The past two years have been a whirlwind for Cody Johnson following the release of his second studio album, Human: The Double Album, and the subsequent release of its lead single, “‘Til You Can’t.”
In a new interview with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music’s Today’s Country Radio, Cody Johnson expressed that the success of “‘Til You Can’t” led to some insecurities about the upcoming release of his new album, Leather. He told the outlet that he was disappointed that out of the 18 songs on Human, he was only able to release two singles.
“I was a little disappointed with Human– the fact that we only got two singles off of a double album because of timing,” Johnson said.
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“‘Til You Can’t” became a signature song for Cody who took it to the top of the country charts and earned two CMT Music Awards (Male Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year) and two CMA Awards (Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year). The longevity of the tune only allowed the release of one additional single from the project. While he considers the song a blessing, it also brought pressure to produce more hits.
“It’s more blessing than curse… And now I’m trying to push ‘The Painter’ to hopefully get another number one so I won’t wind up being the ‘Til’ You Can’t guy,” Johnson said. “There’s always that fear or that insecurity there of being the one-hit thing.”
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Fans will agree that Cody Johnson’s insecurities are unfounded … especially following the CMA Awards show performance of his latest release, “The Painter.”
The song, a tribute to his wife Brandi, received rave reviews following the performance. The response just confirmed that Johnson’s initial reaction to the song was right.
“I went, dude … That’s just a good love song!” Johnson told PEOPLE of hearing “The Painter” for the first time. He also told the outlet that he immediately thought of his wife of 14 years when he heard the lyrics, especially the line, “For every wall I built, she saw a canvas.”
“I have tried unintentionally – and intentionally – to build walls around myself a lot in my life because I’m a stubborn cowboy sometimes,” he confessed. “And she saw potential. She saw growth. She saw opportunity. She saw me before I saw me. And without her I wouldn’t be here.”
Watch Cody Johnson’s performance of “The Painter” at the 2023 CMA Awards in the video below.