Few artists have the rare combination of talent and tenacity to the degree that Cody Johnson does, which is what makes him stand out above the rest. For years, Johnson released music in his home state of Texas, working tirelessly to get his career started, albeit on his terms, complete with a cowboy hat.
Fortunately, Johnson was determined, even if his career was building piece by piece.
“When it was me and the guys in a truck and trailer, it was a crazy party,” Johnson recalls to Billboard. “Then you get a van, and you’re traveling all over the country, kind of just a vagabond, sleeping in a van, and no money. It wore me down to the point where I really thought I wanted to quit. I had to dig deep and say, ‘How bad do you want it?’”
By 2017, Johnson was beginning to see the fruits of his years of hard work. Although grateful, it posed an entirely new set of challenges for him, ones he had to learn to navigate.
“Everything started to take off,” Johnson says. “And then it was dealing with a different beast, parts of fame nobody told me about. Because I’ve never in my life said, ‘I want to get rich and famous.’ I just wanted to play music. But dealing with fame, it changes the vernacular of a lot of relationships, how people treat you. There will be people who are no longer friends, now they’re fans. A lot of personal relationships changed for me, and it was tough.”
Courtesy of CMA
How Cody Johnson Navigated Becoming a Country Music Superstar
One of the rare artists who has remained largely the same as before fame, including still working on his own ranch, Johnson relied on his faith and his wife, Brandi, to help him navigate becoming a country music superstar.
“It was really giving it over to God. It helped me find peace,” Johnson says. “And my wife and I, two years ago, we went to marriage counseling, and really tried to dig into our marriage, and that gave me peace. We’re so freaking happy now. I focused on my health, working out, a strict diet, taking the right peptides, just trying to be the best version of me that I can.”
Cody Johnson’s New Album, ‘Banks Of The Trinity’
Johnson’s new album, Banks Of The Trinity, will be out on June 26. The record includes collaborations with both Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne. Combs joins Johnson on “Shoot The Bull”, a song written by Josh Phillips, Drew Parker, Casey Brown, and Ray Fulcher, specifically for the two to sing together.
“If you take that chance, and an artist is like, ‘I’m not really comfortable with the representation of myself in this song’ or whatever, there goes your song, because you can’t really pitch it to another artist,” Johnson explains. “But Luke was like, ‘There’s no way we can’t do this song.’ So, it was a done deal. [Lines about] tattooed knuckles, gold plated buckles, and me talking about this wild card band selling out every seat, it literally sounds like me and Luke sitting in a bar, just shooting the bull.”
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Photo Credit: Chris Douglas