Everybody needs a friend like CoJo.
On Sunday night, Cody Johnson won his first Entertainer of the Year trophy at any major country award show at the ACM Awards, and he also took home the award for Male Artist of the Year. He was nominated for four awards in total, also including Single of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for “The Fall.”
It’s a big moment in any artists life to win such a coveted award, and Cody shared an Instagram post saying it “means more than [he] could ever put into words,” adding that “the ride has been worth the fall,” which are of course lyrics from his aforementioned song.
CoJo also took time to thank all of his fans for their support over the years, adding that he feels blessed to use his God-given gifts to reach so many people. He acknowledged that he would have never made it close to that stage “without the grace and mercy of Jesus,” and while the entire group of EOTY nominees were deserving, it’s impossible not to root for a man like CoJo:
“This gold buckle means more than I could ever put into words. Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year… what a night. ‘The ride has been worth the fall.’ I wouldn’t even be standing on this stage without the grace and mercy of Jesus. Thank you to every country music fan that’s spent your hard-earned money on a ticket, sang these songs back to me and let me live this dream every night.
They say music is the sound of emotion. Every time I step on that stage, all I’m looking for is that connection with y’all out in the crowd. Thank you for letting me use this gift God gave me to share those moments together. Love y’all. See you out there.”
Cody beat out a stacked group of artist for the nights most coveted award, including his friend, the aforementioned Luke Combs, as well as Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson:
CoJo gave a beautiful speech when accepting his EOTY trophy, and he also dedicated the award to his friend Luke Combs, who he toured with and opened for in Australia in August of 2023. It was during that tour that Combs’ wife, Nicole, gave birth to their second son, Beau Lee, while he was still Down Under, so he had to watch it all and be part of it through FaceTime.
Combs has spoken at-length about how hard it was, and still is, to miss such a major life event, and Cody took time to acknowledge how hard that was, and how he appreciates how much Luke has done for the genre and everything he has sacrificed, and of course, it doesn’t get harder than missing the birth of a child and it was an incredibly classy move by Cody, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from this true Texas gentlemen:
“I want to dedicate this to somebody you guys probably didn’t expect me to dedicate this to. There’s a man that was up for this award that I personally watched devote his life to country music, and I was there the night in Australia when his wife gave birth to one of their sons.
And I watched the anguish, and I watched the defeat on his face for not being there because he was across the world playing music in a sold out arena. And the next night, right after it, I watched him get on stage and absolutely murder the stage and go on stage and play country music and preach the message of country music to a bunch of Australians across the world.
So tonight, I want to dedicate my first Entertainer of the Year award to my buddy Luke Combs. I love you, brother. Thank you.”
Cody is a father of three himself, and it’s clear how much he respects Combs (who wasn’t in attendance) and everything he has done for the genre. He also spoke about how he doesn’t look at his phone when he gets home form the road, but it makes him that much more excited to get back to his live shows, noting how much he loves and appreciates his fans.
And during an interview with Billboard following his big win, Cody opened up about what it was like to see Luke in such a low moment, understandably, and what he said to him when he found him in the bathroom of an arena they were playing sobbing over the fact that he wasn’t there for such a big life event.
I can’t even imagine what that felt like, but Cody didn’t hesitate to walk right in there and give his friend some real truth, telling him he was sorry it happened that way, but there was nothing he could o about ti and he shouldn’t feel bad. He reminded him that he’s building a legacy for his family that will last through generations, and the next day, CoJo said Combs walked out and “absolutely kill[ed] the show.”
He said it gave him a whole new respect for Combs as an artist, a person, and everything he’s done to open doors for both Cody and others:
“I watched him that night… he just looked so defeated, you know, in the bathroom of an arena just sobbing. And I walked in, I’m like, ‘Where’s Luke?’ ‘In there.’ And I’m like, ‘What’s going on? Who died?’ He said, ‘No, my son was born tonight.’
I literally said, ‘You’re doing something now that is going to create a legacy for your family for a very, very long time. I’m sorry you weren’t there. There’s nothing you can do about it, bud. You shouldn’t feel bad about it. I’m sorry that it happened this way, but I’m proud of you. I look up to you.’ And the next night, I watched him walk out on stage and absolutely kill the show. And it was a moment where I found a new gained respect for Luke and the doors that he has opened for me.”
It’s impressive that Cody wasn’t afraid to walk right in there and not only speak truth and wisdom to Luke, but just be there as a friend when he really needed one… CoJo’s one of the good ones, that’s for sure:
Cody Johnson talks about the sweet moment he shared with his family after winning Entertainer of the Year at the 2026 #ACMAwards 🥹 pic.twitter.com/78kv9CJSMe
— billboard country (@bbcountry) May 18, 2026
You can watch his full speech here:
