CMA Nominee Cody Johnson

This weekend’s co-host Cody Johnson has four CMA nominations, including his first for Entertainer of the Year. Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton asked Cody about that: ” “You know my history, coming to Nashville and getting turned down by every record label in town. When you become successful in the industry, every nomination is special. Entertainer is the gold buckle. It doesn’t mean anyone is better than anyone else. I’ve dreamed of winning it since I was a little kid, watching Rebe McEntire win it.  When the nominations came out, Luke Combs & Lainey Wilson texted me and congratulated me on it.  It hit me in my heart.”

How do you define “entertainer?” “I’ve always said, there’s an internal light switch. There’s two different dogs in me that I try to keep fed. There’s the one guy here, being at home with my wife & kids, that guy needs to be quiet. But the other guy, he lives for the crowd, he lives to entertain.”

Cody won the CMA Album of the Year award last year. He said that one was for his entire team: “Album of the Year was special. It has it’s own value because of all the people who worked on it. That was a lot of hard work. That was a big team effort.”

This year’s CMA Awards show will be hosted by Lainey Wilson. Lon asked Cody what he thinks of the first-time solo host? “I think she’s gonna kill it. I don’t think Lainey needs anybody to back her up. She’s a monster of a personality. Funny, intelligent, charismatic, funny. When I saw that, I thought that’s perfect, we don’t need a co-host. She’s got it covered.”

Cody recently had surgery for a blown eardrum. Lon asked if Cody will be performing: “No.  I had an opportunity, and maybe I could, but we didn’t want to risk my recovery process. I also didn’t think it would be fair for the fans who had their shows cancelled.  I’ll be attending, but just gonna sit back and watch.  I think I’ll get to announce Lainey’s performance.  So I’ll be involved, but not in the capacity I wanted.”

Cody’s song I’m Gonna Love You is also nominated for Musical Event and Music Video of the Year: “I knew from the moment I heard that song that it would be a hit. Whether it was me or someone else, that song is huge. I’m grateful to Carrie Underwood for all the time she put into it. She spent her time on the performance. She stayed late after the music video shoot to get me content for our video wall. But I knew it was going to be a hit.”

Lon then asked Cody about his plans for 2026: The goal is to come back in February.  Probably going into the studio to do vocals in January to get a record out next year. We’re pretty much done with an album.  Just need some guest performances by Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne.  Then we’re done.”

The 59th annual CMA Awards will take place Wednesday November 19th, broadcast live on ABC-TV.

Tags: featured

Category: CO-HOST