Cody Johnson has much bigger goals than just being a country music superstar. The 37-year-old wants people to connect with all of his songs, every time they hear them, if only for a few minutes.
“It’s not about getting No. 1 hits,” Johnson shared on Audacy. “It’s not about getting platinum records. It’s not about winning awards. It’s about making music that actually touches people, and I say that from my whole heart. This is not an act.”
Johnson knows firsthand the power of a song. The former rodeo star recalls a moment he was performing overseas when he realized his job was much more important than just entertaining people for a few hours.
“I had a lady in Australia that came to a meet and greet,” Johnson remembered. “She said, ‘The night that I was going to take my own life — I don’t know if I should say this — but she said, ‘The night that I was going to take my own life, I heard, ‘Human,’ and I decided not to.’ I stood there with her and I cried, and I thought, who cares about a No. 1 or a platinum record? That’s real. That’s real music that went across the ocean and touched somebody.”
Johnson just celebrated a No. 1 hit with “The Painter.” The song was the debut single from his Leather album, released last November. The Texan is already back in the Top 15 with “Dirt Cheap,” also from Leather.
“That’s one of my favorites,” Johnson told Yahoo. “The first time I heard it I cried because I’m a cattle rancher. I breed roping horses and we work on a ranch in Texas and it is a lot. I’ve made a joke ever since we bought this ranch. I told my wife, ‘I hope you love this house because I’m never moving. I’ve already got the oak tree picked out where I’m going to be buried.’
“Being on that cattle ranch and having those places you hold dearly, to have the memories of your kids and your horses and dogs and your wife, that’s a big deal,” he continued. “So I really related to that song. I took that song to the first five toughest guys I know and played it for them, and they all cried, so I said, “Well we’ve got a winner here.”
Johnson is currently on his Leather Tour, which will extend into the fall, with Ashley McBryde serving as his opening act for those dates. He also plans on releasing the deluxe edition of Leather, which will include his long-awaited collaboration with Carrie Underwood.
“It’s on the deluxe edition,” Johnson shared with Everything Nash, during a recent virtual media event. “The issue is, when you’re dealing with an artist of that caliber; you have to be very respectful of their time. You have to be respectful of their tour when they’re releasing an album when they’re releasing a single.”
Find all of Johnson’s music and upcoming shows at CodyJohnsonMusic.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music