Cody Johnson Features Backdrop Of His Wife During Incredible CMA Performance of “The Painter”

With all the talk surrounding Post Malone’s performance alongside Morgan Wallen and HARDY at the CMA’s last night, there were some other incredible moments that shouldn’t get overlooked.

Not only did Eric Church make a surprise appearance with Morgan on “Man Made A Bar,” but Alan Jackson also took the stage with Zac Brown Band to honor the late, Jimmy Buffett, with a performance of Margaritaville.

It’s fair to point out a few more artists who had memorable performances such as Ashley McBryde and Luke Combs, but one cowboy who ALWAYS shows up and shows out, is Cody Johnson.

CoJo performed “The Painter,” a song written by Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins, that he decided to cut after it reminded him of his wife:

“My favorite lyric in ‘The Painter’ is ‘for every wall I built, she saw a canvas.’ If there’s anything that describes my marriage with my wife, Brandi, it’s that line. “And that’s why we’ve been together for 15 years.”

Sporting jeans, a suit jacket and a white cowboy hat, the ‘Til You Can’t singer delivered a romantic performance with a beautiful backdrop that featured a black and white portrait of his wife, Brandi, and gradually filled with color as the performance progressed, bringing the song to life so to speak.

The camera panned to Brandi after the performance was over, showing her up on her feet giving her husband a heart-warming standing ovation.

Johnson was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year but the award ended up going to the legendary, Chris Stapleton, who also provided the CMA Award viewers with a powerful performance of “White Horse,” his latest single featured on his brand new studio album, “Higher,” set to drop tonight.

Wath CoJo’s performance here: