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Cody Johnson Celebrates First No. 1 "'Til You Can't," Says No One Wants To Say The H-Word

Cody Johnson: "As an independent artist from Texas, it’s really hard to imagine the work that goes into getting a No. 1.”

Popular Texas country crossover Cody Johnson celebrated his first No. 1 hit “‘Til You Can’t” this week with a party at The Local in Nashville. Hosted by BMI and ASCAP, the event was attended by Johnson’s friends, family, publishers, Music Row executives, and the song’s writers, Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers. “’Til You Can’t,” a two-week No. 1 hit, is Stennis’s first chart-topper as a songwriter.

“This is the culmination of a lot of hard work,” says Johnson. “As an independent artist from Texas, it’s really hard to imagine the work that goes into getting a No. 1.”

Johnson credited his record label partner Warner Music Nashville for the song’s success. He explained that as his debut single “On My Way To You” was going platinum, the song he released and promoted independently was just hitting the charts after years of work.

“I was going, ‘I made the right deal,’” Johnson said. “I’m with the right people.”

The singer said he knew that “‘Til You Can’t” “was going to be huge” when he recorded but didn’t want to jinx it by saying the h-word.

“No one wants to say hit,” Johnson said. “But I think the thing I’m most thankful for is the message. I’m glad my first No. 1 wasn’t cutoff shirts and four-wheel drives. I’m glad it was something that was uplifting and pick up the phone when your mom calls.”

“'Til You Can’t” not only topped the country charts for two consecutive weeks but also spent five weeks at No. 1 in Canada. The country anthem spent nine weeks on top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and broke the Top 20 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 chart. And Johnson is just getting started. His current single is the title track from his double album “Human.”

“I want to be that new face and new sound and establish songs and stories back in country music the way it used to sound,” Johnson said. “It’s been really hard, but it’s gone really well. I’ll mention my song ‘Human.’ It’s supposed to worry you. It’s supposed to freak you out a little bit, but don’t let it know you off the tracks.”

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