Before snagging two of the biggest honors of the night at the 2026 ACM Awards, Cody Johnson and Parker McCollum had a heart-to-heart that primed them both for their massive wins.
This past May 17, both country music superstars left the MGM Grand Arena with some pretty hefty new accolades under their belt buckles and grins a mile wide. Johnson took home the high title of Entertainer of the Year while McCollum was awarded the Album of the Year for his self-titled project.
While both wins came as massive surprises to the singers, Johnson recently revealed that prior to watching his fellow Texas native accept the award, he had to dig McCollum out of a bit of a rut. In celebration of the recent Friday, June 26 release of his new album, Banks of the Trinity, Johnson made an appearance on The Kelleigh Bannen Show on Apple Music.
Diving into the 16-track project, marking his tenth studio album, the two would be remiss if they didn’t also cover Johnson’s very exciting new addition to his trophy cabinet. During the episode, the “Dirt Cheap” singer reflected on the “whirlwind” first half of the year he’s experienced so far which opened up a conversation about the pressures between juggling that level of success along with its pressures.
He then revealed that this was a similar conversation he had to have with his friend and “Killin’ Me” singer, McCollum, a few weeks before the 61st annual ceremony. The two golfing buddies were hitting the course with Johnson noting, “I intentionally went with him that day, and I was like, ‘dude, you gotta keep pressing, like don’t let the devil get in your ear and play all these tricks on you of why you shouldn’t be doing this.'”
He continued, “playing the guilt factor, or the I’m not good enough factor, or any of that. Like, you just need to be yourself.” As Johnson also states in his Apple Music interview, McCollum referenced this life-altering advice in his ACM acceptance speech, noting, “Cody Johnson, thank you for talking me off an edge 18 months ago.”
The limestone kid has been vocal in the past that prior to recording his since acclaimed self-titled project, he struggled with wondering if he should even continue making music. In a recent interview with the Zach Sang show, he even admitted, “I was about to just hang it up completely. I just kinda had lost the buzz creatively, and I’d been touring nonstop since I was 22.”
Luckily, before finalizing this decision, he resorted to making at least one more record where he said he was going to give “zero f*cks.” Hence, the New York City-produced, purely experimental 2025 album that gave us “My Blue” and “Hope That I’m Enough” was born.
Even Johnson admitted, though, that this self-doubting bug gets the best of him sometimes as well—even just a week after winning one of the biggest awards of his life. “I was really just kinda quiet, and I started having conversations with some real good friends of mine of like ‘I thought that when I won that it was gonna give me some like super powers.”
He says the feat had a bit of an opposite effect, as an overwhelming sense of calmness came over him and the thought entered his brain, “Do I wanna keep driving like this? Do I really wanna keep going? I’ve already done it.” Luckily, the lingering thoughts vanished once he stepped back on stage again and realized why he continues to push himself in this industry: “There ain’t no way in hell I’m giving up on anything.”
He ultimately credited his ability to continue pushing through the challenges of balancing it all to one simple reason: he’s “in it for the love of the game.” Talk about a truly admirable artist.
Continuing to bring his must-see high-energy shows to the road (with a few new Banks of the Trinity additions to the setlist), CoJo will return to the stage in a few weeks on July 11 in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, as he rounds out the remainder of his 2026 tour dates. McCollum will even join his support system on the road for six dates overseas, opening for Johnson later this fall.
Tour Dates:
- 7/11 – Cavendish, PE – Cavendish Beach Music Festival*
- 7/17 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena (2nd Show)
- 7/18 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
- 7/25 – Jacksonville, FL – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
- 8/8 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
- 8/22 – Knoxville, TN – Food City Center
- 8/29 – Saint Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
- 9/12 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
- 10/24 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
- 10/27 – London, UK – The O2
- 11/1 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
- 11/2 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
- 11/4 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena Belfast
- 11/5 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena