Cody Johnson received the ACM Spirit Award at the ACM Honors. The Texan was honored with a performance by Luke Bryan, who sang Johnson’s 2021 single, “‘Til you Can’t.”

“You want to do a great job, and not overthink it,” Bryan tells Billboard of honoring Johnson. “Put your natural spin on it, but honor the song. And what’s funny about it is, I’ve heard this song. This is probably one of the most-played songs in the last five years. I hear it all the time. So I’m singing in my truck, and when I decide to do it, I’m like, ‘Oh this will be easy.’ Well, when I started diving in, I’m like, ‘Oh, this isn’t as easy as I thought.’ Cody’s a great singer. The song has a lot of range to it.”

 

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A Luke Bryan and Cody Johnson Collaboration

Bryan also hints that he wouldn’t be opposed to a collaboration with Johnson, if the right song came along.

“I get that question more and more these days, especially as people are collaborating in country, and all genres. It’s all about the song it takes. The song breeds the right collaboration. If I hear a song, write a song that I feel is something that Cody would want to try and get on with there with me, I would hit him up, and hopefully he would reciprocate that. But the bottom line is the right song at the right time really makes it happen.”

What Cody Johnson Says About Luke Bryan

Johnson was just 20 years old when Bryan’s freshman I’ll Stay Me album was released. The 38-year-old has been watching Bryan in the almost two decades since then, taking notes on how Bryan conducts his life and career.

“Just to watch his rocket ship to stardom,” Johnson says. “And he still maintains it. Even when he’s not releasing music, he’s still very much relevant as Luke Bryan, no matter what he’s doing. And he plays on hell of a golf game.”

Luke Bryan’s Recent No. 1 Hit

Bryan continues to have hits, even after all these years. He recently celebrated his 32nd No. 1 single, with  “Country Song Came On.” For Bryan, it was something new for him, a rarity after so much time as a country msuic superstar.

“It’s just a throwback, honky tonk song. And it’s a sound I hadn’t done in several years,” he says. “I think it’s more of a chilled-out, vibey song for me. I got the party songs, the drinking songs, the beach songs. So I think fans were excited to hear a new version of me. You always gotta not rest your laurels on the same sound, and we certainly didn’t do it with this song.”

Bryan is working on a new album. Find the song, and all of his music and upcoming shows, at LukeBryan.com.