Cody Johnson is nominated for four CMA Awards, including the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. Grateful as he is for the nominations, Johnson reveals how much he doesn’t hang his proverbial hat on the industry recogntion.
“So, I stay very private at home,” Johnson tells his record lablel. “Most of the time when I get a notification — I don’t have social media either. I don’t watch the news, unless it’s something to do with a hurricane or something going on really that we need to pay attention to. Most of the time, my phone blows up and I’m out doing something, whether it’s getting rid of some brush, or I’m in a tractor, or getting some cows moved, or I’m out roping.
“And then my phone will blow up, and I’m going, ‘Who died? What happened?’” he adds. “Then I look at my phone and it’s all congratulations and it’s got the confetti and the balloons and all that stuff.”
Johnson not only doesn’t sit around waiting to hear the list of nominees, but he relies on those closest to him to tell him what happened.
“Usually I’ll text my wife, or I’ll text my manager, Howie, and I’m like, ‘Hey, what happened?’” Johnson reveals. “They’re like, ‘Oh, you got nominated for CMAs.’ I’m like, ‘Oh. Sweet. Which ones did we get nominated for?’ And I’m not saying that I’m ungrateful. It’s just, that’s the way I live. I try to stay out of it because I think sometimes if you want the one thing too much, it’s liable to disappoint you. And I just kind of take it as it comes.”
Cody Johnson Wins the ACM Award for Entertainer of the Year
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Johnson is already the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, a category he was nominated in two previous times before taking home the coveted trophy.
“And honestly, if I spent the next ten years getting nominated for Entertainer of the Year and don’t win it, I’m actually okay with that,” Johnson told the Academy of Country Music. “I think three years ago, I wouldn’t have been okay with that. But to be acknowledged for what I do on stage is probably one of the most important things for me. Just to have a seat at the table, to know that the people in this industry are acknowledging the tickets I’m selling and the streaming and the performance that I put on with my band.
“Me and my band, we don’t run any tracks,” he continued. “It’s all live music. So, I take a lot of pride in that when someone says that they feel like I should be nominated for Entertainer of the Year. But personally, deep down, I can’t deny the fact that I sure hope I win it.”
Fortunately, Johnson did win the ACM Award for Entertainer of the Year, beating out Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is be in front of a crowd and entertain,” Johnson said after winning the ACM Award for Entertainer of the Year. “Every night on stage, I get to stand in arenas like this. They say that music is the sound of emotion, and I get to use my platform to not only promote positivity in this country and in the world, all over the world. I get to use it to make you feel emotions that I feel, whether we’re crying, whether we’re laughing, whether we’re happy or sad. I get to convey that through this thing that God gave me called music. It’s the greatest drug that has ever been introduced on planet earth.”
Combs shares the Entertainer of the Year category at the CMA Awards with Combs, Langley, Stapleton, and Wilson. The 2026 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 18, at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.