There’s a song on Cody Johnson’s new album Leather Deluxe that even made him cry.

Cody Johnson is currently piercing hearts with his powerful new duet with Carrie Underwood, the first single from his highly anticipated album. Leather Deluxe. But if you want Johnson to talk about the song from the just-released album that touched his heart the most, he’ll likely offer a completely different version—one that made even the self-described “rough cowboy.” cry.

But then how could this proud girl daddy not give a damn about “Come on, Cowgirl”?

At a recent media roundtable in Nashville, Johnson poignantly described the moment he first shared the story song, which traces a decades-long father-daughter relationship in just 217 exquisite words, with his wife of 16 years, Brandi, and their daughters Clara. May, 9, and Corey, 7.

Shortly after learning the song as a possible addition to the album, the 37-year-old artist remembers rehearsing it in the barn of his Texas ranch when his girls stopped by. “And I said, ‘Sit down, I want to play this song,’” he recalls.

He admits that he tried not to make eye contact with girls just to get through it, but then his wife walked in and he realized he’d have to start all over again.

“And I read the text,” he says, “and tears just roll down my cheeks… and I look up and they’re all crying and smiling at me.”

At that time it was curtains. Johnson stopped the song, put down his guitar and embraced his family in a tearful hug that was quickly followed by a firm decision. As he says: “How are you No cut this song?

“C’mon, Cowgirl” is just one of 13 new tracks awaiting his fans on what is essentially now a double album – a dozen songs that join the original 12 released almost exactly a year ago. While many other “deluxe” albums contain a few tracks equivalent to a ladle of gravy, this was never Johnson’s intention. He intended to serve – in the parlance of the cattlemen – a piece of prime beef.

The year-long gap between the two releases was a lesson Johnson says he learned from it. Humanhis 2021 double album featuring 18 tracks.

“There was a lot left out on this album because there was so much content,” he reflects.

This time, his label executive suggested a split, and Johnson set about creating two separate parts of the whole: “I had to dive into each song and decide which ones were similar in tempo? Let’s separate them. Okay, theme? Let’s somehow separate them. Maybe in the same key or close to the same melodic structure? Let’s separate them.”

What unites the entire project is Johnson’s rich voice and his impeccable taste in song selection, starting with “I’m Gonna Love You,” his rousing duet with Underwood that is currently skyrocketing up the charts.

Johnson says he always had Underwood in mind for a duet. “It’s like Carrie Underwood or nobody,” he says. “I just heard her voice.” But he also says their first version of the song—with the parts recorded separately—didn’t hit the mark he wanted.

“It didn’t hit you in the face like I expected it to, and I’m like, man, I don’t want to waste this,” Johnson recalled. “And she was like, ‘I think we should sing this live.’

The artist recalls with pleasure the magic of their voices when they merged in one studio space. “I watch her mouth and see where each breath is going to be,” he says. “We just look at each other, kind of pushing away from each other. It was weird because it was the first time Carrie and I had sung together and it was just perfect family harmony. And I think that speaks to what kind of vocalist she really is.”

Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood

Now Johnson is hoping the song will do magic on the charts. “I feel like it’s big enough that it could even be a crossover pop song, like a big cult thing,” he says. “I want it to be something of its own.”

Johnson co-wrote three tracks, including “Georgia Peaches,” which he said “fell out of thin air.” Inspiration: “a big old jug” of 80-proof Georgia peach moonshine he keeps on his tour bus.

“It’s amazing,” Johnson says. “It’s also very, very insidious. You have to be very careful because it’s so good.”

One night after a show, Johnson and his bandmates Jake Mears and Jody Bartula were lubricating their picking session with a drink, and after drinking a few glasses, Johnson simply blurted out the first line of what has now become a song: “Georgia Peaches, them!” I will tear you all to pieces as soon as you run them through the copper line.”

Luckily, Johnson was sober enough to press “record” on his phone, and the resulting song—about a self-dealing criminal—eventually appeared on the album.

Johnson also co-wrote the script for Mustang, which he considers one of his favorites in the project. According to him, the credit was actually a gift from co-writer Wes Bayliss after Johnson changed part of the melody.

“I do this in songs all the time, and no one makes me a writer, just so you know,” Johnson says. “But Wes did it.”

The song tells the human story of the life of a tamed wild mustang, and although Johnson says he had nothing to do with the lyrics, he immediately saw himself in them: “I used to run like a mustang / with my head down.” the wind / at too high a speed to recognize / the places where I have been.”

“This song came to me at a point in my life and career—and, frankly, in my marriage, too—when I felt like I had hit a really low point,” he says. “I looked in the mirror and thought: I really don’t like what I see. … At that moment I wondered if I was even worthy of praying? Like, does God even hear me when I pray?”

Johnson actually has a stubborn horse that loves to run, so he easily made the connection between a skilled rider and a higher power in the lyrics.

“As a rein guy, I have certain pieces that I can put in his mouth that will stop him,” Johnson says of his horse. “When you apply that to your relationship with God, sometimes he allows us to escape—and he allowed me to escape when I was younger. Like, “Okay, okay, let’s go.” You will still come back, because when you get hungry, I will be the one who feeds you.” And this metaphor kind of stuck.”

The message, he said, “did something for me.”

Today, Johnson says he’s in a much better position to reach the career heights he’s enjoyed since his breakout 2021 blockbuster Until You Can’t.

“This year marks 18 years of making music for a living, if you could call it a living at first,” he says. “I’ve been preparing for this my whole life… This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life, so I’m happy.”

He’ll find out later this month whether he’ll reap more rewards from this career success: He’s up for five CMA Awards, including Album of the Year (for Leather), single of the year (for “Dirt Cheap”) and vocalist of the year. It also received two nominations: “Dirt Cheap” and “Artist” for Video of the Year.

Cody Johnson

Johnson admits he didn’t even pay attention to the news the day the nominations were announced. “When I go home, I completely zone out,” he says, “so my phone blows up with 48 missed calls and 107 text messages, and I ask: who died? And I pick up the phone, and it’s all congratulations.”

A previous winner of six nominations, including wins for music video and single of the year, Johnson says he’s working to keep these new career accomplishments in perspective.

“I think if you want something too much, it’s likely to disappoint you,” he says, but “I’m very grateful that I’m finally being recognized in these areas because you have to remember that I the guy who 18 years ago they said, you’ll never make it in Nashville. The cowboy hat is out of place and your music is too country for the radio. So when you get nominated for so many CMA awards, it’s a little bit in the back of your mind.”

Of course, there’s no laurel in Johnson’s makeup. He’s spent much of the year on the road, touring arenas and stadiums with his Leather Tour, and in January he’ll launch the Leather Deluxe Tour. And he’s already talking about going back to the studio to “start over and really try to top Leatherif possible”.

He says he’s considering doing another duet with Jelly Roll (“Whiskey Bent” is their collaboration on Leather) and possible duets with Laney Wilson and country newcomer Post Malone, who proposed to Johnson.

“I thought, well, when you’re done doing duets with everyone else in Nashville, let me know and we’ll do something!” Johnson says.

He knows another hit could already be in the rich bank of material he continues to add to, including one song he and his wife Brandi wrote during their lean years.

“I played her the first verse and she was like, well, you know, the second verse should be from a woman’s point of view,” Johnson says. “And I thought, ‘Well, tell me what she’ll say.’ … And we sat down and wrote this song together, and it’s beautiful, but it was never on the album.”

Johnson recently became reacquainted with her by playing her on his tour bus just to pass the time, and he says he realized, “It’s actually pretty damn cool. Like, this is really good.”

It’s tempting to think that fans will one day be able to see for themselves.