Cody Johnson recently revealed the track list for his forthcoming Leather album, out on November 3. While the record features collaborations with both Jelly Roll and Brooks & Dunn, one song that is noticeably absent from the list of songs is his duet with Carrie Underwood.
Fortunately, while Johnson says he will “neither confirm nor deny” whether his collaboration with Underwood will appear on an extended project of Leather, he does promise that the song will, eventually, be released, when the timing is right.
“The deluxe edition that’s coming out is gonna have some really cool stuff on it, and we decided to wait,” Johnson tells Country Now. “Her team has been very, very easy to work with, and we’re trying to wait for the right time to reveal what we’ve done.”
The Texan adds that he anticipates their joint song will be out in the middle of next year, likely around summertime.
“It’ll be sooner than late,” he vows. “I won’t make you wait until next November, I don’t think,”
Johnson is, rightfully, proud of all of the songs on Leather, but he hints it’s just the beginning of what fans can expect from him.
“This might be the best round of songs we’ve ever had, but…this is an appetizer,” he teases.
When Johnson first revealed he had recorded a duet with the American Idol alum, he said that combining their talents made sense, although it might not seem like it would at first.
“I love Carrie’s music, but she wasn’t like — I don’t have her poster on my wall,” Johnson says (via iHeartCountry). “But when I heard this song, I heard her voice, and I just knew that it was going to work out. We had never sung together, so when we get in the room and we start singing together, it’s like family harmonies. The only way I can describe it is kind of like the way it was growing up, singing with my mom. It just instantly fits and it meshes.
“It’s really interesting to me, because my voice and her voice are really drastically different,” he continues. “But put together, they make a very, very unique sound. So I’m excited for it to come out. I’m not sure when it is. We’re kind of holding the ace card close to the sleeve.”
Fans might have been equally surprised, at least at first, to find out that he also recorded a song with Jelly Roll. But the former prison guard says that their duet — and their friendship — in a lot of ways makes a lot of sense.
“We struggle with a lot of the same pressures of, we put so much pressure on ourselves to be the best husband, to try to be the best father, for our [bands], to try to be the best leader, to be the best performer…it’s almost like a blessing and a curse, because we put so much on ourselves,” Johnson says (via Taste of Country)..
“I relate to him, and he relates to me,” he adds. “We’re so opposite; you got the cowboy hat and the face tattoos. I think it’s just an opposites attract kind of thing.”
Johnson’s latest single, “The Painter,” is in the Top 30. The song, the debut single from Leather, is an ode to his wife, Brandi.
“There’s always been start agains,’ Johnson reflects on Apple Music’s Country’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “In my music career, you get to the point where you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore. I’ve been traveling up and down the roads making $100 a night in a van and can’t afford to put gas in it.’ And she’s going, ‘Yes, you can. You left your steady job for a reason and yes, you can do it.’ And so it’s like you start again.”
Leather will be released on November 3. See a track list for the album below. Find music and tour dates, and pre-order his new project, at CodyJohnsonMusic.com.
Leather Track List:
1. “Work Boots” (Jason Afable, Brett Beavers, Canaan Smith)
2. “Double Down” (Jeff Hyde, Adam James, Clint Daniels)
3. “Watching My Old Flame” (Kat Higgins, Wynn Varble, Clint Daniels)
4. “That’s Texas” (Andy Sheridan, Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin)
5. “Dirt Cheap” (Josh Phillips)
6. “Jesus Loves You” (Mark Holman, Chase McGill, Michael Hardy)
7. “Whiskey Bent” (feat. Jelly Roll) (Adam James, Mikey Reaves, Rocky Block)
8. “Leather” (Ian Munsick, Rivers Rutherford, Jeremy Spillman)
9. “People In The Back” (Devin Dawson, Austin Taylor Smith, Mark Trussell)
10. “Long Live Country Music” (feat. Brooks & Dunn) (Phil O’Donnell, Wade Kirby, Trent Willmon)
11. “The Painter” (Kat Higgins, Benjy Davis, Ryan Larkins)
12. “Make Me A Mop” (Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Alan Shamblin)
