Cody Johnson
First impressions are everything, and it seems that these two superstars left an amazing one on each other.
We are days away from the release of Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood‘s collaboration, “I’m Gonna Love You,” and the promo that we are getting for the single has me fired up to hear it in full.
When the duo announced the single last week, Johnson noted that this collaboration had been a long time coming. The song was written by Travis Denning in 2019, and although it was not meant to be a duet, after hearing a female harmony on the demo, he and Johnson started thinking it would be something extraordinary as a duet. Given their gut feeling that a female voice could launch this song to the next level, they wanted to shoot for the stars of who they could bring on it – and boy, did they.
Johnson secured one of the most prominent female country stars to accompany him on the track, Carrie Underwood. Johnson shared when he announced the collaboration, that he wanted Carrie on it right away:
“From the moment I heard this song, I heard Carrie’s voice on it. It was a non-negotiable for me; either we sing it together, or I wouldn’t sing it at all. It’s that special to me. Working with Carrie has been an absolute pleasure. She’s not only one hell of a singer, but she’s a class act all the way around. It warms my heart to work with someone who’s seen so much success in their career and who’s still so down-to-earth. I feel like this duet is going to be massive in so many ways, and I couldn’t be more proud of it!”
While Johnson is beyond thrilled to have Underwood on the track, based on recent promotional material, it sounds like Underwood was just as excited to work with Johnson.
“So I think the first time we met was an award show, and there’s always so much going on at those things, and everybody’s just coming and going. But I remember leaving that night, just saying, ‘I really, I really like that guy, and I hope I watch him do great things.’”
Johnson returned the kind sentiment, noting how he admires Underwood’s humility and drive.
“Well, I feel the same way. You know we’re around the same age, but I always grew up listening to your music going, ‘I wonder what it would be like to be in that position.’ And they say they don’t meet your heroes because you might get disappointed. And I was not disappointed. It’s really a breath of fresh air to meet someone that fame hasn’t affected and that is really staying grounded.”
The video ends on a funny note as Johnson tells Underwood his little girls are massive fans of her music and that he was humbled by them when he shared that he met the “All-American Girl” singer.
“And when I told my kids, my little girls, that I met Carrie Underwood, they forgot all about Cody Johnson.”
Even the most famous of dads get pushed out of the limelight here and there…
Hearing the mutual respect that Johnson and Underwood have for each other further shows that this song has been a long time coming. This will be the first thing I fire up from this week’s Country New Music Friday.
