’m very, very addicted to that,” Johnson says. “I cannot imagine my life without being able to create music and put it out to people to go play it live. It just does something for me; it’s like the only time when I’m in the studio and I’m creating, the whole world’s perfect. There are no problems. I sleep so good — I just sleep so good after the day in the studio. Then I wake up the next morning bright and early, I can’t wait to get back to the studio to go create more.”

Leather The Deluxe Edition includes  “I’m Gonna Love You,” his Top 40 single, a duet with Carrie Underwood,  Johnson will wrap up his Leather Tour in December, and kick off his Leather Deluxe Tour in early 2025. Find Leather Deluxe Edition and all of Johnson’s music and upcoming shows at CodyJohnsonMusic.com.

Leather Deluxe Edition Track List:

1. Overdue (Jake Worthington, Marv Green)
2. The Fall (Bobby Pinson, Ray Fulcher, Jeremy Stover)
3. How Do You Sleep At Night (Ryan Hurd, Zach Abend, Nick Donley, Michael Hardy)
4. Country Boy Singin’ The Blues (Cody Johnson, Matt Rogers, Ben Stennis)
5. Georgia Peaches (Cody Johnson, Jake Mears, Jody Bartula) *Performed by The Rockin’ CJB
6. Damn Good Life (Frank Rogers, Jonathan Singleton, Jessi Alexander)
7. C’mon Cowgirl (Aby Gutierrez, Adam James, Jonathan Stark)
8. I Wished It Was You (Troy Cartwright, Benjy Davis, Zach Abend)
9. Take It Like A Man (Matt Rogers, Adam Craig, Jordan Walker)
10. I’m Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) (Chris Stevens, Kelly Archer, Travis Denning)
11. Made In The USA (Adam James, Emily Falvey, Ben Stennis)
12. Over Missin’ You (Jesse Raub Jr., Sean Scott White, Helene Cronin, Patrick Savage)
13.The Mustang (Cody Johnson, Wesley Bayliss Jr.)