Cody Johnson shares why he makes music: 'Try to impact people’s lives'

By Mason Leib

Country music star Cody Johnson is opening up about what inspires him.

The "Til You Can't" singer spoke to "Good Morning America" at CMA Fest 2024 in Nashville over the weekend about how his deeply personal music impacts his fans.

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Cody Johnson performs onstage during the 2024 CMA Music festival at the Nissan Stadium, June 7, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.

"To have fans tell you how the music has touched their lives is the reason why I record the music that I record," he said. "We do have some fun songs, but all the real songs that I put out to radio and put out to the public to really push are all stories to try to impact people's lives."

"So when someone comes up to me and says, 'Hey, this song saved our marriage,' or 'This song made me decide not to take my own life,' or 'This song made me go back to church' ... that's what I do it for," he continued.

"That kind of stuff really takes a hold of me and whenever I'm down, I'm burned out and I'm a little bit tensed up about being on the road, I remember those people and go, 'Hey, look, I'm getting to do this for them,'" he said.

Johnson released his ninth studio album "Leather" in 2023 including his hit single "The Painter" and "Dirty Cheap" which is currently climbing the country music charts.

Last year, Johnson announced details for the first leg of his 2024 The Leather Tour, which kicked off in January. In April, he announced 10 extra dates added to his tour.

"My favorite part about being on the road has always been the stage," said Johnson. "The favorite part has always been, whether I've been in a 200 capacity bar or a 75,000 seat stadium, it's always been that 90 minutes that I get on stage."

Despite the recent success, Johnson told "Good Morning America" he's "just getting started."

"I've worked almost 20 years to get to this point and it ain't over, I can tell you that," he said.

Tune into this year's CMA Fest special, hosted by Ashley McBryde and Jelly Roll, when it airs Tuesday, June 28, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.

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