Cranking out the hits.
Cody Johnson knows what he’s doing when it comes to choosing songs to cut and feature on his records, and that statement was solidified with his CMA Album of the Year win for Leather.
The Texas native has a way of conveying emotion through his vocal delivery, hitting the soul of his listeners. He has a track for every phase of life, whether you like his breakup, anthems, or tender love songs. While we love what Johnson is doing for country music, he’s not shy about the fact that he would be nothing without the fantastic group of songwriters who have written some of his biggest hits.
On the CMA red carpet, Billboard’s correspondent Tetris Kelly asked Johnson how he knows a song will be a hit when pitched to him. Given that Johnson had two songs nominated for Song of the Year, which he was not a writer on, Kelly wanted to know how Johnson has the ear to find these massive hits.
“It comes from being a songwriter first and knowing who I am. Obviously, I’m not the best songwriter because if I was I would’ve already wrote them all, but when you hear these songs you go, ‘Oh my god. That’s a big hit. That’s a hit for me.’
And a lot of people have already passed on these songs. I’ve been asked, ‘Does it bother you that somebody else has already passed on it?’ And I’m like, ‘No, because it wasn’t for them.’ I know it’s for me.”
Kelly then inquires more about how he knows when a song is a good fit for you. Given that Johnson sings about such a vast topic range about life’s emotions when he’s happily married with children, it doesn’t sound like it’s easy to know when something is for you if it’s a cheating song, for example.
But Johnson knows in his bones.
“I don’t know, there’s something in my DNA that when I hear one, I’m just like, ‘That’s it.’ And I don’t know, maybe it’s something I’ve developed over time. But then I also kind of go, and I don’t mean this derogatory, but you love it or hate it. Think about it if you were picking a spouse. Maybe I do? Maybe I love them; maybe it will work itself out. No, you either love them or you don’t.”
Well, when you say it like that, it seems pretty straightforward as to how he chooses what to feature on his records.
Kelly also talks with Johnson about how they came up with the idea to do Leather Deluxe Edition while still making it feel like a double album (given the length but without the singular release date). Johnson said he was all for leaving some time between the two “chapters” of music so the songwriting could sink in.
“I love it. I might do it for the next record!”
I am here for it because it gave time for the songwriting of the record’s first half to digest with listeners before releasing the second half.
Johnson clearly has a gift for hit songs and also knows a good idea when he hears one. Country music needs more Cody Johnsons; he’s quickly becoming the prince of country music.