One and done.
Cody Johnson’s deluxe edition of Leather is here. The additional 13 songs on the second disc of the record extends the project to an astonishing 25 songs, each of which is incredible. Cody Johnson is truly a master of his craft and hardly misses.
To celebrate this release, Johnson stopped by to speak with Kelleigh Bannen on Today’s Country Radio, chatting about all things Leather, his nominations for the upcoming CMA Awards, how he’s spent the last year renovating a trailer, and more.
During his and Bannen’s conversation, Johnson disclosed the shocking information that he had no idea he was nominated for so many CMA Awards because he likes to unplug when he is at home. He initially thought that someone had died because of how his phone was blowing up. After sifting through a few congratulatory messages, he called his wife and discovered it was because he was up for five CMA Awards.
“And I called Brandi and I was like, ‘What am I being congratulated for?’ She’s like, ‘You just got nominated for five CMAs.’ I was like, ‘Sweet. What are they?’”
While that information is hilarious yet exciting for him to discuss, the real meat and potatoes of the conversation are the new songs on the deluxe record. A massive fan favorite released as a single from this new collection of songs is his duet with Carrie Underwood, “I’m Gonna Love You.”
When Johnson and Underwood announced the song, he shared how excited he was to secure her as a duet partner for the single. The beautiful love song penned by Travis Denning was not written to be a duet, but they loved the depth of a female’s harmony borough to the track when cutting a demo that they chose to make it into a duet.
“I cut that song in 2019. I didn’t have a hit yet or anything. I literally…this is what’s so crazy. I was like, ‘Who could we get to sing the harmony?’ I was like, ‘Shoot for the stars, baby, let’s ask…’”
Fans instantly fell in love with the track as Johnson and Underwood’s vocals pair perfectly together, but Johnson revealed in this sit-down that he was worried that it would be a bust during the recording process.
“Then, when we got into singing, I had already done my vocals. So she comes into the studio, she does her vocals. And when we got to the end of it…”
Bannen interjects quickly, asking if Johnson was present at the studio when this happened. One of the “magical” secrets of the music industry is that when artists collaborate, they often record their vocals at different times and sometimes might not even meet before the song is completed.
Johnson answers her question and then gets back to the story.
“Yeah. I don’t miss a beat in the studio. I’m very, very, very hands in the mud on this stuff, like I have my fingers on all of it.
And I don’t know what… it wasn’t a look of disappointment on her face, but it was just like this (makes a pondering face). I’m like, ‘What are you not liking? What’s wrong?’ Because I’m kind of like… it didn’t have the boom. And I’m sitting here like we are both professionals. For me, it doesn’t have that ‘thing’ either.
She’s like, ‘What if we just sing it live?’ I’m like, ‘That’s a great idea.'”
Johnson then says that they went back into the recording booth, with glass separating them, and laid down the magic we hear on the record. What’s even more impressive is that they did it in one take.
“That’s what you’re hearing. One take. Live.”
Sometimes, you need to feel the words you are singing and the depth they carry to bounce off of each other’s emotions for a duet, and it appears that was the case for Johnson and Underwood. I am glad she suggested doing it live instead of calling it quits since the pre-recorded vocals were not adding up how they hoped.
Learning this information makes you appreciate the song and each line’s power even more.
“I’m Gonna Love You”
