Photo: Jason Stoltzfus
Cody Johnson revealed the story behind his “meant-to-be” duet with Carrie Underwood when he caught up with Bobby Bones.
The award-winning country artist appeared on an episode of BobbyCast earlier this week. During their conversation, Johnson told Bobby about how he got to record “I’m Gonna Love You,” and how he got Underwood to join him. The collaboration was the first song to release from the deluxe edition of Johnson’s studio record, Leather, in late 2024.
“The way that song came about would be the better story of, I had it. And then they said, ‘no, Travis Denning is gonna use it on his record.’ So it goes back to Travis,” Johnson shared. “It didn’t wind up on his record, and so they pitched it to Carrie. Carrie loved it, but said — and I didn’t know this — Carrie said, ‘I love it, but it doesn’t fit my project.’ So it goes back into the abyss until I said, ‘I want that song but I want Carrie on it.’ And I had no idea that she’d already had it. And so, that’s why she said yes. She’s like, ‘this is the second time this song’s come into my life.’ I mean, that’s kind of a meant-to-be scenario, you know?
“She was so awesome to work with, like really down to earth,” he added. “Like, I think people have their vision of rock stars being this big ego. …There’s no ego. She’s just a freaking workhorse, man. “
Chris Stevens, Kelly Archer and Travis Denning teamed up to write “I’m Gonna Love You,” and Trent Willmon produced it. Johnson previously said in a statement that “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 they’re still so down to earth. I feel like this duet is going to be massive in so many ways, and I couldn’t be prouder of it!”
Underwood added in a previous statement that “from the time I first heard his voice, I knew Cody had something special. I’m excited for our fans to hear this special collaboration.”
Find the full BobbyCast episode on iHeartRadio and Netflix.