Securing big names on the tracklist.
Cody Johnson is in the middle of a significant life change, as he and his wife, Brandi, recently shared that their baby boy has arrived. Cody Johnson recently sat down with Country Countdown USA as a guest co-host, where he shared that he and Brandi have been living in baby bliss for about 3 weeks since welcoming their first son into the world.
The couple shared that they are pretty private people and chose to keep the news to themselves for some time, but knew they’d have to announce their son arrived happy and healthy into the world at some point, given that folks could do the math on Brandi’s pregnancy after announcing they were expecting at the ACM Awards earlier this year.
“My publicist asked how & when we were gonna announce it. I said people will find out. There was no way if I did a call with Lon and he asked about it that I’m not gonna talk about it. With CMAs coming up, someone’s gonna ask, so it’s gonna get out. He was born on October 21st. … I’m a pretty private person, Brandi is too. Some artists post all the time. Not me. When I’m on stage with the guitar, I interact with the world. But when I take my hat off, I’m very private.”
Congrats to the new family of 5. I am sure that Clara Mae and Cori are stepping into their role as big sisters flawlessly.
However, being a boy dad is not the only exciting thing happening in Johnson’s life right now. Of course, the Texas native is taking some R&R right now as he recovers from surgery after bursting an eardrum, but even while he’s resting up, he’s still thinking of what’s on the horizon… And Johnson disclosed a new record is on the horizon for next year.
Johnson shared that his goal is to return to the stage in February of 2026. Still, he will be busy in the studio before then, disclosing he’s waiting on two heavy hitters to lay down vocals for collaborations on this forthcoming project.
“Probably going into the studio to do vocals in January to get a record out next year. We’re pretty much done. Just need some guest performances by Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne. Then we’re done.”
LET’S GO.
Johnson previously teased that he was considering featuring Luke Combs on his next project, but it’s new news that Brothers Osborne will also be included.
During a chat earlier this year with Audacy’s Katie Neal for an episode of Katie & Company, Johnson touched on what’s to come this year for him. Neal kicked off the conversation, telling Johnson she was so sad to have missed his two-night sold-out run at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Johnson touched on how incredible the experience was, noting they sold out the arena “in the round,” meaning even the seats behind the stage were sold out.
Neal then told Johnson that when he had Luke Combs on stage with him, she felt like it might be a bit of a breadcrumb. The two had something in the works, given that he had spoken about wanting to collaborate with Combs in the past.
“Maybe…maybe. I’m going into the studio this year to go record a new album. There’s a certain song that I’m pretty certain. We’re just, we’re kind of playing with it. We’re going back and forth with it, and it could be in the works. I can neither confirm nor deny.”
After Johnson pleaded the fifth, Neal commented that their energy together would make for a great song, no matter the lyrical matter, because of their energy together. Amen to that. I can’t wait to see what these two cook up in the studio come 2026.
Before you go, check out their encore performance of “Beer Never Broke My Heart” from Nashville earlier this year. It’s a barn burner.
@degenhardt10 @Cody Johnson brings out @Luke Combs to sing Beer Never Broke My Heart with him!! #countrymusic #nashville #livemusic #cojo #fy #lukecombs #concerts ♬ original sound – Devon Degenhardt 🏹🦌📸
A “Little Bit Spicier” Than ‘Leather’
In the fall of 2024, Cody Johnson gifted fans the Leather Deluxe Edition, a 24-track double album featuring the second half of Leather, released the year prior. The deluxe record featured an additional 12 tracks, which he rolled out in a very organic way, letting the fans choose what they loved by limiting the number of singles that he shared with the world ahead of the record’s release.
Many of Johnson’s fans would agree that Leather and the deluxe edition of the record were truly something special. From the heartfelt tunes like “The Painter” and “Dirt Cheap,” that leave you wanting a deep love, to the songs dedicated to his daughters like “C’mon Cowgirl,” switching it up to the bluegrass crime-riddled tune “Georgia Peaches,” the project is well-rounded and shows the prolific artist that Johnson is.
While some artists might be nervous about following up a record that was so well received by fans, Johnson is not worried at all and is excited about his next project, which he hinted will drop at some point in 2026. Johnson shared in a recent interview that he’s still putting the pieces together for this project and didn’t want to disclose too much about new music, but he did say he’s been in the studio and that it’s very much in the works.
“We just got Album of the Year before the ‘Deluxe’ came out, which was not intentional either. We were waiting. … I would say I’ve got a little bit of work for the rest of the year to get done with this record. I don’t want to talk a whole lot about it, because I’m still kind of playing with artwork and photography and the theme of this thing. I don’t want to ever do the same thing twice.”
Johnson shared with Everything Nash. While that statement gives little information to fans about the album, he did tell the outlet that the next album will be a little “spicier” than the Leather Deluxe Edition.
“I don’t want to go off the beaten path. But I do want to do something just a little bit spicier. You’ve got to follow up. You hit a home run. Next time you come up to the plate, people are kind of expecting a homerun. And I feel that pressure.
It’s a good pressure. That kind of pressure is a privilege to know that I’m in a position where I can really go hit it out of the park again. So definitely working on a new one already. I would say next year be expecting something.”
Johnson also shared with the outlet that he began recording songs for his next album before the release of Leather Deluxe Edition, and is really taking his time perfecting every aspect of it.
“I have been recording. Before Leather Deluxe was even really out, I was listening to songs and just kind of getting what’s next. I like to stay ahead of things. I cannot stand when things are chaotic and rushed. I hate putting a date on something and then having to do it up to the date. I like organization and structure at work. Sometimes you can’t have that. It’s live music, it’s a music business. You gotta roll with the punches, and sometimes stuff happens like.”
Speaking of rolling with the punches, Johnson also shared that he was supposed to record with the legendary guitarist Marcus King for this album, but due to a bus breaking down, they had to postpone the studio session:
“It is what it is. We’ll reschedule it; we will get it further down the road. I’m not on anybody’s timeline but my own.”
It sounds like we could see quite a few collabs on this 2026 record. I am very excited to hear what Johnson has in store for his fans.
