For 13 years, Cody Johnson built a following in country music without the support of a major label. In June 2018, the Texan finally inked a deal with Warner Music Nashville. His third major label album, 2023’s Leather, marked a shift in his career, snagging the Album of the Year trophy at last year’s Country Music Association Awards. Less than a year after releasing the record’s deluxe version, the “Dirt Cheap” hitmaker is already hinting at his next project, and — fair warning — it’s spicy.
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Speaking at a recent media event, Cody Johnson says he is looking to explore a new side of himself on his next album, without straying too far from the hard-working cowboy fans have come to know and love.
“I don’t want to go off the beaten path,” he said, according to Everything Nash. “But I do want to do something just a little bit spicier.”
Leather spawned three No. 1 hits, including the Carrie Underwood collab “I’m Gonna Love You.” Given that level of success, CoJo admits he is feeling the pressure in a good way.
“You hit a home run. Next time you come up to the plate, people are kind of expecting a home run,” he said. “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.”
[RELATED: Country Star Cody Johnson Reveals Exciting Life Update on ACM Red Carpet]
Cody Johnson Still Wants to Work With Marcus King
During the same interview, Cody Johnson revealed just how close we were to getting a CoJo-Marcus King collab. The “Human” singer was on his way to record with the blues virtuoso when a bus unexpectedly broke down, tabling the session.
“It is what it is,” Johnson said. “We’ll reschedule it; we will get it further down the road. I’m not on anybody’s timeline but my own.”
With two children and one on the way, Johnson understandably doesn’t want to commit to a hard deadline for his fourth major-label album.
“I would say I’ve got a little bit of work for the rest of the year to get done with this record… I’m still kind of playing with artwork and photography and the theme of this thing,” he said. “I don’t want to ever do the same thing twice.”
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ACM
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