It’s no secret that a deluxe Leather wasn’t originally part of Cody Johnson‘s plan. He initially planned for it to be an expansive one-release project, until Warner Music Nashville co-chair and co-president Cris Lacy gave him the idea of breaking the album into two parts.
That’s why Leather getting nominated for CMA Album of the Year caught Cody by surprise.
“I wanted the deluxe edition and Leather to be like one thing. And then we got nominated for Album of the Year and I was like, ‘Wait a minute. The rest of the album’s not out yet,”” Cody recounts to the press. “And everybody kind of went, ‘Well, we didn’t vote for it. It just kind of happened.””
“And I thought, ‘Well, you know what? Everything happens for a reason.’ And I’m not going to complain about being nominated for Album of the Year,” he shares with a laugh.
Leather Deluxe Edition, featuring the Carrie Underwood-assisted “I’m Gonna Love You,” is out now.
Cody has also been nominated in other categories, including Single, Song, Male Vocalist and Music Video of the Year.
The 2024 CMAs, hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson, will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.
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