Cody Johnson Reveals What Winning CMA Entertainer of the Year Would Mean to Him

Cody Johson has the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream at the 60^th Annual CMA Awards. He is heading into the awards show nominated in four categories including his second nod for Entertainer of the Year.

While recently co-hosting Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton, Johnson opened up about what it means to be recognized in the night’s top category. He explained that just earning a nomination serves as a reminder that the years of hard work that he’s put into his career have not gone unnoticed.

“Every year you get to be nominated for Entertainer of the Year, all it does is confirm that the hard work you’re putting in is being recognized.  To win it would be awesome.  It’s obviously something I’m striving for. But even if we don’t, just being in the category says a lot about the last 20 years of hard-earned work,” he admitted.

Johnson went on to compare the Entertainer of the Year honor to the “gold buckle” in the rodeo world. For professional cowboys and cowgirls, earning a gold buckle represents reaching the highest level in Western sports sport, much like how winning Entertainer of the Year is one of the biggest achievements a country artist can earn.

“For me, the Entertainer of the Year is the Gold Buckle, I’ve dreamed of winning Entertainer of the Year award since I was a little kid, watching Reba McEntire and Merla Haggard win it. Thinking what would it be like to be acknowledged in country music as being the most entertaining act.  At least once.”

He adds that if he doesn’t take home the Entertainer win this year, it will just push him to keep working hard and striving to be nominated again and take home the CMA Awards trophy next time.

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Along with his Entertainer of the Year nomination, the Texas native is also recognized in the categories of Male Vocalist of the Year and Single and Video of the year for “The Fall.”

The video offers a cinematic experience that showcases the song’s reflective, bittersweet journey through life’s highs and lows. One of the most powerful elements of the video is Johson performing in a heavy rainfall, which the director, Dustin Haney’s idea.

While it turned out great and earned him a CMA nomination, Johnson revealed the experience was “miserable.”

“I think I signed up for something I wasn’t ready for.  It was a torrential downpour.I threw my boots away after it was done. It wound up looking beautiful. But it was miserable. And it was cold. The water was ice cold,” he admitted.

Fans can tune into the star-studded night on November 18 to see if Cody Johnson will take home a win. He is also slated to perform on the stage at Bridgestone Arena.

Lainey Wilson will return to host the CMA Awards for the third consecutive year. The milestone night will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC and Disney+, with the broadcast available to stream on Hulu the following day.