Cody Johnson‘s much-anticipated duet with Carrie Underwood is a love song called “I’m Gonna Love You,” and it’s coming this month.
The “Dirt Cheap” singer shared the news on social media alongside photos of what looks like a music video shoot. “I’m Gonna Love You” is unreleased, but Johnson had previously said it’d be part of the follow-up to the Leather album.
- Johnson has been talking about recording with Carrie Underwood for over a year, initially saying the song would be on Leather.
- Upon the album’s November 2023 release, he clarified that a Part B of some sort would come later, and their song would be on that project.
- He’ll release “I’m Gonna Love You” on Sept. 27.
Fans unexpectedly got a tease of the new song on Monday night (Sept. 16), when he dropped a clip on X. Underwood’s vocals aren’t present, but the lyrics point to a very clear direction for this song.
“Stars are gonna light up a midnight sky / The sun’s gonna burn on the Fourth of July / Tides are gonna turn with the pull of the moon / And I’m gonna love you,” he sings.
Prior to the 2023 CMA Fest, Johnson revealed that another artist wrote the song and after learning he’d chosen not to release it, the Texan put it on hold. Travis Denning appears to be that artist. Per Pulse Music Board, he wrote the song with Kelly Archer and Chris Stevens.
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A video at Johnson’s Instagram story confirms Denning wrote it. He’s found talking about cutting it in 2019, before “After a Few” was a hit. The original demo had a female on harmonies, but it was not a duet. It didn’t make an album.
“I said I didn’t wanna record it unless I could have Carrie on it,” Johnson told select media in 2023. “And you know, I’ve loved Carrie’s music, but it’s not like — I don’t have her poster on my wall, you know? But when I heard this song, I heard her voice, and I just knew that it was gonna work out.”
“The Painter” and “Dirt Cheap” are the two hit songs from Leather, an album that also features collaborations with Jelly Roll and Brooks & Dunn. No information about Johnson’s next project is available yet.
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