Fans Declare Cody Johnson is the ‘Next King of Country’ After He Crushes His ‘Tonight Show’ Debut

Cody Johnson made his debut on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday (April 8) with a memorable performance of his chart-topping smash “’Til You Can’t.”

The Texas native belted out the lyrics of the powerful song alongside his band leaving viewers floored by his commanding stage presence. 

“This man in my opinion will be the next King of Country,” commented one YouTube user on the performance clip, while another user said Johnson’s voice lets him know “country music isn’t dead.”

The performance comes on the heels of Johnson earning his first-ever multi-week No.1 single as “‘Til You Can’t”  topped both Mediabase Country Airplay Chart and the Billboard Country Airplay chart for two consecutive weeks. 

The song is the country superstar’s first chart-topping single at mainstream country radio.

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“‘Til You Can’t” recently reached the No.1 position on Billboard’s airplay, streaming and sales-based Hot Country Songs Chart. Additionally, the RIAA Gold-Certified track has also reached No.1 spot on SiriusXM’s HOT 30 Weekend, the MusicRow Country Breakout chart and Shazam’s Country Chart.

Produced by Trent Willmon and co-written by Ben Stennis and Matthew J. Rogers, “‘Til You Can’t” is the lead single on Johnson’s latest project, Human: The Double Album.

“I chose to record ‘Til You Can’t’ first because of the positivity in the message of the song. In our world today, we could use more positivity,” Johnson previously shared. “Secondly, because of how dynamic the melody was; I took it and ran with it.”

The Texas native recently made history in his home state on February 28, when he became the third performer to ever sell out opening night of RODEOHOUSTON, following records set in previous years by Garth Brooks (2018) and George Strait (2017). The performance marked Johnson’s fourth appearance at the Houston Rodeo.

Following his fourth appearance on the RODEOHOUSTON stage, the superstar was inducted into The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame with the Spirit of Texas Award. Johnson was part of the class of 2022 Honorees that also included Patti Colbert, Wilson Franklin, Scharbauer Cattle Company, and Dr. Charles “Bud” Townsend.

Cody Johnson is set to perform at the 2022 CMT Music Awards, airing LIVE from Nashville on Monday, April 11th (8:00-11:00 PM LIVE ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and is available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*. 

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He is nominated for three CMT Music Awards, including Video Of The Year, Male Video Of The Year, and CMT Digital-First Performance Of The Year.

“To be nominated for a CMT award is an honor by itself, but to be nominated for THREE is an incredible honor!,” Johnson previously shared. “I’m so proud of everyone involved in these incredible songs that gave me the opportunity to be nominated. Let’s keep country music alive y’all!”