Cody Johnson Rocks Out with New Music and World Tour | Country Heat Weekly | Amazon Music

0:00 Welcome back to Country Heat Weekly where we're just casually hanging

0:03 out with quadruple ACM nominee

0:06 [laughter] and Stagecoach headliner, Cody Johnson.

0:10 Always good to see you, friend.

0:13 [laughter] Okay, Amber and I've been building a list the past couple of weeks,

0:16 making notes on all the things that we have to talk

0:17 to you about in the next 30 minutes and it's a lot.

0:19 So, just to give you a preview, we are going to be covering ACMs, Stagecoach.

0:24 And by ACMs, I mean ACM nominations and ACM performance.

0:28 And then we're going to talk about your Amazon Music original song.

0:31 Having a son.

0:32 New album, Banks of the Trinity.

0:34 Touring in the UK.

0:35 And the US.

0:36 And Canada.

0:37 Covering Merle Haggard and The Chicks.

0:38 And when are we going to be getting Cowboy Sessions album?

0:42 Houston Rodeo.

0:45 [laughter] And did you ever get that house built?

0:46 I mean, yes or no answer is all we have [laughter] time for at this point.

0:49 So, where would you like to start?

0:52 Okay, first things first, when this episode drops,

0:55 we're going to be on site in Indio, California getting ready to anchor Amazon

0:59 Prime Video's coverage of Stagecoach 2026, which you are headlining.

1:04 And I know you've played the festival before.

1:06 So, do you have any stories, like memorable moments from past Stagecoach?

1:11 Yeah, so the last time I was there I opened for Luke Combs.

1:14 Mhm.

1:14 And before me on the stage was Joe Diffie.

1:18 And he put on this like country music clinic

1:21 and it was just banger after banger after banger.

1:25 And shortly after that, he passed away.

1:27 And so it was like and it was right before Luke really like took flight,

1:32 like into the, you know, the big stardom moment,

1:34 before he started his world tours and stuff.

1:36 So, it was kind of cool to watch Luke like on the cusp

1:39 of superstardom and then getting to see Joe Diffie right before he passed away.

1:43 It was It was pretty special.

1:45 Joe Diffie was so fun to watch.

1:46 He was really fun to watch.

1:48 Especially there, like the last little bit I remember watching him

1:51 and he was at a stage where he was just having fun.

1:54 I was just going to say that's that's exactly what I

1:56 was going to say is he was just up there having fun.

1:58 Yeah, it didn't even matter.

1:59 Yeah, he didn't even have to be there.

2:00 He was just up there playing going, "Man, this is kind of cool."

2:02 Well, in celebration of your headlining gig,

2:04 you've given us an exclusive song, an Amazon Music original.

2:08 It's a brand new track called Rabbit Gets the Gun.

2:11 And ever since I heard the title, I wanted the backstory.

2:14 Yes.

2:15 [laughter] I'm like, "Tell me all about it."

2:16 So, Travis Meadows was a writer on this and Travis is He said

2:19 numerous cuts over the years with me and he's just a prolific songwriter.

2:24 Um So, I got this song and the demo was kind of kind of rock leaning.

2:30 Which, you know, you guys know like I'll I'll touch bluegrass

2:32 and I'll touch Motown and I'll touch rock and roll and I'll,

2:35 you know, just kind of little hints of it.

2:38 But this was like I I was like, "This doesn't belong on my record.

2:41 It's a rock song.

2:42 Like it is a sure enough rock song.

2:43 Like it needs to be full-blown rock." So, I was like,

2:47 "I really want to get My favorite rock

2:48 band is Rival Sons and they're an indie rock

2:51 band from LA and you don't even You don't even know you know them, but you do.

2:56 And so, the lead singer is Jay Buchanan and I found

2:59 out that Jay was starting his own country project with Dave Cobb.

3:04 And so I was like, "Maybe we can Maybe we can work this out." Well,

3:07 the schedules didn't work and I was like,

3:09 "Look, let's just put it on the back burner.

3:10 I've got Banks of the Trinity I'm fixing

3:11 to record and I've got other songs coming in.

3:13 We got all this blah blah blah blah.

3:15 So, then we got the call about the Amazon

3:16 exclusive and originally they said they wanted a ballad.

3:20 And I'm like, I don't Mhm.

3:23 I mean, unless it's Reba McEntire doing New England,

3:27 it don't need to be a ballad.

3:28 So, I said, "What about if we cut this song at Dave Cobb's

3:31 studio with a rock band and Jay Buchanan?" And Jay jumped on it.

3:35 He calls me.

3:35 I was in the gym and he calls me.

3:37 He's like, "Hey, I love this freaking song." Like The whole

3:40 thing is it ain't no fun when a rabbit gets the gun.

3:43 Oh.

3:44 Yeah, it ain't no fun when a rabbit gets a gun.

3:47 Well, it ain't no fun at all.

3:49 It's I mean, it is It It rocks.

3:51 Yeah, it is.

3:52 It's a banger.

3:53 And we killed it.

3:54 The studio was so fun because it was so out of the realm of what I do.

3:58 I was looking on my preamp board and I'm like,

4:00 "Where's my click track at?" And the drummer

4:03 looks over at me and goes, "Hi, I'm Mike.

4:05 I'll be your [laughter] click track today.

4:07 track today.

4:08 And we recorded it live.

4:09 You're like, "Let's go."

4:11 So, you've got just like this, you've got Jay screaming

4:13 into a microphone here and I'm screaming into a microphone here.

4:16 Well, it's bleeding over into each other's.

4:17 So, there is no overdubs.

4:19 There is no ProTools.

4:20 It's just Ready?

4:21 You're one take away.

4:22 One, two, three, four.

4:24 Go.

4:24 back into it.

4:25 And it was so fun.

4:26 Trent Willmon was like, "I've never recorded like this." That's so cool, though.

4:30 for Trent and me to kind of get out

4:31 of our our country box and go into rock land.

4:35 It was so fun.

4:36 Oh my gosh.

4:37 probably felt a little scary at first and then really fun.

4:40 It was really I think it was really scary

4:41 for Trent at first because he's co-producing with Dave Cobb.

4:45 It's rock world, not country world.

4:47 It's completely different than what we normally do.

4:49 But for me, it was like, "I'm going to get to scream for the first time."

4:53 It's my turn.

4:54 And nobody's ever heard that side of me.

4:58 [laughter] And it was freaking fun.

4:58 It's like Cody in his bedroom just like screaming into a mirror.

5:04 [laughter] But you get to do it like for real.

5:06 We went in the night before and did a little pre-production,

5:08 talked about met the band and they're setting up making sounds and stuff.

5:11 And so the next day it's like noon, I think, is whenever Jay walks in the room.

5:16 I was like, "You ready to do this?" And he takes

5:17 this coffee mug and just pours it full of tequila and I said,

5:20 "Okay, we're doing this song." I just poured me a coffee mug, too.

5:23 So, really we just sat around and drank and screamed into microphones.

5:27 [laughter] Cody and rock is one thing we got in common.

5:29 I was going to say I never picture you with long hair,

5:33 but this would be the one time you would want some long hair.

5:36 just like this.

5:38 [laughter] He's in his full rock costume and I was like,

5:40 "I'm keeping the hat on." I'll show you guys a picture here in a little

5:42 Please.

5:43 Okay, so we have to ask, what's in your mug today?

5:47 Recover.

5:49 [laughter] Recover.

5:49 It's a coconut-based uh electrolyte different drink, different times.

5:53 We actually knew that cuz we were like,

5:55 "What are you pouring in your cup?" You're like,

5:57 "Electrolytes." I'm like, "That's right."

5:58 Okay, so you said this song doesn't fit on your album.

6:01 This won't be on Banks of the Trinity.

6:04 No, and neither so we recorded uh Traveling Soldier

6:08 and Footlights in the same day with my band,

6:11 The Rockin' CJB, one of the best bands in the world.

6:13 Love it.

6:14 Um but I just afterwards I was like,

6:16 "Man, Traveling Soldier doesn't really fit on the album.

6:19 It just It just had a different sound." So, Chris Lacey at Warner said,

6:23 "Why don't we release it on Veteran's Day?" Beautiful idea, right?

6:26 Well, that sparked whenever Blame Texas didn't

6:30 really kind of fit on the album, either.

6:32 And And here's the thing, [clears throat] you got 20-something songs.

6:35 I didn't want to do a double album.

6:37 Already did that.

6:37 I feel like a lot of songs on Human didn't get credit.

6:41 And then Leather Deluxe, that we've already did that.

6:44 So, I wanted 16 songs because it's not too little, it's not too much.

6:48 It's just enough to fill your day.

6:50 So, Blame Texas comes out on Texas Independence Day.

6:53 Footlights comes out on Merle Haggard's birthday.

6:56 So, you've gotten rid of those, right?

6:58 There were three other songs that once I really started listening to the record,

7:04 the first song was when they broke up.

7:06 They fell in love and they broke up.

7:07 The second song is when they're both

7:09 drinking their sorrows away because they're broke up.

7:12 The third song is a song that's 12 years old that me and Brandy,

7:15 my wife, wrote together 12 years ago.

7:17 And it's about them being miserable without each other.

7:20 They both want to pick up the phone and call,

7:21 but there's too much pride involved.

7:23 And so, there's another female artist that I reached out to and was like, "Hey,

7:29 listen to these songs in order." And her idea was at some

7:33 point this year or next Maybe next year, we don't know.

7:35 Let's write the end of the story and that'll be the fourth song.

7:38 So, that that alleviates all those songs.

7:42 So, then I start looking and I'm like, "That leaves us with 16 songs.

7:45 So, this is the Banks of the Trinity." It was It was so cool.

7:48 When And another thing is like, so I busted my eardrum.

7:51 I was off for 3 months.

7:53 We remember.

7:53 In those 3 months, I received songs that probably make up,

7:58 I think, about half of this record.

8:00 Because it I I mean, it just They came in at the last minute and I was like,

8:03 "They're too good not to record." Yeah.

8:05 there was like six of them out of 16.

8:07 So, maybe not half, maybe a little like a quarter of it.

8:09 But then now you're looking and you go,

8:11 "Well, that's the goal I was looking for, 16.

8:13 So, let's let's go do it now before we change our minds,

8:16 you know." Do you play poker?

8:18 I do not.

8:18 I think you should because truly like this is building the hand.

8:21 You're sitting over here and I'm watching your face and I'm like,

8:24 "He is building out the perfect hand right now at 16 [laughter]

8:27 and this and then we've got this over here and this over here."

8:29 Yeah, I love to hear behind the mind works.

8:32 Yes.

8:32 And every time we talk to you about just at life,

8:35 everything, and the way your mind works is so fascinating.

8:38 Also, dropping that Brandy is a songwriter?

8:41 Is this the first time that you had ever wrote together?

8:44 It's just We were I think it was 2012 or 13.

8:49 I started this song.

8:50 We were living in a rent house and it was a two-story house.

8:53 So, she was upstairs in the bath.

8:55 And I was starting the song as in the evening

8:57 and I had this idea of like this is the guy's perspective,

8:59 but what if the girl talks next?

9:03 But I'm a man and I don't really know how she would say those things.

9:05 So, I went up to her and was like,

9:07 "This is what I feel like she should say, but how would a woman put it?

9:11 You know, like what's what's a woman's perspective on it?"

9:13 And so she just talked and I just wrote it down.

9:15 It was It worked.

9:16 I love that.

9:18 That's incredible.

9:19 Yeah, it was It's one of my favorite songs.

9:21 And how is she feeling now that it's going to be a part of this?

9:24 She So, I said, "I'm just going to put it all under my publishing, you know,

9:30 the checks come to the same place." And she said,

9:32 "No, I need my own publishing." Yeah, she got it.

9:35 And I said, I said, "It goes to the same bank account." And she said,

9:39 [clears throat] "My fans need to know." [laughter]

9:43 Brandy, we're part of your fan club.

9:44 Listen, we We want the Brandy merch.

9:47 Yes, we are buying it.

9:48 You tell us.

9:49 give her any ideas cuz you know who's going to finance it.

9:53 We can [laughter] We can set her up with an Amazon store.

9:56 She could have home goods.

9:57 Brandy could have pillows, throw pillows, and candles.

10:00 You know she'd have great candles.

10:02 She'd have great We'll set up a meeting.

10:04 All right.

10:04 Have her people call.

10:07 [laughter] Call us, Brandy.

10:06 Yeah.

10:08 Have her people call your people.

10:10 I think we need to talk next about ACMs for nominations.

10:14 Congratulations.

10:15 Entertainer, male.

10:16 The fall picked up nods for single and visual media.

10:19 I know you want to win them all, but if you had to pick one.

10:22 I mean, y'all know the answer to that.

10:23 ETOY, come on.

10:25 I don't know which one was a harder earned nomination,

10:27 entertainer or the visual media, because that rainstorm that we filmed in.

10:32 Dustin Haney says, I really have this picture,

10:34 this vision in my mind of, you know, the rain falling and the lightning.

10:37 And I'm like, cool.

10:39 Y'all, I ruined a guitar.

10:41 Oh, no.

10:42 Oh, yeah.

10:42 By the time it's a brand new guitar.

10:44 And by the end of it, like we bought it for that shoot,

10:46 by the end of it it was actually just unbuckling itself.

10:49 I had to send it have it rebuilt.

10:51 My boots, when I got through, I took my boot off and poured water out of it.

10:55 Like, that was for real rain.

10:58 Like But you know what?

10:59 This is a theme, because when Parker won for "Burn It Down",

11:03 he had to set himself on [laughter] fire.

11:06 And it's like the the lengths that y'all are going to.

11:10 How bad do YOU WANT IT?

11:13 [laughter] I WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE, YEAH, I I don't know.

11:17 I I would do really bad in the rain and fire.

11:19 I mean, I forgot he set himself on fire.

11:22 He set himself on fire.

11:22 The one of the funny parts about that was like,

11:25 uh so he had this idea to where the rain is in slow motion,

11:28 but everything I do is in sync with the song,

11:31 which means you have to speed the song up 10 times faster.

11:34 So, the rubs worth while, while is worth while,

11:36 miles worth tears, tears worth while.

11:38 And I'm sitting up there playing like this.

11:39 I feel like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

11:41 And then, but I watched it back and I'm

11:43 singing in time and the rain's in slow motion.

11:46 It's cool.

11:46 So, I I don't know.

11:48 But if y'all know, if I had to pick one, it'd be entertainer.

11:50 It's 20 years of 20 plus years of do it all the sacrifices, all the miles.

11:56 Like, that's a that's the one I'm after.

11:58 And I y'all I'm a cowboy.

11:59 That's the gold buckle.

12:00 So, I'm always after the gold buckle.

12:01 Okay, we're going to manifest that when you win entertainer of the year,

12:05 [laughter] what kind of a tattoo will you get to celebrate?

12:08 Good question.

12:09 I don't I don't get tattoos out of celebration.

12:11 I usually buy a watch to commemorate the moment.

12:14 Okay.

12:15 What What do you got your eye on?

12:16 I've always wanted a gold Rolex,

12:18 and I thought that's such a huge dream, you know.

12:21 Presidential.

12:21 But the first the presidential one, yeah.

12:23 And the first time I got a number one, that's what I bought.

12:26 And it was like, that's because I got the first number one.

12:28 So, each one has its own, why did you buy that?

12:31 That one was for male vocalist.

12:32 That one was for album, you know, stuff like that.

12:35 Like Okay.

12:35 Just that one was because we set the record at Houston Rodeo.

12:38 Just stuff like that.

12:39 Like Yeah.

12:40 And you don't have to feed them.

12:41 You don't have to You don't have to change the oil in them.

12:44 You can [laughter] They're always worth something.

12:46 So, when my grandkids have them, they can sell them if they want.

12:49 Who cares?

12:50 I'll be gone anyway.

12:51 Family heirlooms.

12:52 That estate sale people would appreciate that.

12:54 Yeah, that's Yeah.

12:55 That's what I'm hoping.

12:55 Take it from me.

12:56 Take it from My great grandkids, I hope they do [laughter] that.

12:58 Well, you were one of the first performers announced for the ACMs award show.

13:02 So, will you be singing something off the new album?

13:05 No.

13:06 Okay.

13:06 It'll be uh It'll be something different.

13:09 Okay.

13:09 Okay.

13:10 I don't want to give it away.

13:11 Are you already like trying to formulate what it looks like in your head?

13:14 And how much say do you have in that?

13:15 Because I know it's like a back and forth

13:17 with ACMs and they only have so much space.

13:19 Do you get to come to them with creative vision and say I

13:21 want it to look like this, or are they kind of giving you guidance?

13:24 Yeah, like I'm the way I work is completely different than a lot of artists.

13:29 Like anything I do, I always have the final say in.

13:33 And that's just the way I work.

13:35 But like uh Robert Deaton, like for uh "The Painter" Mhm.

13:39 that was his idea to do the the black

13:41 and white picture of Brandy and it starts painting.

13:43 It was his idea and I was like, she'll love it.

13:45 She was pissed at me first of all.

13:46 She's like, "I can't believe it.

13:47 There was cameras on me." And Nicole Kidman's like,

13:50 "That's so sweet." Yeah, [laughter] right.

13:52 But like It'll be part of her merch line.

13:57 I'm one of those guys, if I have a strong vision,

13:59 if I have an opinion, you're going to hear it.

14:01 And if I don't I'm going to shut up and say,

14:04 "What do you think?" And just And if it looks great,

14:06 I'm like, yeah, it's that's awesome.

14:07 It's like a designer in your house.

14:10 I feel strongly about this, this, and this.

14:12 So, what do you think about the furniture?

14:13 I don't know.

14:13 That's why I hired you.

14:14 You know, so yeah.

14:16 We'll We'll see.

14:16 I don't know what they're going to come up with.

14:18 It's like bowling with the bumpers on.

14:19 Like these are This is how far you get to go.

14:22 We're in the lane.

14:23 This is my lane, but you can have this much space of creativity.

14:27 Okay.

14:28 So, let's dig into the album, "Banks of the Trinity".

14:30 Tell us about the title.

14:32 I heard this song uh "Banks of the Trinity" and it

14:35 just I I kind of had tears in my eyes.

14:37 It just took me back home.

14:38 Like I started having flashbacks of memories that I'd forgotten

14:42 of of how I grew up and where I grew up.

14:45 Cuz everybody always assumes like, "Oh,

14:47 Cody grew up on a ranch and had cows and horses." No,

14:49 that we were we were not poor, but we were not the rich kids either.

14:53 You know, like Mom and Dad worked hard for everything we had.

14:57 And when you got off of work, you went to do a second job, you know.

15:00 So, like when the white bass were running we didn't go to school.

15:04 We went and seen how many of these white bass we could catch.

15:06 Like every Saturday night was WSM radio with the Opry on catching catfish.

15:10 And deer season was not about trophies.

15:13 It was about we needed to put a deer in the freezer.

15:16 Just because that's one less thing that you

15:17 have to cross off the grocery list, you know.

15:19 So Um And but then like just going out

15:22 with your buddies on the boat and swimming in the Trinity River.

15:25 And nowadays I look back at the Trinity River and I'm like,

15:28 God, that is the what we swam in that?

15:33 [laughter]

15:32 Look, there's a syringe floating by.

15:36 That's all right.

15:36 [laughter] We need to talk to Dallas, Texas about that.

15:39 You have a stronger immune system.

15:41 It's [laughter] fine.

15:42 It's fine.

15:42 But now, I just I I knew that if I recorded that song,

15:45 that the artwork on the album would be based around

15:48 that and it would make people ask the questions of like,

15:51 "What's the picture of this grocery store?" Well,

15:52 that's where I used to ride my bike to to go get groceries.

15:55 Cuz when I was a kid, you could still do that.

15:56 You know, I rode 2 miles to go to the grocery store.

15:58 And while they were bagging up the groceries,

16:01 I sat and listened to the old men talk about cows and gripe about the weather.

16:06 And you know, it was just one of those it's a core memory of mine.

16:09 So.

16:09 Aw.

16:10 I was going to ask about the album art.

16:11 And it it it is so nostalgic and classic looking.

16:15 It is I knew there had to be a really cool story,

16:18 but to like see little Cody on his bike like going up.

16:22 Like that's just so special.

16:24 See, like so Hootie His name was Hoot Harold,

16:26 but they call Everybody called him Hootie Lawrence.

16:28 Hootie and Lila Lawrence that owned the store

16:30 were like a staple in that community.

16:32 When I say community, it was Lawrence's grocery store.

16:34 There was a bar a couple of miles up the road.

16:36 And there was a church.

16:37 And that's it.

16:37 Like there's no school.

16:39 That was just Sebastopol, Texas.

16:41 And so like my dad bailed hay for Hootie when he was a kid.

16:46 Oh, wow.

16:46 I got older and worked three summers

16:48 working cows and bailing hay for Hootie Lawrence.

16:50 And you know, sometimes you learn a lot from your dad as a young man,

16:54 but then there's other men in your life that really influence you, too.

16:57 And he was just one of those guys, man.

16:58 He was just He was one of those guys.

17:01 What would your girls say if you asked

17:02 them to ride to the store and get groceries?

17:05 The My girls would probably get in the Can-Am and take off.

17:09 They were like, "Give me the keys." Yeah, they live on a ranch.

17:11 So, half the time they're driving a Can-Am or a Ranger or mule or something.

17:15 They're just They're They're feral.

17:16 They're like, "We got it." I love that.

17:18 We got it.

17:19 We got it.

17:20 Okay, we're going to do burning questions about the album.

17:23 [clears throat] Okay.

17:24 So, this is a little different.

17:25 So, tell us what you can, okay?

17:27 So, first up, it doesn't come out until June 26th.

17:30 Is the album completely done?

17:32 Yes.

17:33 Where did you record it?

17:34 Um at the Sound.

17:35 Uh it's the old tracking room.

17:36 Keith Urban bought it and restored it.

17:38 It's my favorite studio I've ever recorded in.

17:40 It is it is class like like class.

17:43 It is really nice.

17:45 Okay.

17:46 How many collaborations?

17:47 Two.

17:48 So, the two are Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne.

17:51 Yep.

17:51 Yes.

17:51 Okay.

17:53 [laughter] So excited about both of those.

17:54 Yeah.

17:54 Is there a song for your son on this album?

17:57 There is.

17:57 Uh it's a "Bible for a Boy".

18:00 So, getting to know Josh Phillips, who wrote "Dirt Cheap".

18:02 Um you know, he We have a direct line of communication.

18:06 Like, for instance, most songs go through

18:07 Chris Lacey or Scott Gunnar first through publishing.

18:11 But with Josh, I was like, "Man,

18:12 just send me stuff." And it it It's it's a way for him to get to know me,

18:15 because I was like "I really don't like this song." Like, "Or that's not for me.

18:19 That's not in my lane." So, it gives him a better radar of like, what is Cody?

18:24 Um But I've also instructed him like, "Don't write for me, bro.

18:27 Cuz when you try to write for me, it turns out like a turd.

18:30 It's awful.

18:31 Just write good songs,

18:33 but I just can't do this and I I'm not really into that, but you know." So,

18:37 he sends me this "Bible for a Boy".

18:39 And I loved the song.

18:40 This was before I found out that we were pregnant.

18:44 So, I I'd already had it.

18:45 And then, I'm pregnant.

18:47 Perfect.

18:48 What if it's a boy?

18:49 It is a boy.

18:49 And I'm like, "Bible for a Boy".

18:52 Aw, that's Josh actually bought me a Bible.

18:54 He had one made for J.C.

18:55 Daniel Johnson.

18:57 And it's got the lyrics for "Bible for a Boy" in it.

18:59 And I was like, "That is so cool." Like it was his first Bible.

19:02 Did you cry?

19:03 A little bit.

19:05 [laughter] I figured you did.

19:05 That's why That's amazing.

19:08 oh my gosh.

19:09 That's so good.

19:10 Like that's absolutely incredible.

19:12 That What a gift.

19:14 What a gift.

19:14 That's really cool.

19:15 The other night I I sat in on a This is totally off topic,

19:17 but I sat in with Brandon Lake in San Antonio and I did a Well,

19:21 "When a Cowboy Prays".

19:22 I'd never been to one of his shows.

19:24 It was the best church service I've ever been to.

19:26 First thing, he walks up.

19:27 "Y'all think y'all came to a concert?

19:29 We're about to have church." And I was like,

19:30 "Oh." Like tears in my eyes, hair raised on my arms a few times.

19:34 Best church service I've ever been to.

19:36 But one of the lines in that song is "When a Cowboy

19:38 Prays" is for the grit and grace to get back up again.

19:41 So, I go in my green room and there's

19:42 this custom bottle of whiskey with all these glasses.

19:46 And it says the grit.

19:47 And that laying next to it is a Bible.

19:49 And it says the grace.

19:50 And I was like, "What a great freaking gift.

19:53 Like the grit and the grace.

19:54 And I don't even drink whiskey.

19:55 So I was like, that's going to look really cool on a shelf.

19:57 That's [laughter] incredible.

19:59 I'm taking notes.

20:01 ME TOO.

20:06 I'M MORE OF LIKE AN OLIVE GARDEN GIFT CARD KIND OF GUY, you know.

20:09 Amazon [laughter] and never disappoints.

20:12 That will be available in a gift set on Cody's Amazon [laughter] page.

20:16 So you can go there and get your grit and grace all in one.

20:19 That's brilliant.

20:20 That's perfect.

20:20 Anyway, sorry.

20:21 I digress.

20:22 Brandy will have her color by number posters on there.

20:26 [laughter] We're building out this merch line for Brandy.

20:28 This is happening.

20:28 This is happening.

20:29 Okay, tell us about the lead single I want you.

20:32 So it's not the lead single.

20:34 It's just the first grat track.

20:36 Like we've got two grat tracks picked out.

20:39 I'm still kind of sitting on the fence about what the single's going to be

20:43 because I'm I really feel strongly about at least four or five of these songs.

20:47 I'm just kind of what do I lead with at this point?

20:50 And so I'm taking in a lot of consideration from like

20:52 Chris Lacey and my people that are around me, Trent.

20:55 Like them like what do you think?

20:56 What's really going to what should what's our first impression of this album?

20:59 But I want you was a no-brainer just to put

21:02 out there cuz it is a little bit tempo.

21:04 It's still a ballad.

21:06 It's the simplest song I've ever heard.

21:08 Like it's Tony Lane and it's so simple.

21:11 I want you.

21:13 But it says so much without saying a whole lot.

21:17 Like one of the lines is like,

21:18 I want you when you hate me cuz even when you do, I still want you.

21:22 And it's like it just says it says all this with very little lyrical structure

21:27 and it was it was a Usually when I hear a song on a demo, I try to Cody it up.

21:32 This was one of those ones that was so perfect.

21:34 I was like, I'm just going to sing it just like Tony did.

21:36 Yeah.

21:36 No need to need to show off.

21:38 Just let's just sing the song.

21:39 Okay, so here's a question.

21:41 I know a lot of people use social media to do that AB test.

21:45 How are you looking at feedback?

21:47 Obviously, you've got Chris and you've got

21:49 so many incredible people in your team.

21:51 Do you also look at the feedback from social media and what

21:54 people are listening to or what they're latching onto if something catches?

21:59 So A lot of teams will tell you about trends and algorithms.

22:06 And it's just it's just an algorithm.

22:08 Like it's just AI.

22:10 It's all generated, right?

22:12 My test is people.

22:13 Like last night we had a pre-listening party in town and Chris

22:19 felt really strongly about this one song and it did get a reaction.

22:22 It did.

22:23 But then I played the song that I

22:26 feel more strongly about and the crowd goes nuts.

22:29 Really goes crazy.

22:30 Halfway through the song the hook line hits and they

22:32 go nuts and I go, I told you so.

22:35 [laughter] Okay, so do you kind of like you just have this feeling

22:38 of knowing like when I play this like this is going to be it?

22:41 Well, and it's hard because you have to figure

22:42 that out before you play it for people.

22:44 So you hope that you're right because

22:45 I don't play songs before they're released.

22:47 Like a lot of people like tease them and play them.

22:49 I'm like, no, you're going to wait until it's out.

22:51 Like that way like the poker guy, you stack the deck a little bit.

22:55 You have that in your back pocket.

22:57 But you hope you're right.

22:59 You know, if Okay, well for instance like Trent

23:01 and everybody was like till you can't is the song.

23:04 Till you can't is the song from the from the day we heard the demo.

23:08 Lyrically, I liked the message but I was like, I'm just still on the fence.

23:12 Like I'm just still on the fence about it.

23:14 We recorded it and once we recorded it, I walked in the studio and goes holy

23:18 like this is that's that's the song, you know.

23:21 I was wrong.

23:22 So I mean it just kind of depends but that's that's where it goes

23:25 back to me saying like when I have a feeling that I feel strongly about,

23:28 we've got to trust my gut cuz it's gotten us this far.

23:31 But also I'm at the I'm like if I'm not afraid to say I'm wrong either.

23:35 Cuz you have Why place people around you

23:37 if you're not going to take their input?

23:38 Sure.

23:39 Yeah.

23:41 That's a great way of looking at it.

23:42 Okay, we can't let you go before talking about the live tour.

23:46 First up, are you as obsessed with Emily Ann Roberts as we are?

23:50 Yes.

23:52 She's so freaking good, dude.

23:54 She can sing the I don't miss a sound check.

23:56 Usually when she's sound checking I sneak in like

23:58 after a workout I come in with my shorts

23:59 and t-shirt and I just listen cuz she can

24:01 sing the phone book and it would be awesome.

24:03 What was the connection and and tell me like how that all happened?

24:06 How it all came together?

24:07 Well, so Trent he has this cabin out

24:10 at his place that is his doubles as his studio.

24:13 And he said, hey, I got the cabin done.

24:15 I finally got it done.

24:16 And he sent me a video of this young

24:17 lady sitting on a stool with a guitar singing.

24:20 I said, to hell with the cabin.

24:22 Who is that?

24:23 Like what who what is she doing?

24:25 Like and he said, that's Emily Ann Roberts.

24:27 I'm working on a record with her.

24:28 Well, that's the last I'd heard of her until we she was on a list

24:33 of people that I was approving to be on tour or not be on tour.

24:37 And I immediately was like, hey, we got to get Emily Ann out.

24:40 And then when she started coming to shows or before sorry,

24:42 before she came to shows, we were playing Bristol Motor Speedway.

24:46 And I had uh I can't remember whether it was Corey or Clara.

24:50 One of them one of my daughters was with me.

24:51 And we went out and watched her show and her charisma

24:55 it was like a reincarnation of like Dolly Parton type Yep.

24:59 thing and she just held the crowd right there.

25:02 And I was like, not only can she sing, not only is she gorgeous,

25:05 but she can work a crowd and she's the sweetest woman in the world.

25:08 So it was a no-brainer.

25:11 We are obsessed.

25:12 She actually we I got to talk to her this week

25:15 in Napa about opening for you and she was just like,

25:18 oh my gosh, I'm just so honored and I'm so [laughter]

25:21 but I posted No, she said, I'm so honored.

25:25 She's so cute.

25:25 We talked all about crafting and all the things.

25:27 But I did see we put we posted on social and one of the first comments was like,

25:33 she is like the second coming of Dolly.

25:36 Like she like people are feeling that vibe from her.

25:40 I hoped that by being on tour like it elevates her career in some way

25:44 because I feel like she just needs

25:45 the world needs to know about Emily Ann Roberts.

25:48 Do you know that she's one of the bears in the Bears Jamboree at Disney World?

25:52 No.

25:53 She's the voice of one of the bears, the animatronic bears.

25:56 Yeah.

25:56 I just love that that's like a nugget that nobody knows.

25:59 And then she And then the the businessman in me goes,

26:03 I wonder what that royalty is.

26:05 [laughter] Well, this is a world tour.

26:10 So first you're hitting Canada and you fit right in with the cowboys up there.

26:16 I do, too.

26:16 Like Canada's the best.

26:17 What's the vibe?

26:18 They're always hungry for music.

26:20 Like they're just excited that you're there.

26:22 Yeah.

26:22 Like they really are.

26:23 Like it's like they are just excited that you're even there.

26:26 So it makes the show like easy.

26:28 See, they're easy to please.

26:30 Okay, then you're going to go see our friends in the UK.

26:32 Have you played before in the UK?

26:34 Yeah, last year we did.

26:36 Um we did UK, Australia, New Zealand.

26:39 But it was kind of a short UK part.

26:41 You know, we'd already done Australia and New

26:42 Zealand before with Luke opening for him.

26:46 And he did the UK first.

26:47 And so then like we're like, well,

26:48 we'll go back and do UK instead of going back to Australia.

26:50 So this time we're going to go back and hit

26:53 it and it's we've added more dates, different shows.

26:56 So they they show up with brand new cowboy hats,

27:01 Cody Johnson Wrangler shirts and jeans and I'm like it's it's cool, man.

27:05 They're ready.

27:06 They're ready.

27:06 They got their costumes on and it's cool.

27:10 The best part about it is watching it grow

27:13 over there is so exciting and when you're there,

27:17 they they are very responsive but they also

27:20 are so listening to everything that you do.

27:23 I mean even deep cuts,

27:24 you're going to watch them just they're a listening audience, right?

27:28 I mean there's always been big festivals over there, CMC, C2C.

27:32 But I give a lot of the credit to Luke

27:34 Combs for going over there and and doing that.

27:37 Like little known fact, Kip Moore sells out South Africa like stadiums.

27:43 Brazil.

27:44 Brazil.

27:45 And I'm like, so Kip and I are friends and we've been talking about it.

27:47 I was like, dude, I'll come open for you.

27:49 He's like, you're going to open for me?

27:50 I'm like, yeah.

27:51 You're selling out 52,000 seat stadiums.

27:54 Damn right I'll come open for you.

27:55 Like but just getting to do what Elvis Presley didn't get to do.

28:00 You know, he never played out of the United States.

28:02 Like can you imagine if Elvis had gone on a world tour?

28:05 You know, like George Strait even didn't really go that far as far as you know,

28:09 he's the greatest he's the king but he didn't play all these other places.

28:13 I'm like, I want to play Japan.

28:14 I want to play Germany.

28:15 I want to just why not?

28:16 Let's see where are all the country music fans at?

28:19 What do they think about it?

28:20 And so far everywhere I've gone that I was kind of doubtful of like,

28:25 hope they know my stuff.

28:26 They sing every word to every song.

28:28 It's crazy.

28:29 We hear that all of the time.

28:31 Are you taking the family?

28:34 No, because JT's 6 months old.

28:37 It's kind of a it's it's tough right now to get anything done and honestly,

28:42 the way that my schedule is when I go do this, it's not a vacation.

28:45 People think that like we get to go over there and sit on the beach.

28:47 No, it's show, plane, show, bus, show,

28:51 plane and it's just you just get through it.

28:53 And I was like I like I told Brandy, I was like,

28:55 if we want to go back we want to go anywhere in the world for vacation,

28:59 let's just say this is when we're going to go and I'll block my schedule off.

29:02 But don't you don't want to live like I live when I go over

29:05 there cuz it's straight out of a bag and it is go go go.

29:08 Yeah, that's tough.

29:09 That's tough.

29:09 They have the double-decker buses over there, too for your tour bus.

29:14 Is it scary for you?

29:15 Everybody I've talked to said they love that.

29:17 Okay, so you go in, there's the bottom lounge.

29:20 There's the front where the driver sleeps and he has his bathroom and all that.

29:25 You go up the stairs into the back bedroom where my shower and bed is.

29:29 Then you go up the stairs to where the bunk is

29:32 the bunks are and then you go to the top front lounge.

29:35 So you're sitting over the top of the driver and it's just solid glass.

29:38 And a double-decker bus is like this.

29:43 [laughter] And I'm like, I can't look out this front window.

29:45 Like it's it's a it's a little sketchy, but [laughter] we had a great driver.

29:49 We have to mention you're taking Parker McCollum

29:52 and Emily Ann with you on the world tour,

29:54 so I'm excited for everyone over there to hear both of them as well.

29:57 Two of my favorite people.

29:58 It's going to be fantastic.

30:00 Okay, we know you're super busy right now,

30:02 so we appreciate you carving out some time for us.

30:04 As always, we we love you.

30:06 Everyone go pre-save the album Banks of the Trinity right now on Amazon Music.

30:11 It drops June 26th.

30:13 Okay, before we let you go, did you ever get the house built?

30:16 Are you guys still in like a [laughter] tiny little trailer for a while?

30:20 we got about another three or four months.

30:22 Stop right now.

30:22 Are you kidding me?

30:23 You brought that baby home?

30:25 it's not my fault.

30:26 It's not the builder's fault.

30:28 It is 100% Brandy's fault.

30:31 Because she is being she's what she's building is a masterpiece.

30:37 I I swear to God if this house winds

30:39 up on the cover of Home and Garden magazines, it will not surprise me.

30:43 Like if it if like Magnolia Farms wants to do a special on this house,

30:47 I guarantee you Chip and Joanna Gaines can come over and look at this house.

30:51 It's once I started seeing it come together,

30:53 cuz right now they're fixing to start drawing things in and I'm

30:56 looking at furniture and light fixtures and different stuff and I'm like,

30:59 oh, oh, that's oh, that's why.

31:02 Okay.

31:02 Like when I when I looked at my clawfoot copper tub

31:05 that I'm probably never going to use, I was like, oh, oh.

31:08 Mhm.

31:09 You say that, you're going to soak in that thing and love it.

31:13 will.

31:12 You will.

31:13 You [laughter] absolutely will.

31:14 I feel like you and Luke have to compare notes

31:18 on living in smaller houses while your houses are being built.

31:23 With all your children.

31:24 kids.

31:24 Yeah.

31:24 [laughter] A trailer house is small with two girls and a little boy.

31:29 But When you move into the big house,

31:30 you're not going to see each other for six months.

31:32 Nope.

31:33 Those girls are going to run wild.

31:34 No, she One of the first things she asked, she was like,

31:36 so your bathroom, my bathroom, the closets touch each other.

31:39 Do you want to knock this wall out and just share a closet?

31:42 I said, not a chance.

31:44 [laughter] Cuz I go into my bathroom, sit in the recliner,

31:46 and I drink my coffee, and it's quiet, and there's nobody Yeah, so.

31:49 That's a place of solace.

31:51 It's all perfect.

31:52 All right, well, we are going to see you at Stagecoach on Friday night.

31:55 I'm excited.

31:56 Can't wait.

31:56 We'll be out there singing really loud.

31:58 [laughter]