The 60th annual ACM Awards is a huge deal for the entire country music community, but it’s going to be an especially big night for Cody Johnson who is one of the most nominated artists of the year. Plus, he’s been tapped to perform an iconic tune alongside legendary duo, Brooks & Dunn.
Johnson is going into the coveted show the most nominated Texas artist with seven nods, which marks the most ACM nominations he’s received in one single year. He’s also tied with Morgan Wallen for the most nominations of any male artist this year.
Reflecting On His Impressive Collection Of Nominations
The Texas native is recognized in the categories of Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Dirt Cheap”), Single of the Year (“Dirt Cheap”), and Music Event of the Year (“I’m Gonna Love You”). Plus, he is competing with himself for Visual Media of the Year with his duet with Carrie Underwood, “I’m Gonna Love You” as well as “Dirt Cheap.”
Looking at this long list of possible awards that he could end up with at the end of the night, Johnson understandably feels grateful and excited to be acknowledged. However, at the same time, he’s staying grounded about the recognition.
“Honestly, I try not to pay attention to this stuff too much. Usually my wife tells me, or my manager will call and say, ‘Hey, by the way,’” Johnson explained to Country Now. “It’s one of those things that I don’t want to put too much stock into because I guess I’m afraid of the disappointment of not. But then when you find out, you’re like, this is what I’ve worked for my entire life. So absolutely it’s cool. I could play cool on the outside, but on the inside…” he added as he let out a quiet scream of excitement, revealing how he’s really feeling.
Date Night For Johnson And His Wife, Brandi
Johnson will walk the star-studded red carpet on Thursday, May 8 with his lovely wife, Brandi, by his side. The pair will enjoy a glamorous date night surrounded by their closest country music friends.
“I’m obviously here doing media a couple days beforehand. We’ve got rehearsals. I’m getting to play at the ACM Gala honoring Brooks & Dunn. So we’ve got a few things going. She’s going to come in for the show and be on the red carpet and make me look good and sit through the entire night with me, and then I’m going to go golfing,” he shared honestly.
Performing With Brooks & Dunn
Along with possibly walking away from the ACM Awards with several trophies, Cody Johnson has been tapped to take the stage for a very special collaborative performance with Brooks & Dunn. The pair have developed a true friendship over the years and have recorded songs like “Long Live Country Music” for Johnson’s Leather album and a new rendition of Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road,” for their Reboot album.
“Well, that was kind of the start of the relationship was when I got asked to be on the Reboot album, which was extremely cool. I believe we played outdoors at, I think it was CMA Fest downtown on Broadway in Nashville, and then just started kind of exchanging phone numbers, talking about projects and songs. And I mean, Ronnie’s hit me up several times like ‘what do you think about this song?’ And that’s actually how I got ‘Long Live Country Music,’” he explained.
“Ever since I’ve been able to pick up the phone and call Ronnie or Kix anytime of day or night and ask questions or get some advice. So I mean, it is a great relationship with your heroes,” Cody Johnson added.
The group of artists will come together once again on the ACM Awards stage to deliver their version of the iconic tune, “Red Dirt Road.”
Reflecting on the upcoming performance, Johnson shared, “I think my favorite part of playing ‘Red Dirt Road’ with Brooks & Dunn is the fact that it’s not the original, that it’s kind of a broken down acoustic thing. All the guitar signatures are different. And me and my band play it every now and then on stage, just us, so it kind of feels like it’s part of our career now. So I think that’s my favorite part of it.”
A Star-Studded Lineup Of Performers
Cody Johnson and Brooks & Dunn are one of a few epic collaborations set to take place at the coveted award show. Other collaborations include Backstreet Boys with Rascal Flatts and Jelly Roll with Shaboozey.
Hosted by 16-time ACM Award-winner Reba McEntire, the ACM Awards will kick off with an opening performance celebrating ACM Songs of the Year from the past six decades, featuring Clint Black, Dan + Shay, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, and Sugarland.
Plus, the stacked lineup of solo performers features Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton, Blake Shelton, Zach Top, and Lainey Wilson.
The 60th ACM Awards will stream live around the world from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT, exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, reaching audiences in over 240 countries and territories.
More details can be found HERE.
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