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Cody Johnson brought Carrie Underwood on stage as a surprise guest when he performed on the final night of the Houston Rodeo over the weekend.
Johnson teamed up with Underwood on “I’m Gonna Love You,” which appeared on the deluxe edition of his studio record, Leather, in late 2024. Johnson shared a video filmed by JT Colston on Instagram on Friday (March 27), recapping the surprise (and the roaring cheers from the crowd). He wrote in the caption, “Houston, you didn’t see that one coming did you? We had to bring out [Carrie Underwood] for this one.”
Johnson recently spoke about the story behind the “meant-to-be” duet, which was written by Chris Stevens, Kelly Archer and Travis Denning, and produced by Trent Willmon. Johnson reflected on how the duet came together when he caught up with iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones on a BobbyCast episode that premiered last month.
“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.”
Johnson previously said in a statement that 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!”